Be cheap yet chic when decorating your space!
YouTube is mostly known for spawning such video hits as “Charlie Bit Me” and “My New Hair Cut,” but it also has great videos featuring detailed, step-by-step instructions for completing home decor projects. When I was painting the chevron striped rug I made last fall, I used YouTube as a guide. I’d definitely encourage y’all to check it out whenever you need instruction (or a good laugh).
These are some of my favorite videos…
My wish list for my future home is pretty extensive, but I thought I would share with you the top three items I’m dying to have in my home. What do you want in your dream home?
1. An apron front sink: These sinks are amazing! I love the way they look in a kitchen. I love doing the dishes (weird, I know), so I think having a sink like this would make doing the dishes especially interesting!
Photo from Bathroom Sink Online
2. Trellis wallpaper: Wallpaper is a huge commitment, so it’s very important that you like the print and color of the wallpaper you choose. I think this trellis print would never get old! And the grey and white colors are calming and classic.
Photo from House of Turquoise
3. Bookshelves: I love love love bookshelves! I would love to have them in my bedroom or family room to display my favorite books, trinkets from travels, and beloved photos. They’re so eye-catching!
Photo from Angie Hranowsky
What do you believe windows are for? Letting light in? A place to put curtains? A way to let fresh air in?
Personally, I think windows are a way to open up your interior space to a view. A great view, whether it’s a city skyline, crashing waves on a beach shore, or the 18th hole on a golf course, can serve as art work for your home. These images are some of the places I’m wishing I could have as my viewpoint. Wouldn’t you love to look out your window and see these places every day?
Photo from Dishfunctional Designs
While you cannot create a view, you can draw attention to it. Make your window with a great view serve as the focal point of a room and design the room and its layout around that view. The colors that are in this view (for example, the blacks, blues, silvers, and greys in a city skyline view) could create the color palette used in the room with a view.
Photo from Design Crisis
Photo from Pinterest
As someone who has lived in their fair share of small spaces (dorms and apartments), I cannot stress the importance of under-the-bed storage enough. I never had any built-in under-the-bed storage like some of these beds featured here, but I did have great-looking storage bins from Target that held all of my seasonal clothing.
Photo from Martha Stewart Home & Garden
Not only does under-the-bed storage provide a place to put your items that are not frequently used, it’s also a way to store unsightly items that are often an eyesore when out in the open (toys, piles of clothing, etc.). I’d love to try this DIY tutorial for creating under-the-bed storage containers that are both stylish and functional.
Photo from Better Homes and Gardens
What are other ways that you utilize the space under your bed? I’d love to hear!
Ahh, trunks! Aren’t they fabulously glamorous? I wish I was traveling to places on fancy trains with a steamer trunk full of beautiful clothes. They can hold so much and look so stylish while storing all of your belongings. My heart skips a beat when I see these Louis Vuitton trunks. Oh my heavens!
Photo from Legacy Trunks
In college, I used a wicker trunk (not exactly a steamer trunk, but good in a pinch) as a coffee table/storage unit for blankets, pillows, and board games. My mom uses her dad’s trunk he was issued by the Navy as a place to store all of our old dress-up costumes. It also serves as a coffee table in our playroom.
Photo from Song of Style
I think trunks are an amazing and inexpensive way to provide storage for items you don’t use every day (blankets, holiday decorations, DVDs, etc.) as well as a great item to use as a coffee table. They are durable, easy to clean, and available at many thrift stores and garage sales. Some might be pricier than others, depending on who made the trunk, when it was made, and what it is made out of.
Photo from Pearls and Pajamas
Smaller trunks make great side tables, especially when several are stacked on top of each other. Their vintage vibe and sense of history are such a great addition to a room!
Photo from Song of Style
Ahh, shutters! I love them! They make me think of spring because I envision throwing them open to let the cool spring air in as you complete your spring cleaning and start the season anew.
Photo from Prep to the Max
I also think of shutters as great eye makeup for a home. They’re so quaint and add such personality to a home’s exterior. I would love to have shutters on my future home. Don’t they just make you want to throw open the doors and windows to greet the new day?
Photo from Dishfunctional Designs
If you can’t have shutters on the outside of your home, you can have art work or furniture made from shutters. There are tons of DIY projects that utilize shutters. Some of my favorites include a headboard made from shutters and a plant stand made from old shutters.
Photo from Curbly
There is something about rattan furniture that I just adore. It’s laid-back, sturdy, and easy to clean and care for. It’s perfect for a porch, a sitting room, or even a semi-formal living room.
