$500 Master Bedroom Makeover

It's unbelievable that this bedroom was completely transformed for $500. Click here to see the before.

There are two key points to keep in mind when decorating your home.

#1: Know where to spend the money
#2:  Don't underestimate yard sales/flea markets/estate sales/craigslist

We actually didn't have a strict budget in mind when we started. Our goal was to spend as little as possible. When we tallied up the costs, it came out to just under $500!

Here's what we bought:

• Bedding set from Wayfair for $120
• Fireplace from Craigslist for $120
• Curtains from Overstock for $68
• Ornate Mirror from an Estate Sale for $8
• Vertical Mirror from a Yard Sale for $10
• Art for over the fireplace at a Yard Sale for $5
• Nesting side table set from Ross for $38
• Lamp shades from Ross for $20
• Wall art that looks like a sea urchin from Target for $15 (it's now on sale for $11.99!)
• Gold Spray paint for the dresser pulls for $3
• Sherwin Williams wall paint for $90

Grand Total: $497

Here is the sea urchin wall art that Angi found at Target. It worked perfectly to fill the wall to the right of the window. It also brought in a more modern feel to the room. We wanted to make sure that the room wasn't too Grandma, so this added some edge.

The painting over the fireplace I picked up at a yard sale on the way to her house, for $5. You always have to be on the look out! Craigslist is a great source for finding yard sales in your area.

We initially were going to buy new gold pulls for the dresser, which were silver. But a $3 can of spray paint was much more affordable!

And the end result I think is stunning. 

My sister had some great pieces to start with.

• A bed with a dramatic headboard
• An Ethan Allen Dresser
• An Ethan Allen side table that we moved from another room
• A chair that we moved from another room
• And this super cute dog, Louie

Another tip is to not forget about items you may have in other rooms in your home. We moved the side table and zebra print chair from her formal living room. 

house plants

over the years I have figured out the kinds of things that can take a nice space and make it an awesome space. #1 on that list is house plants. this plant I picked up, along with 2 more who need to find a home in my house, at a yard sale for $2. two dollars! and the lady who was selling them was super sweet and I told her that I would try my best to keep them alive. so I am trying.

this is the before and after of our bathroom. pre and post plant. it fills up that weird angle perfectly.

if  I had planned this photo shoot better a) it would have been day time and the lighting would have been better and b) those vases would be filled with flowers.

yard sale booty

literally. i found something that even dave loves. 50's pinup art! it's a calendar from the 50's, the macpherson's sketch book cutouts for grown-ups. i can just imagine creeps in the 50's hiding in the basement, cutting this apart and dressing and undressing the girls. haha. now this is worth about $130, according to ebay, but i'm keeping it.


the poetry is hilarious.

UPLIFTING
An uplift effect
'Neath an off-shoulder blouse
Is chic and correct
And will bring the house down

score!

there were a bunch of yard sales by my house saturday and one lady had a killer costume jewelry collection. 1 buck each! i got 6 of them.

the chunky gold one is actually givenchy, super score.

oh and i also got the green bowl and a couple other things at a thrift store. they'll be in the shop shortly :-)
(the necklaces are for me :-)

bullseye

yesterday was such a great day, the weather was absolutely perfect so i searched through craigslist to find some yard sales in the area. i found lots of great stuff for myself, and the shop and for dave. he's been wanting a dart board and i found one that hasn't even been used for $5. i love it when that happens.

i also got this milk glass pitcher and antique ink holder. it is stunning. once i find out exactly what it's worth it'll be in the shop.

this table is also a craigslist find. it's amazing what you can find on that site.

rummage and garage sale finds

this past saturday morning i hit up a rummage sale in chestnut hill and a garage sale by our house. first of all the houses in chestnut hill are amazing, i mean, really amazing, old, stone houses. i got lost on the way home, but didn't care because i saw so many awesome houses.
so here is what i got, juice glasses, salad bowls, fabric...

painting of awesome old lady...

and canisters...

they are hornsea pottery, labeled england 1973, bronte design. i adore the pattern and colors.
oh, and not pictured, "obama bulbs," which i just had to buy because of how they were labeled. they are tulips from a neighbor, and i'll have to plant them in the fall, keeping my fingers crossed that the damn squirrels don't eat them.
anyone else find anything good this past weekend?

daily rainbow

we have a rainbow that creeps through the house every sunny day. we lucked out and a previous owner of our house was a carpenter and installed all sorts of awesome things to make the house unique. there are two beveled glass windows, one on the porch and one in between the living and dining rooms. sunlight passes through the glass window on the porch, which acts like a prism, and casts a rainbow that creeps across the floor and onto the wall.


now here is where i'll really nerd it up. do you know why prisms create rainbows? well white light is made up of all colors of light. as the light passes through the glass it slows down (refracts) and slightly changes direction. each color, or component of the white light, passes through at a different speed and so when it exits the glass, it is separated into it's components, or colors. i suddenly feel the urge to listen to some pink floyd, dark side of the moon.

spring favorites

-yard sales (score! $5 translucent ORANGE sewing box)

-flea markets

-blossoming trees

-green