Stay tuned.....

I had a great time working with two great homeowners these past few days. I will post a few pictures of my work soon. Tomorrow is my decorating tip of the week, so stay tuned.

Many of us love the look of our child's name on the wall in their bedroom. You can display the name on a shelf, or hang each letter on the wall. I decided to make it more of a focal point in my daughter's room. My sister had leftover wood paneling so I had them cut me 4 equal size squares. I bought letters at Hobby Lobby ($1.50 each) and painted them pink. I stapled some fabric around the wood, attached the letters to the wood, and hung them with ribbon. It was an easy and affordable project.

Bargain Hunting

Here is a list of my favorite bargain stores. These are the places that I find the best deals on decorating items.
Goodwill

Need Change?

I am constantly changing things in my home. Many who know me are prepared for a piece of furniture to change spots in a room at least once every month. I find when I am bored with a room an easy change is to rearrange the furniture. Try a few different options and live with it for a week. This is also one way to stay organized. This is a great alternative to buying new furniture or new decorative pieces.

Trash to Treasure

Some people can afford to walk into a store and buy the entire display. I am not one of those people. I have to shop, shop, and shop some more for the best deal. For me, this means I am often at thrift stores. However, these are the places I find the best one of a kind treasures. I have shopped this way now for almost 10 years. Most people do not buy items in thrift stores because they feel if it is at a secondhand store it must not be "in style". This is definitely a misconception. The motto "one man's trash is another man's treasure", is still true! The key is you need to know how to use it. This is an area I can help you.
My hobbie is to find the things most people would walk past, and use them in my house. I bought my coffee table at Goodwill for $9.00. It was an ugly color and had a big hole in the bottom. I saw it and knew I could do something to make it look good. All I did was cover it with animal print fabric and put two baskets underneath to hide the hole. I get comments on this piece all the time. Maybe you have a few pieces in your home that you think are eyesores. We can make these look like a brand new piece. Small changes can go a long way. You can find a picture of this piece in the previous post "Before and After Pictures of my Family Room".

Entry and Home Office Redo Description

This homeowner had a beautiful buffet hiding in a room that is rarely used. We moved it to the entryway and warmed up the space. The home office used to be a formal living room with formal furniture. We turned into a room that is more of a den. Many of the items in the room are new. She called me and sent pictures before she purchased items. This worked out very well. I was able to give her advice on if the item would work in the room.

Enrty and Home Office Redo

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Minor Redo

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Minor Redo Description

This homeowner had very neat items from their travels. She has very good ideas, but wanted help on where to put items. We rearranged her family room and living room. We took all items off her shelves, tables and walls. All of the items you see in the picture are from the homeowner's house. We did not have to purchase anything. The rooms both needed purpose and needed to look a bit more "put together". This only took us 2 hours and her rooms look great!

Decorate on a shoestring budget

I thought I would give a few examples of how I was able to decorate my house on a shoestring budget. Here is a price breakdown of a few of the items in the family room and kitchen. You can find pictures of these rooms in my previous posts.

Family Room:
GOLD CHAIRS- $40.00 for the pair (Craigslist)
CUTE GREEN OTTOMAN- $5.00 (thrift store)
ROUND COFFEE TABLE- $9.99 (thrift store) I covered top with fabric
BLACK END TABLES- $36.00 for the pair (thrift store)
CHANDELIER- $100.00 (Craigslist) I looked this brand up on the internet and they
sell brand new for almost $300.00

Kitchen
CABINETS: $350.00 Paint and hardware (we did the work ourselves)
Much of the decor was also purchased at a thrift store. Each item was no more than $5.00.
CURTAINS: Discounted fabric- approx. $6.00
COUNTERTOPS AND OVEN: This was our splurge. This was not a necessity. We expanded the countertop so we could have a bar area. We also had to buy a more pricey oven because it had to be a drop in. $2000.00
IT IS A NEW KITCHEN FOR UNDER $3000.00

Home Sweet Home

Welcome to my home!! We bought our house 2 1/2 years ago. It was extremely out dated. Little by little we renovated the inside. I am a bargain hunter. I love thrift stores, consignment stores, and craigslist. Most items in my home are either used, or were on major clearance. Someone's trash is definitely my treasure. I will post some before and after pictures. I apologize for the before pictures. I never intended them for the use of this blog.

coming soon.....

I am working on getting pictures of my house and a few others that I have worked on recently. Please visit soon to see. I also will be posting advice and can answer questions on my blog if you desire.