Top 5 Places for Affordable Home Decor

So, I'm slightly obsessed with buying new things for my home. I'm constantly switching things up, moving things from room to room, and I am NEVER done. I think I'm just going to have to face that fact. Or in reality it's more like my husband is going to have to face that fact.

But since I'm constantly on the lookout for new stuff and new ways to spruce up my house, I'm pretty much always on a budget. I could go all out and buy one amazing new thing every couple months, or I could be smart about it and get several inexpensive things that play well together and make a big difference. In my years of budget-friendly decorating, I've discovered that there are a few key places to look for really great deals. Here are my personal top five places that I'm always sure to check out.

1.  Target

Oh, Target. What woman out there doesn't have a deep, burning love for good ole' Target? I can't tell you how much stuff I bought for our new house here. Lamps, pillows, wall decor, bedding...I actually bought our dining room chairs here. It never fails, every single time I run into this place I end up in the home section....and every single time, I find something I NEED. What is it about this place? It's like a black hole. I get sucked in and I come out $100 poorer.

2. IKEA

If you don't have an IKEA in your area, I'm sorry. I had heard the legend of IKEA for years before I finally stepped foot in one, and I've never looked back. I actually have one about 15 minutes from my house now, and let me tell you, it ain't bad. IKEA is seriously outrageously affordable. This is another place we got quite a bit of stuff for the new house. My desk chair, which I'm obsessed with, an end table, wall decor....the list goes on and on. And they seriously have basically every single thing you could need in your house. Plus, the display floor where you walk into those fully furnished little apartments is just too much fun for me. It's heavenly, I'm telling you.

3. Hobby Lobby

I know Hobby Lobby has had its share of controversy lately, but man that store has some good home decor! Seriously, if you don't shop here, and there's one in your area, I dare you to go inside and not find something you absolutely must have. I seriously just went in there looking for a Christmas tree and found the most adorable wooden sign for Grayson's bedroom...how did I even end up in that section? It's a mystery to me. Even better, they have 50% off sales every week...and if it's not on sale this week, odds are it will be the next. Amazing. And dangerous.

4. Kirklands

For some reason you don't hear about Kirklands as much, but I'm a fan of the store. This isn't a place that I go into and find something I love every single time, but I have found several really good deals here. A lot of stuff to sit around on shelves, some artwork for the walls, they even have a bit of furniture. This is also a really great place for seasonal decor. Plus, it always smells really good in here. That's gotta count for something.

5. Discount Stores

What I mean by this is stores like Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Ross, etc. These stores can be hit or miss, but sometimes you can get a pretty amazing deal on something pretty good. I've found a lot of regular decor items here, but I've also found sheets, dishes, comforter sets, and gifts for friends and family at these stores. My favorite, and probably the most consistently great, is HomeGoods. It's hard to go in that store without filling up my basket.

There are many, many other places that I shop semi-regularly, but these are definitely my go-to stores when it comes to home furnishings. But that being said, I'm ALWAYS looking for new stores to try. So if I left out your absolute favorite place, please fill me in! I'll love you forever if you give me a new favorite store...but my husband might not be your biggest fan, just a heads up.

Home Tour - The Bedrooms

So I think we're about to wrap up this whole house tour of our first home. We've already covered the kitchen & dining area, the bathrooms, and...nope, just kidding. I forgot about the living room. We'll see if it's worthy of its own post.

But today I'm showing you the bedrooms. This is kind of funny, because these pictures totally represent where we were at that time in our lives. The time of early parenthood. The time when our baby's crib was in our room, and our nursery was converted into an office of sorts. You'll see. And yes, we left it that way when we were showing the house. 

Oh, and again, picture quality is less than stellar. Please forgive me. 

Master Bedroom

The good thing about our room is that it had enough room for a king size bed, all of our furniture, and a crib to fit nicely. When we very first moved in to this house the first thing I did was paint our bedroom and our bathroom, and I really loved the gray walls in there. There's just something about gray walls and white trim that makes me happy...I'm slowly painting walls in our new house, and 100% of it has been gray. 

Wanna know a secret? I made A move the crib downstairs because I couldn't handle the thought of Grayson sleeping upstairs in his room. He slept approximately half of one evening in that thing. The rest of the time he was snuggled right up between us. Oh well :) 

It also looks like I did a really terrible job of making the bed when I took these photos...I must have been rushed or something. I'll blame it on the baby.

