The Best Online Sites for Inexpensive (Yet BEAUTIFUL) Home Decor!

The best websites for furnishing your home or apartment on a small budget

Wayfair

When we recently moved into our new home, I got a little carried away on Wayfair. Rugs, lamps, bar stools… I’ve got a whole lot of Wayfair here! I get compliments on everything and it has all been GREAT quality.  Browse their site here. 

Houzz

Not only is Houzz a wonderful site to find inexpensive decor that is unique and high quality, it is also a great resource for all things decor. Their “Stories and Advice” Section is full of great tips and how-to’s. Browse their site here. 

Etsy

While I can’t say much about all the things Etsy has to offer, I have really re-vamped my home with the prints various artists have to offer. Some are as little as $5 for an instant download! Add your new print into a frame and you’ve just given your walls a little face lift for little cash! Browse prints, art and more here. 

H & M Home

H&M Home Decor is amazing and an even more amazing price!

Their repuration for trendy clothes is definilty carried over to their home brand. It’s modern, it’s got character and it’s all very affordable! You can  view their collection here. 

Haute Look

Like many other site, Haute Look has limited time sales on a variety of items. Rug,s throws, furniture, art work and so much more. You just have to be sure to catch what you are looking for at the right time and get it before it is gone. Check what they are currently offering here. 

Hayneedle

Hayneedles slogan is “online shopping for every room” and they aren’t kidding. Bed, bath, living, kitchen… they even have a pet section! Another phrase commonly seen on Hayneedle… Free Shipping! You can browse all of their amazing home items at hayneedle.com

 

Are there any sites you love that you think should make the list? Comment below!

4 Fundementals of a Great Entry Way (Plus 25 ideas for Inspiration!)

4 steps to a Pin worthy entry way! Great decor ideas for any size entry way

Your entry way is the first thing guests see when they enter your home. Whether you have a huge foyer or a 4 foot wall to work with, there are so many ways you can turn the space into a welcoming area, full of character.

Start with a strong focal point. Most of the time, this will be on the wall above your table. A photo, painting or mirror are always great options. And don’t be afraid if some of your décor overlaps with your focal point. More below on this!


Layer. Obviously you are going to have décor on your entry way table. What really makes the décor work is layering. You can do this vertically with a stack of books or horizontally by placing smaller items in front of other items. Here are a few examples of this.

Bring in a little bit of nature. This may be a personal preference, but I have really come to love how a little pop of greenery or florals makes a space come to life. Imagine how different each of these entry ways would look without their flowers or greenery. It really makes a big difference! Some of the most popular greenery I see today are succulents and eucalyptus.

Variations in heights and textures. This is one of those little lessons in décor and design that I try to use in every area of my home. Aim to create height on your table with at least two objects. You can do this with greenery, a lamp, a vase, lantern, candles… there are so many choices. As mentioned earlier, let the heights create layers over your main focal point. Here are some great examples of how this can really make the space:

Be sure to follow my entry way inspiration board on Pinterest!

DIY Coffee Table for $85

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When we moved into our house we had just about every piece of furniture we would need, except for a coffee table. It really bugged me. A coffee table provides so much convenience and not having one was creating a huge void in our living room. We searched at a few furniture stores but it seemed like we weren’t able to find anything of quality without it costing a HUGE chunk of change. So we started researching how we could build it ourselves. We had NEVER built anything before in our lives. We needed something simple with clear instructions. That’s when we discovered Ana Whites X Coffee table. Its was just the style we were looking for! We downloaded the instructions and headed to Home Depot. The instructions came with a clear cut shopping list and we were able to get everything we needed for $85!

Once we got all of the supplies home, we measured and cut the wood. I would definitely suggest doing ALL your measurements at once and  then move to cutting all at once.  We have a Hitachi single bevel miter saw that we ordered off of Amazon a few days prior to starting the project. It was super easy to use for us wood working newbies. IMG_0231

We did have to make a few changes to the cut list due to our saw. The Ana White plans call for a 60 degree cut to make the X at the end of the table. Out table saw only went to a 45 degree angle. So we had to adjust where the end of the 2×2 met the side.

