Decorating on a {tight} budget

As of lately, John and I have decided that for many reasons we {this family} should become a little lot more aware of how we spend the money God allows us to make.  No doubt my husband works very hard to provide for his family and thankfully he supports me and my heart to stay home with our children.  So with only one income we don't always get to "keep up with the Joneses'" as they say.  Now, we certainly are not deprived in any way. We have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, wheels that roll, food in our bellies, and plenty of "things" that are not necessaties. As I've said before, we are blessed. 

 {And for a little side-note:::sometimes the best blessings are not things}.

Back to my story....I feel that God has impressed upon my heart to be more content.  To offer more opportunity for blessing others.  To not be "in debt" to our own desires {much less the creditors}, but to live in pure joy and contentment with our lives just as they are.

Do you know how hard that is sometimes?

Being conservative is much more work than spending freely.  It's a constant battle with your mind and your "wanter".  You know, none of us necessarily like the word, No.

Saying no to self is a job in and of itself :)

{Read Between Me & You and The Inspired Room . Both have just recently posted some great posts on this same subject.}

With that being said, I have a small confession to make::: I am a junk-store junkie and I love to decorate;)

Okay, for some that was not a secret but anyway....

So I am now a junk-store junkie decorating on a {tight} budget! 

I have found that it can be kinda fun to hunt for the bargains.  Makes it a little more entertaining.  And I do like a good deal.

 But..........

Another confession::: I am a perfectionist.  Decorating {or anything for that matter} on a budget doesn't always work too well when having to stay within the budget.  Especially for a perfectionist.

The reality is, keeping myself in check helps to control the perfectionist in me and "makes" me accept things the way they are.  So see, it's all good ;)

So, here we are....a house decorated on a {tight} budget....
Welcome:::

That little bistro table and chairs were free. Yup. {I'll tell you a little more about the free part later}. I love them and they fit perfectly on my teeny-weeny front porch, so we are happy.

I've mentioned before how much I l-o-v-e a fireplace.  And that I've dreamed about one since I got married and had a house of my own.  Unfortunately I have no fireplace and I'm not seeing one in the budget any time soon.  But I do have a beautiful mantel.  And for now I can handle that.  It's just perfect for those Christmas stockings that will be hung soon. We'll add the fire part to it one day.

 

This is probably a good time to make yet another confession:::  Remember the free table and chairs on the porch? I have a really sweet friend that is the most generous and precious person I know, and without her I would not be blessed with a lot of my "stuff". So thank you Ms. Treba {I mean Treva}. We love you! You are the best!} The beautiful mantel belonged to her as well. She added those awesome corbels and I added a coat of paint to it.

The window and shutters were also given to me from Treva.  See, I told you she is precious!

This is it for now.....not exactly 'right', but Christmas is coming and those stockings will be hung and some fresh greenery.  Cannot wait!

I was noticing as I took these pictures, that nothing in this room has been purchased {at full price}, since we have been married except the two end tables and lamps.



 

This table used to be under the TV.  It also has a story. It belonged to my granny and is over 100 years old. 



Now, it is sitting in my bedroom.





Speaking of my bedroom.....



See that empty space above the bed....I need an idea.



I cannot figure out what needs to go there.

{the white chest- a junkstore find-$25; the bookshelves- given to me by another sweet friend; the bed, armoire, and chest of drawers-bought by husband before "I Do" so paid for by him; the nightstands-made by my father-in-law; the nightstand table cloths-made by my mother-in-law; the lamps-need new ones; the ficus tree-given to us.}

The kitchen:::

This was such a fun project.   Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?





To save $$$, we decided that we would paint the cabinets ourselves.  Oh. my. goodness.  What. a. big. job! I am glad {now that it's all over} that we saved the money.  They are definitely not professional quality so don't look closely, but they are white and bright.  And. Done.  And I have loved them so far.  And the best part::: the entire kitchen project done for around $300.

Before:::





After:::








{I love this verse}





{the table and chairs for the kid's coloring spot- junkstore- $20 for everything.}


Before:::

The eating area:::







After:::



{the kitchen table-purchased at the junkstore for the same price that I sold the old kitchen table!}



{the table-given to me by my sweet, sweet friend-the same one that gave me the mantel, etc... the chair- purchased at the junkstore for $10}}



Laundry room:::

This is still a work in progress, but I'll give you a preview.

Before:::



I called it the dungeon.  You can see why.

After:::






{another gift from my friend}

There's more projects going on around here, but I've run out of time.  I'll be back.