{ Out with the Old and In with the New }
Revamping on a Budget
As you can see - we have a smaller living space than when we lived on the beach. Going from a 3 bedroom cottage on the beach to a 1 bedroom open-concept apartment in a complex is not ideal for someone who loves shopping and decorating. But for the past year I have made it work.
And although our place looked "nice", it felt a little out of date. It was warm and cozy but felt too much like my mother's house. She has the same exact color scheme and most of the inspiration behind this were ideas I got from how she decorates. And of course even some of the items in my house were stolen from her's! It felt kind of 80's-like with the draping, shear, curtains. So I've known for quite awhile that my living room didn't reflect my personality. I say "my" and "mine" because in scenarios like this, my husband wants nothing to do with creating. I just simply point and yell and he hammers in nails and does the more manly part of things! Often on days off from work, I watch the Nate Berkus show ( I just love him ) and I love all his re-decorating ideas. Not to mention I follow a number of amazing blogs that host D-I-Y posts on a regular basis. So my brain is always running with ideas. I just normally don't have the time or money to put anything together.
This past Saturday the husband and I decided to do a little shopping. We stopped at the Flea Market first where I bought him a silver chain, bracelet, and even a new wedding band for his birthday. I admit, buying such an important piece of jewelry from such a cheap place seems crazy, but PJ isnt very picking about what to put on his finger. He is a laborer/mechanical assembler and bumps his fingers up pretty badly, so this is just the second ring of many he will wear!
Next we hit up C.W. Price, which just replaced A.J. Wright - another chain of stores on the T.J. Maxx and Marshall's line. Originally we went there so PJ could get some clothes and maybe a pair of shoes. But while he couldn't find anything, I found everything! I came across this rug - it was so modern and sleek looking and CHEAP I just had to have it. From there, I built the entire living room around it. I didn't even know that this store carried home goods. Normally I would shop at (Marshall's) Home Goods, Big Lots, or The Christmas Tree Shop. Next I found these curtains. The picture quality is kind of poor because I am in the process of getting a new smart phone so right now I am using a crappy black berry. They are a teal color, thick, with a damask imprinted pattern. Then I found the pillows. They are a light teal color with circular patterns sewn all over the front. Which, after carefully inspecting them I realize I could easily replicate them! I also knew that I would need some centerpieces of my coffee table to replace the runner and candles I had before. I found a very cute green/blue picture frame and large green glass vase. Perfect!
CHEAP REVAMP
Rug $30 - 2 Curtains $24.99 - 2 Throw Pillows $9.99
Green and Blue Picture Frame $4.99 - Green Vase $12.99
new artwork for the walls - free!
Taking old (or new frames) and throwing together something custom is real cute.
You can use construction paper, paint, pop out lettering, or even a sharpie.
Click HERE for my tutorial on D-I-Y custom pictures!!
new canvas painting - free!
If you go back up to the top of the page and take a peek above my couch, you will see a larger reddish-brown canvas painting that I had purchased from Walmart for $30 a few years ago. It said something like "live, love, faith, happiness" and it matched really well with my decor (then) so this time around I new I wanted something unique and simple.
I had my hubby pull the painting off the wall and spray paint it white. Then I took out my paint brush and paints and with a gray colored pencil I sketched out the design I wanted for this piece. I incorporated the diamonds to kind of match the damask pattern on the curtains, then I added into the swirls/vines to match the leaf feeling of the rug and the picture frame on my coffee table. I also used an extra piece of fabric (green & white stripes) and a diamond jewel to create flowers on the canvas which gave it a nice 3D texture look. These are also the same materials I used to revamp the lamp, below. Overall, I was not happy with the picture. I did not have teal or aqua paint. I had to use a dark blue and add white in to lighten it up, same with the green. The teal on the right hand side of the painting was actually done by a colored pencil. I also used a black sharpie to outline the diamonds which were done with black paint. Only until I hung the piece on the wall was I satisfied. It looked much better hanging up with the candles and frames beside it. But again, a cheap way to get a custom piece to match any decor!
new lamp and shade - free!
My father-in-law gave us this pink lamp when we first moved in. I initially thought it was ugly (sorry) but we needed a little more light so it was fine. I decided to hubby also spray paint the lamp, in a green color (to match the green vase on the coffee table) and this is silly - but I did not know how I was going to revamp this lamp. I wanted to use extra stuff I had laying around the house. I found 4 place mats in the closet that I had gotten for the kitchen and never used. I took out my glue gun. I cut a few pieces of extra (green and white striped) fabric and I grabbed a few diamond jewel accent pieces. I glued the place mats onto the lamp shade and then glued the fabric on, and the diamonds in place to kind of look like a flower in the center.
Over all, we love the way the room came out. It has been brought up to date and modern, and now I am looking forward to revamping my kitchen next, I'll probably use a dark yellow color... so keep an eye out for my next project!
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