I'll be sharing all of the details about what I've been up to very soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to take a minute to recap some of the best budget decorating ideas that I've come up with in the past 2 years before we started the renovation. Update: For those of you who have been waiting on me to finally finish the dining room (after only a long 8 months), here it is. I'm so sorry I'm such a snail. Tons of you put your own spin on this project by using silver thumbtacks or making an initial...I love when you take something I've done and make it even better. High five, lady friends. 5. Spruce up an old fireplace with a faux stacked log insert. 6. Or make your own mantle for less than $20 with some scrap wood and white paint. Go look at the before pic, and I promise you'll never look at thrift store art the same way ever again. I just re-assembled the office this week and it looks a lot different. Different layout, new paint, new rug, new light fixture, different wall art.

Basically, the only thing that stayed the same is the desk. I'll show ya soon. 9. Build your own headboard. Because those things can be pricey. I made mine with a piece of plywood, upholstery foam, a drop cloth (used as the upholstery material), and some silver nailhead trim. In total, I think it cost me less than $50. I know we've talked about this dresser approximately 5,000 times, but he's such an icon that he literally just goes by his first name. *Vern asked me to say that. You know how he gets. 11. Reupholster an old piano bench and turn it into an upholstered bench for the foot of your bed. There's a plant taking up temporary residence on my vanity today. I'm trying to prevent plant murder by giving him some sun. I mostly just forgot to water him. Keep Herb in your thoughts. 14. And that brings us to the vanity. I know you guys love Vern, but the silver leafed vanity is my personal favorite. I sit here every day (because it takes quite a while to brush out my rat's nest) and although it's the the project that nearly killed me, it's one of the few things I've created that I'm just totally and utterly in love with.

Plus, it was originally a $15 dark brown thrift store desk. I can feel some of you nodding in shame alongside me. There's just something about a pillow, man. When you can't afford to get a new couch or redo your entire house, a $20 pillow gives you hope. I'm not saying it's healthy, I'm just being honest. So, these days, I save my money and I make my own pillows.  And the best part is that you don't have to be able to sew...you can just use fabric glue. 16. We've already said way too much about pillows, so we'll keep this one short: You can also make your own pillows by using basic white fabric, and then stenciling on your own pattern with a Sharpie. 17.  Reupholstering thrift store chairs is a great way to save money, and I've probably salvaged more than 10 of them since the start of this blog. This green and white chair was one of my favorite redos, mostly because of how terrible it looked when I got it. All it needed was about a yard of fabric and a little paint for the legs.

You guys know how long I searched for this one, and the disaster that ensued when I tried to strip and stain it. But, nonetheless, I'm so happy with the way it finally turned out. My general rule is to buy new when it matters: sofas, rugs, and bedding. And then the rest, attempt to thrift. If you've never read one of my thrift store posts, these two (here and here) will help you get started. Since the original tutorial, so many of you have asked me about how I painted the insides of the cabinets. living room ideas for period homesAnd all I did was just use the same primer and paint, and coated it until you couldn't see the grossness that was there. pink christmas decorations for saleIt's held up pretty well through the years, and mostly it just looks so much better and makes me feel better about life.christmas table decorations black

22. Update the hardware on your kitchen and bathroom cabinetry (and even on your furniture if it needs it!). I've done this simple fix to every room in our house, and it makes such a big difference. I get almost all of my hardware online here and here. The prices are ridiculously cheap and the hardware is amazing. 23. Customize your kitchen cabinets by using chalkboard paint on the insides of the cabinet doors.exterior house design programs free My chalkboard phase has definitely passed, but I refuse to stop loving my little cabinets.decorate your house handmade My eventual plan is to create a huge gallery wall above the paneling, but I want to figure out what the dining room is going to look like before I attempt it. cheap decorative living room pillows

I think I finally found the table, so ya'll, it's about to be ON. 28. Another budget idea from our master bedroom: Frame a placemat above the bed like I did. One of my crazier ideas, but it worked. 29. To save money on end tables in our guest bedroom, I thrifted some tables and then spray painted them high gloss black. (I also spray painted a couple brass lamps high gloss white and added new shades, and also made the pillows.) 31. Give worn out old books a fresh new look with a coat of paint (and you can even add a metallic doily like I did to mine this past Christmas). 33. For the first version of our guest bedroom, I found antique botanical prints on eBay and framed them on both sides of the bed. You can usually find sets of 6 prints for under $10, and they make for great art. 36. Paint the inside of your front door. It's a pretty simple idea, but it makes all the difference. I painted ours with Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze. 38. You can also make some easy gold leaf art by using the gold leaf paint like I used below.

Or by using actual gold leaf like I used on this abstract art. Basically, I cut a big piece of wood (that used to be our laundry room shelf, and which I actually eventually turned into this floral art) into two pieces and then spray painted them silver. Then, I used a giant stencil and rolled a little white paint over it. 40. Did you know that you can buy furniture legs at Home Depot? Anyways, I figured this out earlier last fall when I was trying to salvage Paul, the former TV stand. I threw away his first pair of legs (because they were in bad shape), and then I bought him a new set at Home Depot. Unfortunately, I kinda chose ugly ones, and then never painted them, and it just kinda made an ugly dresser uglier. 41. Make your own magnets using old jewelry. This one's simple, and who doesn't love simple? 42. Add a little flair to your ceiling by adding a medallion. I found this one for only $15 at Lowe's. 43. Add a wreath to your front door. I made my own with a few simple supplies from the dollar store.

44. Make your old hangers new again by using gold spray paint, or add some pattern with decoupage and wrapping paper. If you need some tips and ideas on how to make your own, these two posts (here and here) will get you started. Tell your walls I'm sorry. I also love Krylon Champagne Nouveau, and have used it on several mirror frames, like the one below. 49. The ugly tile that was on this little bar countertop drove me crazy for almost a year before I finally got the guts to paint it with some specialty tile paint. Plus, you get to dress up like Walter White when you do it. The tile paint stayed intact until the day we knocked down the wall. I mean, Jesse literally took a hammer to it, and the tile paint never chipped. We're planning to redo this bathroom sometime later this year. For now, I'm planning a new vanity and new flooring, so maybe the stripes will stay, or maybe I'll get a wild hair and try something new. I'll let you know when I figure it out.