Once all of our cuts were completed, we began with assembly. We started with the two outside  long edges and then added on the bottom shelf of the table.

We used the Kreg Jig as instructed to add the pocket holes for the bottom shelf.

Once that was completed, we added pocket holes to the 5 2×6 cuts that make up the top of the table.

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We now had the table in two major pieces. The table top and the frame. We did not connect the X yet for staining purposes. We figured it would be easier to stain the 4 pieces individually and then attach vs trying to squeeze our paint brush into all those tight spaces. Next we started sanding and staining! We used a 220 grit sand paper to smooth everything out. Our color of choice was Espresso in a satin finish by Minwax. The Rust-oleum spray paint shown was for the hardware we added later.

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We ended up only doing one coat of stain. This let a bit more of the character in the wood show though. We added bolts to the X’s for an extra touch. Here is our finished product!

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Hopefully this helped anyone planning on taking on this project! If you have any questions feel free to comment! We’d love to help!

Big Kitchen Make-Over on a Small Budget

Yellow can be such a beautiful color.   I’m fond of the color yellow,  just not as counter tops.

When we bought our outdated 1969 house, the kitchen was by far the room that needed the most work. With a baby arriving just a few months from the day we moved in, we knew we needed to get it up to par fast but we didn’t have it in our budget to get new countertops.

We set out to do a quick makeover on a small budget. Here’s a little insight as to how we did it, what we wouldn’t do again and how we saved so much money!

Obviously, the biggest change was the counter tops. I wanted granite. Our budget didn’t allow at the time. I looked at other options that were less expensive but i just couldn’t let go of the granite look I had always envisioned for my family kitchen. That’s when I found the $70 solution to new countertops. Giani Granite Countertop Paint.

I wish I had taken step by step photos along the way for a tutorial, but I have to admit, I didn’t do most of the project, I just supervised (6 months pregnant, remember?).

My younger sister was nice enough to take on the task. We watched the DVD that came with the kit and did a little more online research before starting.

Our $450 kitchen makeover! We made a big difference with a little budget!

While this project is super simple, but you do have to pay attention to details. Do all the sanding as instructed, take the time to take off properly and as pain staking as it is, use the razor blade to remove the tape (I’m speaking from some regrettable experience).

HUGE TIP- do not use the sealant that came with the kit. It will only give you one coat and that’s no where near enough for the traffic your countertops will see. We bought a small can of Polyurethane ($7 at Wal-Mart) and did 3 coats of that, sanding between each one.

I read multiple reviews that mentioned rings from coffee cups or bubbled from water left standing after just a month. We have had ours for 4 months now and there have been plenty of messes left uncleaned for some time and there is no damage what so ever. It’s an extra step but SO worth it.

Overall, I would highly recommend the product. You can find the exact color we used and browse all the other options here. 

Here are a few pictures I snapped along the way just so you can get a visual for some of the prep work we did.

 

Painting our cabinets while was the other huge game changer for the kitchen. Let me start off by saying that if I could go back and do this over, I would either 1) use a paint sprayer or 2) hire someone to do it (but then it wouldn’t be called the under $450 kitchen makeover!)

Painting the cabinets was ALOT more work then we imagined and it cost surprisingly more than I was anticipating. A good chunk of change (about $120) was spend on new hinges and handles. We used 1 can of primer and probably close to 4 cans of Polar Bear White by Sherwin Williams.

We read dozens of tutorials online for how to complete the painting, but it was still a much larger job then we imagined. It took us almost a solid week to knock it all out. If  this is something you are planning on doing, ASK FOR HELP! Bribe all everyone you know with pizza and wine and invite them over. Even if you don’t trust them with a paint brush, there is so much sanding to be done (SOOOO MUCH).

Obviously that beautiful wallpaper that was installed in the 70’s had to go. We added a fresh coat of paint and a new light fixture. And that completed our makeover! It took about 2 weeks to do and was worth every penny.

*UPDATE* Sadly, our countertop update did not last past the two year mark. It held up GREAT for so long, but started to chip around the sink about 20 months after we painted. Considering our budget restrictions, it was the perfect solution and I would do it again if in the same spot. But it definitely isn’t a long term solution.