Who Says Decorating Your Home has to Cost a King’s Ransom & Your Firstborn Child!

I wanted to share some simple ideas with you, to help get you excited about your home during this new year!

Have you heard the old saying “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”? Well, I’ve always thanked God for the opportunity that I’ve had to develop my creativity in a very special way 🙂

As a teenager, I remember a gal who would go into a very expensive department store and buy a whole room display. Then, she would comment on the “deal” that she was able to get, because she bought the whole thing! Of course it cost thousands of dollars, but to her, it was something that looked beautiful – and it was already “pulled together” for her. For some people, having the “work” done for you is a huge relief, but for some reason, I couldn’t be happy doing things this way! I think it’s because, although the end result is wonderful, for me, the creative journey of getting there is still such a thrill!

For many, the cost factor of “pulling a room together” keeps them from even getting started!

Well, no more!

I’m here to tell you… that you can have a beautiful nest the same way the birds do… by going out and finding beautiful tidbits here & there… and then weaving them together into one beautiful nest!

Something to remember

Your “I found this for only $” might be a very different price point than my “I found this for only $” price!

Example: I was talking to a person who was sharing their excitement about a recent find they had made. It was a vintage pine cupboard that they “only paid $1000” for. Although that was probably a GREAT price for that particular piece, my mind was wandering back to the 2 vintage pine cupboards that I had picked up – one was $2 at a yard sale, and the other was $17 at a local auction. Also, sometimes you find great deals like the ones that I found, and other times… not so much. The point? Use what you have, and find the best deals possible.

For this mantel display I brought in several elements from the cottage garden.
home-decorating

Try to have places around your home, that you can “re-decorate” very quickly & inexpensively.

This helps you put off the urge to “re-decorate” a whole room, while still giving you that fresh look you crave 😉 Here’s a small example from an office in our cottage. I have a few things on a shelf that “speak the same message” – paper weights, black picture frame, a small tin with the same colors as the paper weights, and a black & cream toile covered inspiration board. This shelf changes very often depending on the holiday, season, or my mood 🙂

Office Shelf

This is the space during the summer – but between holidays.
Inspiration Board

Here’s how I changed it up this Christmas.
Christmas Display

I have a box of different paper items, vintage post cards, broken pieces of jewelry, and other little bits & bobs that I can quickly pick through to change up the inspiration board. Keeping pretty little things doesn’t cost any money either! If I get a card that I like, I’ll be sure to keep the front, and write who it was from on the reverse side. Most of the time, people don’t write to much inside of cards but their name, but if they do, you could keep the whole card. I’ve been known to keep gum wrappers (especially the “5” brand – such beautiful metallic colors!), bits of wrapping paper, cut little pieces of calendars, etc., to use in my displays.

Here is a grapevine garland that I made using vines from my yard, then adding a few little clip on birds that I had in my Christmas decorations. Cost? $0
Victorian Home FSBO

In my previous home, I decorated the ceiling around my chandelier by using some bits of craft paint that I had left over, a few pictures that I cut out of a magazine, and some stenciled grapes. Cost? $0
Victorian Home FSBO

You can make a beautiful natural looking display on a table top or end table by grouping several things that “speak the same thing” – such as these clay pots, some plants, an old watering can, a cast iron bunny, and a basket. They all seem to say… life… well, to me anyway 😉
Garden Things Make Nice Indoor Displays

Here is a display made of items that are mostly from the $1 store, thrift store, yard sales, and discount stores. I some of my favorite items that were similar in color & theme. This is a Spring display.
Vintage Pine Cabinet

Here it is in Fall
Vintage Red Cupboard

And last Christmas
Vintage Pine Cupboard Redo

Here’s a little display that YELLS Spring. I used a little greenhouse that I picked up for a couple of dollars at “Big Lots”, an iron bunny, a few plastic eggs, a doily found in the bottom of a $1 auction box, and a picture of roses found at the thrift store for .99!
Bunnies & Blossoms

You might remember seeing the bunny’s sister in the clay pot display or in the picture above? That’s because… I’ve learned, that if you really like a piece like that and you can buy it for a reasonable price, you should probably pick up more than one. That way you can use the second one in other displays around the house.

