decorating on a budget

Told you the pretties would be back soon :)

It has taken me nearly the entire six years of living in our home to get it to the point I consider perfectly represents my style/vision. I was far from unhappy leading up to this point! No, I've enjoyed every stage my home has been in. And at each point in time, I loved the look. But as I've matured - I turned the big 3-0 last year! - so has my style, and I can truly say my home is my definition of perfection.

You have to remember back to where we started as newlyweds: no money. None. We used furniture we each brought to the marriage - his from days of living on his own as a bachelor, and mine from my parents' house, mainly items I inherited from my grandparents - and we arranged what we had to best suit our desires. Over time, we used thrift store finds and (sometimes wasted money on) cheap big-box store items. 

Today our home is a mixture of family pieces, thrift store finds, handmade items, and the occasional new purchase. I say all this to encourage you that if you are starting out on this homemaking journey, and have no funds, don't fret! I'll share some tips on how to achieve the look you long for anyway.

You have a birthday every year, and Christmas comes every year, too. Share with those close to you your desire to decorate your home beautifully. If they're open to it, direct them to your Pinterest boards. You will likely get some duds, but you will also likely get some gems (or giftcards, so you can purchase your own gems). I found a gorgeous pair of Ethan Allen wingback chairs at Goodwill for $40/each, and asked my mom to get them for me for my birthday. Though $80 is an incredible price for them, I still didn't feel we could spend that much money on chairs. Mom to the rescue! Also, if you and your spouse or roommate exchange Christmas gifts, you could maybe agree to forego them one year in favor of pooling your money for home décor items.

Make secondhand your jam. If you have an eclectic style, or desire a true "farmhouse" type look, why would you want brand spanking new anyway? Old pieces have character; previously owned pieces hold so many stories; and owning something unlikely to be replicated makes for a more unique look. Our media cabinet (the third one we've owned and it will definitely be our last) used to belong to a friend who buys and sells antiques. I told her that if she ever wanted to get rid of it, to please let me know. She did. We bought it for $35, it's gorgeous and is the statement piece in our living room, and it hides the TV! 

When you can't buy, DIY. Obviously there are varying levels of skill needed depending on what you want to make, but at least consider this option. For Christmas one year I asked Jake to make me a farmhouse dining table, and drew him some ideas of how I wanted it to look. For less than $100 he made it happen. People ask us all the time where we bought it - and, by the way, we have zero fancy tools and he will tell you he's not at all skilled. Nearly anyone can do this. With some of the leftover wood, we made a coffee table (not matching - that's too expected for my style!). As I've mentioned before, we also have a beautiful pie safe that Jake's great grandpa made. He was a very skilled woodworker, so if you do have the talent and the necessary tools, try making some more intricate pieces. My brother has made some beautiful furniture, based off of items he and his wife saw and liked in stores like Restoration Hardware.

Pinterest! So maybe this one should have come first. Because ultimately, to save money decorating, you must know what you like. Make boards for the different rooms of your home, and one board entitled "mood". I have a "mood" board, and that's where I pin the looks that I love, but I just can't figure out what exactly it is that I love about them. Then go back through your boards and see if there is a recurring theme, or colors, or arrangements. I discovered that I love (what I think of as) a French-type look with lots of white, open, airy spaces, with a few beautiful antiques taking center stage. I love making the hardworking pieces beautiful, and really using my beautiful pieces. I inherited a gorgeous, ornate bedroom suite from my grandparents, and a few years ago I lent the headboard to my parents because I wanted Jake to make me a farmhouse style headboard, so the room wouldn't be too matchy matchy. Well, just recently we put our original headboard back on, and because of the abundance of white and linen in the space, the matching doesn't bother me at all. Our bedroom is exactly the "mood" I've been pinning all along.

Shop your home. Periodically, I think it's fun to go through all my rooms and "shop" for one particular area I'm focusing on. Before we got our beautiful media armoire, I tried using our nightstands, what is now the toy dresser, and baby's small Ikea dressers, all as TV stands. I really liked each option for different reasons. Remember that you own your stuff, and not the other way around, so you can use whatever you want wherever you want to achieve the look you're going for.

I hope these ideas have at least given you a starting off point for your quest to decorate your home on a budget. Just give it time. I wish I had lived in our space a little longer before I started purchasing/asking for random items just to fill a space. But hey - my decorating rejects are now sitting at the local Goodwill, and I know they will fit someone's taste! Enjoy this journey. Make your home your own personal work of art.