I love experimenting with different colors, I would definitely say I am NOT scared of color. Unfortunately this can also be my downfall, because I so quick to buy the paint and not test it first. Nope I wait until the room is complete and then I realized, ugh...hate this color.
Anyhow, two years later and every room (except the garage) has had a color makeover.
Paint is not the only change we have made. Throughout our 2 years in this house we have had our financial ups and downs (like most people in today's economy) so I had to get creative! I try to get creative with decorating for a few reason: (1) lack of budget and (2) lack of desire to tie up a great deal of money in things that serve no other purpose than to sit there and look pretty.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy to pay for things when warranted, but I don't see the point in spending $100 for something that I can create myself for a fraction of that price.
There are a few changes that we have made that cost quite a bit (like the flooring) but most of what has been done has been on a small budget.
Here are some changes we have made a long the way:
*This is the view from our front door (left is the day we moved in). This is still a work in progress as our electronics are to vast for my cutesy table under the tv.
This house was designed with the concept of living/dining room in the front room. I HATE that! I hate seeing my dining table the minute you walk in the door and this room is far to small for a living space (you will see the intended living space in the next picture). So I changed it up by removing the chandelier and putting up a ceiling fan (I know most designers hate them, but I think they are a must- especially in AZ). I was lucky to have the opportunity to get some hand-me-down items, umm actually all the furniture in this view. Then I purchased the posters over the love seat and found some barnwood frames on ebay.
*This is the living area as seen from the arch in the previous pictures. This small area in front of the window was intended for the living space. Instead I opted for 2 great reading chairs (also hand-me-down, but I LOVE them). Total out of pocket = $550 (not counting tv or flooring)
* Back to the arch, the room ahead is my family (I gave my husband this room to do with what he wanted, except I picked the colors, and I basically veto anything crazy he wants to do).
*Family room from sliding door in back. The china cabinet/dining table set was another hand-me-down that was very dated. So I removed the"dated" finishes (hardware, etc). Sanded it down and painted it. All the brass hardware was replaced with with brushed nickel contemporary pieces. The couch and love seat I found on craiglist for less than $300. Total for this room= $650 (not counting tv and flooring)
*This is a view from the back door into my kitchen. One of the first things that we did in the house (besides paint) is the arch on the half wall.
We hated the half wall before, it seemed like an after thought. So it was tear it out or build it to make it look like it had a purpose (even if the purpose was just to look pretty). We were lucky enough to have a friend staying with us that is a framer by trade so he jumped at the challenge to build this arch for us. I let him pretty much have free reign, my only stipulation is that the arch had to be shallow like the one between the kitchen and living room. He was happy to do it (since we were letting him stay with us) all we had to do was buy the supplies. Another thing he helped with was the kitchen cabinets. These cabinets, as you can see, are basic builder grade and there was no way we were going to be able to replace them. So I painted them and took a trick from the decorators on all the shows on tv, and added moulding to the top of the cabinets.
The black cabinet in front of the half wall was something that from this angle doesn't look so great, but my hubby built for me. My idea was to have a cabinet that house our DVD books, board games, video games, etc.
As for appliances, we started with basic junk and a hand-me-down fridge from my in-laws. The dishwasher didn't work and the oven only worked the first year we were in the house.
Thank goodness for Black Friday, we were able to pick up the OTR microwave and new stove for super cheap. And thankfully a few months ago, thanks to all the sales, we were able get the fridge we had been eyeing and a new dishwasher.
The flooring in the kitchen was cheap, ugly, cream colored vinyl and was blah. So, I went to Lowe's and purchased 4 boxes of peal and stick floor tiles (which are much better than they used to be) and I was able to do the entire kitchen, laundry and both bathrooms with just 4 boxes at about $30/box. Total for this area= $ 750 (not counting appliances).
* And our hallway. Only changes to this area are the paint, flooring, the wall sconce, picture frames and the foo-foo stuff on top of the armoire (which I purchased on craigslist for $100). Total this room= $150
*Laundry room (in case you were wondering). No before pic, it was just your basic box laundry room with white wire shelf and nothing more. So when we were waiting for the new washer/dryer to be delivered we prepared our room.
Of course the first thing was paint (I know designers sometimes say pick the paint last but I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS pic the paint first). This was actually the second color, I painted my first choice and hated it, this is much better.
We also didn't want to purchase the expensive pedestals that go with the W/D so my hubby and his buddy built this riser for me once I decided how high I wanted the units to sit and they built the shelf above as well (super easy). To make it look nicer they used the baseboard (extra from replacing the baseboards in the rest of the laundry room), flipped it upside down and attached it to the front of the shelf. Total for this room= $200 (peel and stick tile, riser build, shelf build, baseboards, decorative hooks, funny signs, paint, ironing board hanger).
There is still so much to be done, or at least that I want to do. Thank goodness that we don't mind doing some things ourselves :)
No comments:
Post a Comment