FINDING MY STYLE ON A BUDGET | MY FAVORITE ROOM

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I am so excited today to be a part of Lindsay’s Blogger Stylin’ Home Tour Series! If you’re coming over from Number Fifty-three, WELCOME! I’m so excited to have you here!
I have to admit, when I first found out that the theme of this home tour was “Favorite Rooms,” I started to sweat a little. The spaces in my home are a collection of who we are, they’re made to be lived in, and they’re far from perfect. So when I think about my favorite room, it was a little hard for me to choose because I would consider most of the rooms in our home a work in progress, but then I realized, that’s really why I love them. So despite things like the need for curtains, and a new, prettier sofa, I would have to say that my living room is my favorite space. It’s where we spend 90% of our time, it’s made for living, and it’s a collection of our lives that truly reflects who we are and what we love.

Everything around here is done on a pretty tight budget, so creating this space I love has taken some serious patience, which is something I’m not very good at. But there are a few things I’ve learned along the way that have made it easier to create spaces that we love that fit our (and by ‘our’ I mean ‘my’–you know, because husbands really care) style and budget.
1. I tend to stick with neutral bases. Like most first time homeowners, I had planned for years what my home would look like, what colors I wanted, furniture I would buy, etc. So, we moved in and I quickly realized that I wasn’t really willing to spend all of that hard-earned money on expensive furniture–hello reality, nice to meet you, you’re kind of a b**ch. And I made the most awful paint decisions–seriously, I shudder. My mom used to love this Oprah quote, “Just because it fits, doesn’t mean you should wear it.” The same thing goes for wall color: just because you love blue, chocolate brown, and mint, doesn’t mean you should try to incorporate them all into the same room. I learned that lesson the hard way. You can see what I mean here and here. No judgment please–you live, you learn. SO, one day after being totally sick of living in my Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream cave, I decided to go to a neutral. How many times have you heard that paint is an expensive way to change a room? I’m sure thousands, but really, the difference that painting the living room a light gray made was mind-blowing.
2. Texture, pattern, and color. The mistake for me with this room in the beginning, was trying to add color on a large scale and then making everything else fit in with my crazy color choices. After I went neutral, it was easier to add lots of different colors and textures into the room on a smaller scale. A turquoise vase on the coffee table, vintage floral pillows (vintage floral is my jam), painted furniture. It all brings color in, but doesn’t overwhelm, and colors that maybe wouldn’t work together on a large scale, flow much better. One of my favorite ways to add pattern and color on a budget, is pillows. I used to think they were just sort of a frill that a room could do without, but they make a world of difference! Yes, they can be expensive, but I’m pretty much the queen of Target clearance and Hobby Lobby coupons. All of the pillows on this chair cost me around $15 together, not each. Hobby Lobby has great pillow covers in their fabric section, and with a 40% off coupon, they’re like $5.00 each. The studded pillow and tribal pillow were purchased on clearance at Target for $4.00 each, and the floral one I made with some inexpensive fabric (40% off coupon folks) and some stuffing I had from a failed couch reupholstery project. And think outside the box. The throw on the back of this chair is actually an old shawl of my mom’s from her bell-bottom days, and I think it’s my favorite thing in this room. Thrift stores are a gold mine of awesome crocheted and knitted goodies like this.
We are book-lovin’ folks, so I also love using bright, thrifted books. They’re usually between $1-$3 each and another great way to add pattern and color. My prized sand collection also sits on this shelf and adds yet another little piece of us to this space.
3. Large and inexpensive art. There are two great loves in my life besides my husband and daughter: maps and photographs. The colors of maps and globes just make me happy, not to mention, they make it possible to add virtually any color into a room. This was an old map of my Grandpa’s and I made a frame (tutorial is coming for that one sometime soon) out of a $5 piece of wood. There are so many large walls in this room that covering this one with one giant piece was the perfect option–a girl can only have so many gallery walls…

…which is on this main wall. This wall is basically the story of our life and who we are. Maps (again) from our favorite places, pictures of our favorite moments and vacations, quotes I love and the artwork of my favorite five year old.

4. Adding creative storage. Let’s have some honesty here. This is my living room’s best foot forward, most of the time there are toys somewhere on the floor, laundry folded on the couch, you know, that real life stuff, but since storage for all of that stuff is pretty limited around here, I’ve found some creative ways to make storage so everything has it’s place at the end of the day. Two old kitchen cabinets have become toy storage–one as a TV stand and one as a sort of a decorative shelf in our hallway.

Vintage crates make great end tables and double as book storage, with magazine files for things like tablets and magazines.
Baskets are my best friend. The coffee table holds baskets for books and games, and another large basket for puzzles and games sits next to a toy box I created from an old trunk, which also doubles as extra seating–one of the dog’s favorite spots, as you can see.

5. Finally, embrace that which you cannot change. Like I said, all of the rooms in my house are a constantly evolving, work in progress. There was a long time where I didn’t do much with this room because I couldn’t do everything I wanted all at once. But once I decided to stop waiting for it to be perfect and just let it evolve over time, it truly has become a place that I love. This couch, among other things, pretty much drives me nuts–and I’m excited that it will be moving back to the basement in the next few months to make way for something different, but for now, some pillows and throws dress it up a bit and make it bearable until we can change it out. I know that probably sounds so lame to some, and trust me, I’m grateful to have what I have, but it’s just one of those, you-can-always-improve type of things. But as I’ve learned to embrace those things, use what I have and get a little creative and resourceful, this room, has truly become a place I love to be.

All in all, I love this room because people can walk in and it tells the story of exactly who we are and I can look around and find pieces of my family, our history and favorite memories, and one of a kind things that I’ve created.

I’m so glad you took the time to stop by my home, I’d love to see you back again soon! Now for the next stop on the Favorite Room tour, Chris, from Just A Girl.

You can also find me here:

Image Map

 

If you’re just jumping on the tour, you can start at the beginning at White Buffalo Styling Co. and work your way through all of these beautiful spaces!

Monday, August 25th:
Tuesday, August 26th:
Wednesday, August 27th:
Thursday, August 28th: 
Friday, August 29th:

 

Comments

  10. says

    Probably my favorite blog post on home decorating I’ve ever read. So realistic and relatable and inspiring! Your living room looks SO cute! <3 Thank you for this! :)

    Reply

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