Inching Along

So I'm still working on EVERY room in the house .  I went to Garden Ridge this Sunday and found a FABULOUS throw pillow for my bed.  I kid you not, you'd think it was part of my bedroom set. Which had coordinating pillows available.  At an additional cost of $30 and $45 each.  Um...no thanks.  This rectangular pillow was $15 and looks fabulous.  I'm waiting for the black body pillow cover to come in to complete the the pillow transformation, and I need to pick up the Euro pillows I never bothered with before.  Mike found the black bed skirt (yeah hubby!!) so that's in place.  End table are still desperately needed, as are new lamps for the end tables.  I might have found some good options at Garden Ridge as well.  I plan to go back tomorrow with my pillow shams to visualize a little better.

In the living room, the artwork has arrived.  It doesn't fit in a single frame I own :(  However, I realized those dark wooden frames are really...too dark for this room.  When we get our next family photo's done, I'll order a BIG one, mat and frame it, and use it in the stair well.  The stair well is my answer to a lot of odds and ends with pictures.  I'm going for an eclectic look.  Trust me, it's definitely that.  I also picked up some shears to match the other two windows, and found a great coordinating rod for $15.  Excellent.  Except I forgot that this window is much larger than the other two.  So I need to pick up two more.  $5 each, so no complaints there.

I have drapes for my daughter's room.  Really cute, really awesome, really I-got-them-for-a-steal (and bought them because of the price, knowing I didn't really have much use for them) drapes.  I saw them when we cleaned out the garage at the other house.  I commented how PERFECT they would be for my daughter's room.  Absolutely no clue where they are, even after cleaning out a huge portion of the garage.  So I got some fill in drapes.  Cute, with lavender and lime polka dots.  They'll work until I find what I know I have!  She still needs a bookcase (desperately) and a desk chair, but we're coming along nicely in there...aside from the mess of a 13 year old child...

The most complete (and surprisingly clean) room is my youngest son.  Not sharing a room suits him very well.  His first poster about the solar system arrived last week with the living room art.  I'm headed to Michael's tomorrow to get a frame (they have a great sale going on this week!!) and maybe something for the prints in the living room.

I finally found a bistro set that I like for the kitchen at a price I'm willing to pay.  Seriously, sometimes I feel SO cheap.  But I refuse to spend $$$ on things I know will could get damaged by kids.  

I've decided I want horizontal storage bins above my desk, on the wall, same height as my hutch.  Again, I'm not willing to pay for pre-made ones that won't hold up (because they're cheap) or the Pottery Barn ones that I know will look beautiful, but are ridiculously expensive (even if the kids won't be able to reach them).  I'm thinking that while Mike is making my oldest son a matching bed frame, I might start a project!!

No photo's today.  Nothing is complete, and I'm tiring of posting unfinished rooms.  But soon...!!!

Splurge vs. Reality

While decorating my new home, I definitely have to keep in mind The Budget.  In a perfect world, I wouldn't have one.  I would find my inspiration, buy it, and be done.  But that's not going to happen to me any time soon unless I win the lottery (note to self, remember to actually buy a lottery ticket!).  

The internet is a wonderful tool because it allows you to really "see" what's out there and get some great design inspiration.  Someone recently told me they never go to the pricier web sites because it's depressing.  I have to say, I don't agree at all!  I love snoop shopping on designer web sites.  I love getting beautiful catalogs.  They're great for getting the idea, and then copying it for a lot less.

For example, here are two sets dishes:

 

Aside from the cup an saucer in the second photo, these dishes, for all intent and purpose, are the same.  They are similar in style, and are the same size.  The first set is from World Market.  A set of four dinner plates will cost you $15.96.  The second set is from William & Sonoma.  The same four plates have a cost of $80.   Needless to say, I own the dishes from World Market.  And when my kids drop one (and then two!) I go down and buy another set of four without crying.  Much more practical and I get the same affect.

Do you remember my post Fall Updates?  I found those beautiful pumpkins at Horchow that I absolutely fell in love with.  But not the $375 price tag!  Sometimes I can copy something that I love for a much better price.  The pumpkins were $2 each and the bag of crystals was $10.  This year I plan to add several more (and more crystals to the two in the photo - that was all that Hobby Lobby had that day!)  So about $25 by the time I'm done. That's a price I can live with!

One really great way to help copy more expensive looks is Pinterest, which I shared in my last post.  I can grab photo's of beautiful, high end things or looks, and then search until I've found or duplicated what I love. I have several boards for different purposes, and I love them.

Take for example, my new desk.  I knew I had to have a smaller desk.  This new house, while larger, no longer has a dedicated office space (the first time in 12 years, HUGE change for me!!).  So I knew I needed something functional and practical, that would fit in a small space.  I looked, and pinned, a LOT of desks.  Not just desks, but office looks.  And then I narrowed it down.  The corner desk that I really liked?  Out.  No corners in my house to one in!  Another desk was lovely with lots of cubbies and storage, something I could really use, but it was BIG.  Too big for my small space.

Here was one of my inspiration looks:

And here is what I actually bought:

Is it exactly the same?  Nope.  But the first desk is $400 for the desk and $250 for the hutch.  Total cost of $650.  The desk I bought was $120 and the hutch was $70.  Actually, I got both pieces on sale for $120 with a coupon - shop smart!!  The new desk fits perfectly in my space, and my filing cabinet (on sale at Staples for $40 a few years back) has the same finish, so it looks like I purchased a matched set!

So don't avoid high end catalogs or web sites for your ready to decorate or update your space!