I asked Dina to guest post on my blog. She is one of the first blogs I started reading years ago when I first started blogging. Her posts always make me laugh and I just LOVE her house! She has given me great ideas on how to get a home you love while not spending a ton. Creativity and paint go a long way! Her house is super colorful and full of finishing touches and she has an absolutely adorable curly headed 3 year old Katie Belle.
Hi Guys! I'm Dina.
I love to make my house homey, comfortable, colorful, fun and I really love to decorate for the holidays.
Brittany wanted me to talk about decorating on a budget. That's my specialty.
There are 2 reasons I decorate on a budget.
1. I don't have a choice! My husband's a fireman and I am a stay at home mom to my almost 3 year old, Katie Belle. Both are dream jobs, but we aren't rolling in the dough.
2. I like to change things up often in my home. That's easier to do when you don't spend a lot on decor.
My husband, Marcus, and I have been married 13 1/2 years. We have lived in 5 different houses! We love a good fixer upper. So these pictures will be from 3 different homes. So don't be confused by the same furniture, but different settings!
This is where we live now, but I don't know for how much longer. I've got the itch to move again!
I feel like what I decorate most with, are windows, shutters and mirrors!
You can find them cheap! Garage sales, flea markets, Goodwill or sometimes curb side. I'm super classy like that.
Those white shutters were from my last house. They were on the door to the little potty room. You felt like you were going into a saloon every time you had to pee. I took them off and put them to better use. They have been red, turquoise and now white. (spray paint is my BFF)
The turquoise mirrors were frames I got at Hobby Lobby for 80% off. I painted them and then had mirrors put in them at a glass shop!
More shutters:
Windows
(plates are good and inexpensive decorations too!)
You can see a whole post I did about decorating with windows here.
Mirrors:
You can see more of my living rooms here.
I love to put sconces on shutters. It is way easier than wiring them in the wall...cheaper too!
You can see more of my guest room and master bedroom here.
This is all painted garage sale furniture
(spray painted), Target bedding, and curtains just made from cotton fabric.
Another way to do things on a budget, is to think outside the box and use what you have.
This colander made a really inexpensive light.
My husband just drilled a hole on the top and attached a light kit. Handy husbands are beneficial when decorating inexpensively!
I got those vintage curtains for $5 at a sidewalk sale. Then later, I used them on Katie's dust ruffle here:
They are mixed with vintage hankies. It's crazy what you can come up with when you HAVE to be creative and cheap! You can see more of Katie's room here.
I got this chandelier at Ikea. It was just plain black wrought iron and only about $30. I wanted it to be a little less Plain Jane, so I added some beads...lots of beads. I just strung them on a wire and wrapped it around the arms of the chandelier.
You can buy nice glass beads at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. Wait until they are 1/2 off though!
When we moved, I bought the same chandelier again, because I liked it so much!
And you could even do this with clear glass beads or just pick one or two colors if you don't have "Punky Brewster" taste like I do!
Paint is the biggest and one of the cheapest decorating tools ever!
And it's not permanent. Don't be scared to paint. If it doesn't turn out how you like it, paint over it!
These 2 doors in my kitchen are just cheap metal doors. I painted them black and like them SO much better. It was super easy too.
A close up of my "on a budget" wreaths.
They are just strips of fabric wrapped around a foam wreath. Then I glued flowers on them.
You can see more of my kitchen here.
My table is painted now.
I like to change things up, remember.
Both the coffee table and hutch were hand me downs. I spray painted them black. Then I spray painted them again. They are now white!
I love painting stripes for a big impact. The price of paint is a lot of bang for your buck!
This is my current house and I have painted my dining room table and corner cabinet. It's way cheaper than buying a new one. And I used spray paint! Rustoleum Heirloom white.
I did a post on how I paint furniture here. You might not want to take my advice though!
You can see more stripes in the sitting room.
And this wall in our entry is opposite the sitting room wall...more stripes.
That wall has been painted 4 times since we have lived here! Like I said before, don't be scared, just do it. And then change it if you have to. Yes,
it's a pain in the booty, but it's not like child birth or anything!
These pics were taken on Easter. I repainted my shutters too.
And they have sconces on them. Surprise, surprise!
My biggest tip on frugal decorating is;
Don't waste money on stuff you don't love!
Don't buy something just to fill a space! LOVE IT, then buy it! Make sure things in your home represent you and your family.
Thanks Brittany for letting me come over to play!