By this picture, you can see that I decided to pick up more than one iron bunny, and several eggs (they look so real!). Now I have several to sprinkle around the house in different displays, yet they all help pull the current them together.
Bunny Display

This works especially well if the two items have different poses, such as the pair of iron birds that I found for under $5. This display is a close up of one of the pictures above. The shelf was made by my husband, from an old board taken from a wall in our previous 1856 village home when we re-built that section of the room.
Love Birds

Here are some great ideas from others


Here is a beautiful kitchen island – made from a “found” dresser, with an added tile counter top.
Kitchen Island

Here is a beautiful bench made by Connie over at Life at Treetop Cottage. She used an iron headboard that they no longer needed, then added the extra pieces to make this beautiful bench!
Christmas Bench - Trash to Treasure

Here’s an old quilting frame that was turned into a BEAUTIFUL curtain rod from Home Again Vintage Treasures
Curtain rod

In this picture, several discarded suitcases were used as a new decoration – and new storage! Also notice the picture frame on the wall that now holds books!
Trash to Treasure

Look at what was done with this discarded suitcase! BEAUTIFUL!
trash to treasure

So don’t let the fear of getting started – or – the cost that others might pay keep you from pulling together beautiful rooms & displays in your home!

Our readers are so creative! Please share your ideas & pictures of your “nest” in our Home & Garden Forums!

Don’t Just Bag Them & Toss Them Out – Use Your Old Clothing to Make Enough Money For a Whole New Wardrobe ;)

I am so in the mood to clear out closets, bag everything up that we don’t need & find a way to rid our home of the extra clutter! I’ve come to expect this feeling around this same time each year, but this year I feel particularly motivated 😉

In the case of your clothes closet, I’m sure that you have piles of clothes that don’t fit you anymore – maybe the kids have outgrown some – or maybe you’re not into those retro styles that you’ve been storing in your closet since the 70’s for… who knows what 😉

This year, instead of trashing them, or simply bagging them up & stuffing them into the goodwill dumpster, why not use this idea to earn back some of that hard earned cash to use on new clothing that you might need!

Sell your clothes through consignment shops!

Consignment shops will take your clothes, put a high enough price on them so you can each make a nice profit. Using this method you both win! The shops get more stock to sell, and you get the stuff out of your house & make some money to boot!

Here’s how to get started.

Call all of the consignment shops in your area & find out who has the best options for you to sell your clothes.

– Wash the clothes
– Mend anything needing a touch up.
– Put them on hangers
– Take them to the shop
– Wait for them to call you & tell you how much you’ve earned 😉

You wouldn’t believe it, but I also know of folks who do this as a way to earn a good extra income!

They go to all the rummage type sales that they can find, buy the best of the clothes, tidy them up, & take them into the consignment shops around town.

We have a few nice places in my area that have occasional .50 cent bag sales! For .50 cents, you get everything that you can stuff into a large trash bag! You wouldn’t believe the great things that I’ve gotten at those sales! My favorite finds have been – beautiful Victorian lace up shoes, and an Italian silk suit for my husband! Anyway, use those great deals to get as many nice pieces that you can, then resell them through the shops.

Finding the best name brand clothes will bring you the most money. Also, if you deal with vintage clothing shops, you could get some nice bucks out of those old retro things taking up space in your closet 😉

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* Pictured is a little corner of my home – wood trimmed rusty tin star that we received as a Christmas gift, a little red & black crackled foot stool that I picked up at a local shop, and another one of my Pottery Barn glass jar + candle combos (got both very cheap, but I think they make such a nice little addition to any room 🙂

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While driving in Pennsylvania, a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign… “Energy efficient vehicle: It Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust.”
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