• Decorating your living room walls does not need to be expensive.Living Room image by Dawn from Fotolia.com
  
  Decorating projects can either be expensive and lavish, or you can use some imagination and create cheap decor ideas for living room walls. Plan out your decor ideas before applying them to your living room walls, especially any ideas that involve painting or other forms of permanently affixing something to the walls. Consider changing the decor up to a couple of times a year.
  
  

Your Photographs

• It is common for people to put framed photographs of their friends and family members on their living room walls. People will also spend money on photographs of sunsets and other subjects to use as wall decorations. If you have a camera and enjoy taking pictures, then consider saving money on wall art by taking your own decorative pictures. You can dress up your own pictures of buildings and sunsets with inexpensive, decorative frames and use them as wall decor in your living room. Include a short paragraph with each picture to let guests know where and when the picture was taken to get a conversation started.
  
  

Wooden Window Frames

• You can find old window frames at swap meets, or you may know people that are either getting rid of old wooden window frames, or have some in storage that they will never use again. Carefully take the glass out of the frames, sand them down, paint them any color you like and then use them as decoration for your living room walls. Hang the frames on their own, or put pictures in the window pane areas to create a unique look.
  
  

Paint a Mural

• A hand-painted mural would be an inexpensive, but highly creative, way to decorate your living room walls. Find a picture of something that you like, and then have a print shop transfer the photo to a transparency. Then borrow or rent an overhead projector, and project the image on to your wall. Use a pencil to outline the drawing and then paint it in following the pencil lines. If you have a friend that is an artist then it may be worthwhile to ask for their help.
  
  

Textured Paint

• Texture paint is a kind of living room wall paint that has patterns which are like a relief map painted on your wall. You can choose a paint that looks like woven cloth, paint that looks like a textured ceiling on your walls, or a paint that can create circular 3D patterns on your wall. According to Reliable Remodeler, it is best to use a textured paint that dries slowly so you can be sure to get the look you want before the paint dries permanently.
  
  

Skyline

• With a table saw, paint and 1/4-inch thick plywood, create a skyline for your living room wall. Cut the pieces of plywood into the shapes of skyscraper buildings, and then paint them: paint them black and add white boxes to represent the buildings at night with lights on in the windows; or paint them gray and white with the windows black for daytime colors. You could even take the time to cut the buildings in the shape of your city skyline, or a famous city skyline you have always enjoyed. Put picture frame hangers on the back of each piece, and then hang your skyline on the living room wall. Your only costs would be for plywood, paint and picture hangers.