My home is a constant work in progress. A friend said to me just last week, "A room is never totally finished" and I laughed. She is exactly right. I am constantly moving, painting, and rearranging. Sometimes when JAM gets home he will walk in and chuckle. He knows he can leave one morning and come home to things completely rearranged, yet he loves me anyway.
I'm sure some of you can relate!
Ok-to start off I'll be really honest. My decorating used to STINK, LIKE REALLY STINK! When I first got married I had no idea what I was doing. Every room had a theme and every room was a different color. Why I thought that looked good I have NO IDEA. Several years after getting married I became good friends with one of JAM's friend's wives. I remember going to her house for the first time and being blown away at how put together was. Everything flowed from one area of the house to another. Everything was cute, creative, and perfectly imperfect. As I got to know her more I realized that she was super thrifty and most of her decor throughout her home came from goodwill, garage sales, the side of the road, and Craigslist. To see more of her home, her "Saturday Steals," and read about her adorable family click here.
So over time I took almost everything I had and either gave it a facelift or got rid of it and started completely over. My goal with doing so was that by the time we moved into our new home, I would have a good base to work with and use that as a starting point for what I wanted my style to be from here on out. If I had to sum up my current style and what I want my future style to look like, it would be industrial farmhouse chic with pops of color and tons of frugal flare. When decorating and looking for goodwill, second hand, or Craigslist finds, I always try to consider my style, my current home, and exactly where I would want to try and use it. I am guilty of sometimes buying and not sure what I will do with it until I get home, but that's where the creative process becomes
really fun and interesting.
Now, by no means do I really "know" what I'm doing when it comes to decorating. But I do know what I like and I know what I can spend. Much of the time what I like or the look that I like can costs tons of money which we do not have, thus my passion for decorating on a budget, decorating with lots of DIY projects, and decorating in a repurposed kind of way comes in to play.
Below are a few tips and tricks that I have learned over the years, mainly from friends, HGTV, and thrifty decorating blogs because again, I don't really know what I'm doing, I heavily rely on others!
Furniture:
--Family Heirloom--
I'm all about using family heirloom pieces. In fact, I would rather have a family piece then a brand new piece. I love the history and memories that come along with those types of furniture pieces. The left piece is from both of my great grandmother's homes. It's actually 2 separate parts that I painted and put one of top of the other. I used Annie Sloan Chalk paint in the color Louis Blue and then buffed the light and dark Annie Sloan waxes on each piece. It is currently in my dining room in the perfect little corner spot. Don't be afraid to use paint. Whether you want to keep it in the neutral color family or venture out with boldness, paint can make all the difference. Both of these pieces were already painted a white with a vine detail, so clearly they both needed a facelift.
--Facebook Resale--
The right brown piece is from a Facebook resale page. I HIGHLY suggest using a resale page from Facebook that is designated for people that live within your area. I feel like you can find great deals on bigger items such as furniture. Utilize Facebook for your budget decor needs. You will be surprised what types of good deals are floating around on social media.
The brown chest of drawers set me back a whole $20. The bottom drawer was broken but I just "shopped" around my house for the baskets and thought that it gave it a cute, perfectly imperfect look. I still need to paint the inside bottom drawer space and have gone back and forth with painting the entire piece, but for now it currently looks like the photo below.
--Garage Sales--
You can find DEALS are garage sales. Most people are willing to sell for cheap cheap cheap just so they can get rid of it. NEGOTIATE for the best deal! You will be happy you did.
The bottom left piece is actually a solid wood buffet that I purchased at a garage sale for $15. I gave it a good wipe down and it serves the perfect purpose of a changing table in Keller's room. Garage sales are not something that I shop at regularly but this spring and summer I really
want to try and go to more.
--Craigslist--
I have had really good luck on craigslist for my last few purchases. I don't buy a ton off the site, but when I'm looking for something specific it's a budget friendly option I like suggest trying.