Grayson's Room

Oh, the nursery. The room that I spent so much time stressing over, trying to make perfect, so that when my tiny baby arrived home he would have a place to go. We painted the walls (yep, gray), painted the trim, and replaced the carpet with (laminate) wood floors. Yeah. That was kinda pointless. 

Here's a little backstory on why this room was the way it was. A started working from home a month before Grayson was born. We didn't have an office in our house, so we just put the desk in our bedroom. It was fine when I was working, because I was gone before he started working. Then, after Grayson was born, I would just get up and out of the room before 8 so he could hop on calls. If he didn't have a call, he would leave us sleeping in there while he worked. I would take Grayson and move him to the basinet thing we had in the living room, come grab Addie and move her out there, come back and grab a little basket that I had full of my pain pills (for my c-section), lanolin (hello, breastfeeding), glasses and contact case, tissues, chapstick, and who knows what else. Then I would camp out on the couch for the day. Looking back that was insane and I don't know why we did it, but we were sleep deprived and not thinking clearly. 

After awhile it dawned on us that we had an empty room upstairs that would be perfect for an office since it was clearly not being used as a nursery, and that was that. A could have his office and I could continue sleeping in a comfy bed. I mean, really. I can't believe we spent like two months or so doing it the way we originally were. But it sure didn't make for a very cute room! 

Guest Room

 Really the only thing I did in the guest room was paint the walls a deeper tan than they originally were. I have a hard time with plain white walls, so I paint whenever possible. This wasn't a huge room, but it was a great size for a guest bedroom. I've kind of done away with red in our new place because I had it for so long. Seriously, I had red everything for yeeeaaaarrrrrsssss. I still think it's pretty, I'm just over it.

 There ya have it! Our (old) bedrooms. It's funny how much my style has changed over the years. None of our rooms even resemble these in any way now. I kind of wish A would allow me to change our house with the seasons...have you ever seen people who do that? I feel like I'll know we've really made it when I can have a "fall" look, then my "winter", or "holiday" decor, then brighten it up for spring, then maybe do something almost nautical or beach-y for summer. This is what I daydream about, people. Home decor.

BTW, how proud are you feeling right now? I've blogged somewhat consistently for a couple of weeks now! I feel like you should be proud of me. And by you, I mean you, Mom. I'm somewhat sure you're the only one still reading. If anyone else is still out there, thanks! And hi ;)

Home Tour - The Kitchen & Dining Area

Doing a house tour on the blog is something I've considered for awhile now. Forever ago I did a couple of posts on updates we'd made to the house, then I just kind of stopped for some reason. Now that we may be moving, I thought I'd like to do a few posts so someday I can look back and reminisce about our first house.

To be honest, I'm excited about potentially moving into a new house, but it's a little bittersweet. A part of me hates to leave our first home behind - we have so many amazing memories here! I always get a little sad when I move, which is crazy because I have moved a lot in the past 10 years. At least once a year every year until we moved into this house 2 1/2 years ago.

So today I thought I'd start with the kitchen/dining area, which is what originally sealed the deal for us when we bought it. The kitchen had been completely updated, and with our budget we weren't finding that at all. Almost every place we saw had outdated appliances and linoleum floors and not-so-cute countertops. In comparison, THIS kitchen was amazing. Even though if I were designing a kitchen this is probably not at all what I would choose, I still really love it.

Keep in mind: I don't have a fancy schmancy camera, so this is the best I could get with what I've got. I'm crossing my fingers a little fairy will magically deliver a beautiful fancy new camera on my doorstep sometime soon...a girl can dream.

I spy a little creeper baby in that last one. He's literally never more than five feet away from me. He just can't handle it. If he loses sight of me, panic ensues. 

 The dining area is big and open and more than spacious enough for what we need. To be honest with you we are totally eat in front of the TV people (ahh!) so we literally only use it if we are having a dinner with A's family. This isn't even our table, it's my mom's. It's a beautiful table, but it's totally her style, not mine. But we definitely appreciate her letting us use it! Without a table to host dinners at I'm quite sure A's family would disown us.

And here's a look at the kitchen/dining area from our staircase. One of our very favorite things about this house is how open it is. The ceilings are super tall which make the house feel so big. We're having a hard time finding something comparable in our house search now. 

I think this picture is hilarious....my mom is playing tug-of-war with Addie. This is how Addie spends approximately 25% of her time. Almost the entire remaining 75% is spent napping on the back of a chair. We're pretty sure she's part cat. Oh, and please don't judge all the stray toys in the photo. I attempted to keep everything picked up for the photo session that day, but unfortunately that little baby wasn't having it. 