Photo from Chic Coles
Rattan reminds me of summertime. When I think of rattan furniture, I remember being a little girl on our family friend’s covered porch, sitting on her rattan love seat and clutching a sweating glass of lemonade. This type of furniture can be dressed up or down depending on the pillows and seat cushions used as well as the location in which it is placed. I am OBSESSED with this rattan lounge. Wouldn’t it be so fun to have in an entryway in a beach house?
Photo from Apartment Therapy
Rattan is relatively inexpensive and I am always finding it at yard sales and thrift stores. Just make sure to test it out to make sure the seat bottom is sturdy!
Photo from Because It’s Awesome
Photo from It’s a Mod World
Woo-wee, it was hard to come up with a design-related item for ‘Q!’ I had to get creative (and used my mom as a source), and I’ve decided that ‘Q’ stands for Questions. I’m often asked interior design questions, so I’ve chosen the top 3 most-asked questions and I’m providing my insight! Here it goes…
1. What should I look for when buying furniture at a thrift store, yard sale, or consignment store?
Make sure anything you buy, whether it’s furniture, clothing, or any other items, is of good quality. When purchasing furniture at a thrift store or other discount place, make sure to try the item out. If it’s a chair, sit in it and make sure it’s comfortable. Check to make sure the upholstery is good and the springs aren’t popping up through the fabric.
Make sure that anything with legs (chairs, tables, etc.) doesn’t wobble or shake. If it’s a bit loose, make sure a simple tightening of the screws will fix this problem. Don’t spend a lot of money on anything made of particle board or plastic. While they may be inexpensive, they can also be cheaply made and will eventually need to be replaced. Spend your money wisely now and go for quality pieces with “good bones” (pretty lines, solid foundation, etc.).
If you have any doubts about a piece, don’t buy it!
Photo from Mr-Robert.com
2. What do you think is the cheapest way to make a room look better and different?
Paint, paint, paint! It’s AMAZING what paint can do for both a room and a piece of furniture. My all-time favorite thing to do is to take a boring, run of the mill piece of furniture and spray paint it in a bright color. The piece instantly looks brand new and exciting! The same goes for a room. Paint the whole room a new color or, if you’re feeling a bit hesitant about painting the whole place, pick one wall to paint and allow it to serve as your accent wall. You’ll be amazed at how just one coat of paint can completely transform the look and feel of a space.
Photo from Moroccan Mayam
3. What should every room have in it as part of its decor?
Art work! No matter what type of art work you admire (finger paintings done by your children, Ansel Adams photographs, or idyllic garden scenes), make sure to display it in all of your spaces. Art work adds warmth to a space and allows your personality to shine in a room. If you live in a place where you’re not permitted to paint the walls, hanging art work can be the next best solution. Hang photos or paintings with a common subject matter together to create a gallery wall or lean art work on bookshelves or your mantle. The opportunities are endless!
Photo from Simply Seleta
Every time I think of pillows, I think of that scene in Along Came Polly when Jennifer Anniston questions Ben Stiller’s overuse of throw pillows on his bed. While I agree that too many pillows on a bed just makes for a ridiculous routine when you have to make the bed, I don’t think you can go wrong when it comes to having pillows on a sofa, settee, chair, bench, or window seat.
Photo from Joanne Clothing, Champagne and Strawberry
Pillows can add the perfect pop of color, pattern, and texture that a room needs. I love seeing pillows of different shapes and sizes on a sofa. They are such a great way to show off your personality and add character to a space. These are some of the pillows I’m lusting after! Of course, a monogrammed pillow was included!
Photo from Horchow
Photo from Luxury Monograms
Photo from Etsy
I’ve always been somewhat confused by occasional tables. For starters, their name is so sad! Wouldn’t you hate to be labeled as only needed “on occasion”? Secondly, they don’t have enough space to hold a great deal of items.
Photo from Pinterest
As I began to research occasional tables and their origin, I learned a lot! Occasional tables can also serve as end tables and began as a precursor to the modern day coffee table. These occasional tables were tall because the sofas of the day were usually high-backed settees. They had a small surface area because they were used solely for placing cups of coffee or tea.
Occasional Tables used in a Living Room. Photo from Pinterest
As sofas began to widen and have lower backs, the coffee table eventually became rectangular and was designed to be placed in front of the sofa where cups and saucers could be set when not in use.
Photo from Pinterest
I often find loads of occasional tables at thrift stores and garage sales. They usually need a good sanding and a fresh coat of paint, but they’re so cheap and easy to re-do! I think they’re best painted in a bright shade and used as end tables or as a side table by a club chair. I’m hoping to find some in my next journey to the thrift store; I’ll make sure I include a DIY tutorial on how to paint a side table soon.