The bottom right and the two other bottom photos are all things that I have purchased from Craigslist. Our master bedroom headboard and footboard I paid $30 for. They are originally from Broyhill Furniture and were a light wood color. I don't think you can see it but the right corner on the footboard has a little damage to it, but once I chalk painted it, you can hardly notice the issue. The bottom left picture is a twin size Jenny Lind bed that I paid $100 for. If you know anything about the brand Jenny Lind, they can be very expensive beds and within the last few years have become a popular name brand item.
It's for sure one of my favorite craigslist finds of all time. It's currently painted black and resides in Layton's room. The lower right chest I bought right before we moved into our new home. It was $75 and is all real wood and was dark in color. I used Miss Mustard Seeds Milk Paint in the color Ironstone and it gave it a light white wash feel. The raspberry colored knobs are from Hobby Lobby and add a pop of color. It is presently in our living room and holds DVD's in the top drawers and all the other drawers contain the boy's toys. It serves as a great storage piece.
Knick Knacks:
I tend to have a harder time finding good knick knack items to decorate with. I usually look for these type of items at goodwill or at garage sales. It seems like I have better luck when I am wanting to do a project and go in looking for specific items that are already in my mind. This plate wall, for instance, was something that I knew I wanted to do when we moved, so every time I went into goodwill I knew I needed to browse the plate isle. Plates at the goodwill in our area run anywhere from $0.25 to $0.99, so overall it was going to be in inexpensive project. It took some time finding the plates and the decorative eye of a friend coming over and helping me hang them all, but I would say the entire project cost around $40.
Below are a few of the staple items that I always get at goodwill
when the condition and price is right:
--Globes--
I LOVE to decorate with globes. I don't know what it is,
I just love the industrial feel along with the different sizes, shapes,
and colors of globes you can find. They are interesting. They are unique. And I love them.
--Old Books--
Books-old and new are a MUST in decorating. They add height, are a great space filler,
and when decorating are just something you have to have.
--Black Picture Frames--
According to my friend Brittany and her sister Brooke every room must have black in it somewhere. Black is timeless, classic, and in picture frame form, the neutral color to go with. I always like to say the chunkier the better-so when I find a thick (preferably matted) black picture frame, I buy it.
--Greenery--
My friends laugh because of my love for greenery, but in actuality I've made them just as obsessed. Greenery whether alive or fake is a necessity when decorating. It adds a freshness, a pop of texture, and bold color when mixed throughout your home. It's everywhere in my home and I always look for it when shopping. You usually can't find it in places like goodwill but sometimes you can, when you are lucky. My favorite places to find greenery are HomeGoods, Marshall's/T. J. Maxx, and Hobby Lobby.
--Birds & or Owls--
The trend right now is birds and or owls. I have been able to find several lately at goodwill for $0.99. Whenever you spot a bird or owl, BUY IT. It adds personality to a space and can put that final touch on an area you are decorating.
I snagged this adorable green owl for $0.99 a few months back and found him the perfect home
(for now anyway) in our master bedroom!
--Coffee and Travel Mugs--
I have an obsession with cute coffee mugs, especially polka dotted mugs. I paid $0.75 for all three of these and use them all of the time. Coffee mugs are cute and can spruce up your coffee bar area for literally just some change.
--Glassware--
I always browse the glassware section of goodwill. The goodwill in our area has most of their glassware for around $0.59-$1.00. I was in need of new glasses a few weeks ago and knew before I went exactly what I would look for--these adorable Mason Jar Glasses with the handle. There is just something simply southern about drinking out a Mason Jar. They ran me $0.59 each. I am on the hunt for more so that I can have a cabinet full.
Another thing that is good to think about when scoping out glassware of any goodwill is the cute vases and glass jars you can find. They come in all sizes, shapes, and sometimes colors. I have a pantry shelf full of jars and vases and they come in the most handy when putting on a wedding shower or a baby shower.
I hope these tips and tricks helped! Like I said before, these are not things that I came up with, but things that were suggested to me from my decorating friends. I continue to shop at goodwill almost every week so there will be plenty more goodwill gems I will eventually share!
Happy Decorating!
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