So thus begins our home tour. I hope you enjoy it. And I hope someday when I'm a billionare living in a lavish mansion I will look back on these photos of our humble first home with fond feelings ;)

Sprucing Things Up

I love decorating. I love home decor. I love crafty little projects. I love working on crafty little projects to decorate our home. Seems simple, yeah? Somehow, with a wittle baby, it seems like it's been about 18 years since I have done anything remotely crafty at all, and just as long since I've done anything new to our house. So since my mind is a big ol' jumble and I can't ever remember exactly what it was that I was thinking I wanted to do to (insert random project here), I think I'll make a little list to keep me on track in the fleeting moments of free time I get in a day. I plan to DIY as much of this as possible...or thrift and re-do. Now that I'm a stay at home mama I gotta save that $$$!

• Buy new plants for the pots on our front porch...and keep them alive. Not crafty, but good Lordy it needs to be done.
• Add light fixtures to the front columns of the house. 
• Line the flower beds with rock or brick.
• Paint the front door. Black? Dark Gray? Black/Brown? Red? Who knows...

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• Rug for the entry.
• New light fixture for the entry.
• Sofa table to replace our 1987 super shiny hand-me-down.
• Paint the banister on the stairs.
• Get black and white wedding photo canvas for gallery wall by stairs.
• Paint kitchen walls something other than gross golden-yellow.
• Brighten up kitchen with more colorful accents.
• Paint credenza in garage and move to breakfast nook area.
• Organize kitchen cabinets...somehow.
• Paint accent wall behind TV Darker color? Stripes?

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• New shade/blinds for back door.
• Tear out deck in backyard.
• Tear down tree in backyard.
• Have concrete/brick patio put in. 

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• Add sod, small trees/bushes to backyard.
• Tile floors to replace blah linoleum in laundry room and half bath.
• Add shelf above washer and dryer.
• Paint laundry room.
• New faceplates on light switches throughout house.
• Add something above bed in master bedroom. Gallery wall? Large piece of art?
• New light fixture by shower in master bath.
• Paint cabinets in master bath.
• Tile floor to replace linoleum in upstairs bathroom.
• Paint walls in upstairs bathroom.

So. That should keep me pretty busy. I've got several other little bitty projects I want to work on for random decor stuff, but those are the real "house projects" that I want to accomplish. I've got loads of inspiration gathered on Pinterest and Houzz, so I should be good to go.

I'm hoping this will keep me accountable and ensure that I actually get one or two of these things done in the next few months. I mean, some days I'm lucky if I get to brush my hair, so we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck! 

Also, don't forget to enter to win a $50 gift card to Walgreens from Dr. Smith's! 

Slightly Obsessed: Teal

When it comes to decorating my home, I'm always faced with a dilemma. I absolutely love all things bright and colorful, and Arsen would live in a house of solid black and white if I would allow it. He literally could have a home with nothing else, so anytime I try to sneak in some color he isn't too excited about it. I've slowly worn him down a little, and now it's to the point where for the most part he says "Whatever you want, just don't ask me" or something to that effect.

However, I know what he really prefers and want him to be happy with our home, too. So my challenge is trying to make things all bright and cheery like I want them to be without overwhelming him and making it too "girly", which is usually his main complaint for things I pick out.

Lately, I've become obsessed with shades of blue. Mainly teal. In our living room we have a white couch, chair and ottoman, a red loveseat, black curtains, and black/brown tables and entertainment center. I've brought in some colorful pillows and artwork, but it's mostly white, black and red. Also, our kitchen is mainly black, brown and red (aside from the not so pretty golden-yellow paint that the previous homeowner chose). I feel like both of those rooms could use a little sprucing up, and I feel like teal could be the way to go.

Since Pinterest is my go-to for almost everything in life these days (sad but true), I've been getting a lot of inspiration there. Here are a few of the things that make me think I need to add some teal to my life ASAP.

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A Little DIY Inspiration

I recently admitted to my slight obsession with Pinterest. While it is a wonderful source of inspiration, what good does it do if I never do anything productive with that inspiration? It's a dilemma I think the majority of people on Pinterest can relate to. 

 via Pinterest

 So basically I need to start putting some of the amazing ideas that I find to work. I'm trying to spend as little as possible for the month of June (we were going to do a "No Spend June" thing, but who are we kidding?). So I need to find projects that I can do using mostly things that I already have laying around the house. So here is what I think I will be attempting:

 

Via Pinterest 

I have some version of this. Black frame, maybe some scrapbook paper? Surely I have a dry erase marker somewhere. I don't know, we'll see what happens.

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So cute! And empty wine bottles shouldn't be too difficult to come by...

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I know I have a few frames with broken stands...I also have a silver frame that has started to tarnish that could use some spray paint (obviously I don't throw much away). Plus I lose my keys approximately five times a week, so it something I definitely need. This shouldn't be too difficult.

Via Pinterest

I have a pretty little mirror frame that I spray painted black, then the mirror part got broken (like two years ago). I kept it because I thought surely I would replace the mirror. I didn't. I feel like spraying it with chalkboard paint is a much more realistic goal.

So there you have it! I'm pretty excited to see if I can accomplish a few of these things. Lord knows I love a project, and Arsen shouldn't be annoyed by this one since it requires very little monetary investment. And he won't need to help me. Probably.

Next up: Pinterest recipes! Apparently I'm feeling really ambitious today. Now that I'm typing this out I'm realizing tackling all of this will require quite a bit of effort on my part. The cooking part is what scares me. So I'm gonna calm down and not make any promises. How 'bout, wish me luck? Let's go with that.

Bathroom Updates

Well....I just learned a very valuable lesson. Don't EVER try to edit anything on blogger from your iPad. I went in to tag this post and...it was gone. Grrrrrrrrrrr. Maybe the most frustrating thing ever. So, now that I'm back on my trusty laptop, let's try this again, shall we?

As a recap of what I just posted, when A and I first moved into this house, we knew there were a lot of things we wanted to change. A lot. It wasn't horribly out-dated or anything, but there were quite a few things that screamed mid-90s. Brass doorknobs and seashell shaped bathroom sinks to name a few. I immediately knew something had to be done about the master bathroom. It wasn't horrible....it was just super plain. A blank canvas, if you will. Definitely could have been worse. Here's a little "before" action for you:

Pretty. So yeah....that's what we were working with. I knew I wanted to paint, because to me nothing is more boring than plain white walls, but A prefers black and white and...nothing else. So I thought grey would work nicely. And it made it easy to sneak some red in with a few small accents. So here are the most recent photos. Like everything else in our house, it's a work in progress, but I'm pretty pleased with how it looks so far:

Other than the paint, which made a huge difference (paint is my #1 favorite way to update a room on the cheap), we replaced the towel racks, tore down the awful wallpaper behind the mirror, and replaced the mirror with two individual ones that we got at Ross for something like $50 bucks each. Other than that it was just adding a few decorations here and there. 

So there you have it! Now, after re-typing this post I am super tired and beyond ready for bed. So that's it. Goodnight friends!

Makin' Changes

So something I've learned in the past few months is that as a homeowner there are always about 127 things that need to be updated or fixed or something. This might sound like a bad thing, but as a person who isn't so great at laying around and relaxing, this just means that I always have some project to work on. And something to try and convince Arsen to assist with...he loves it.

I have a list a mile long of things I want to do around here, but I thought I would share a few of the things that I (we) have accomplished so far. 

One of the first major things that I wanted to deal with was the fireplace. This picture is one that I took before the last guy moved out....I'm not sure that it's a great idea to post a picture with his stuff in it, but he had it in the online listing so....we're good.

I seriously HATED the gold fireplace screen. And the pink and white brick. Ugh. Our house is the same brick on the outside, but somehow it is just so much more hideous with that brassy gold accenting it. I decided to rip out the screen first, which Arsen did before we put too much though into it, so it just sat there not-connected for awhile. After a bit we decided to paint the brick, and we got a really pretty screen at Target. I'm still working on deciding exactly what to with it all, but I'm pretty pleased with how it's looking so far.

We also decided to pain the half bath downstairs. It was just so plain and white. We're still planning on having tile floors installed, but that may be a bit down the road. Here's what we were working with: 

Gross. So all we've done so far is paint the walls, change out the light fixture, and add a few decorations. But I think it's a pretty major improvement.

It's so amazing how much paint can change a room. I'm kind of obsessed with painting everything I can get my hands on now. I feel like Lowe's is my home away from home. We've also painted the front and back doors, but I'm waiting on a few more little adjustments before the big reveal...