Thrifty Finds...

Decorating a home is seriously expensive.  Like out of our budget expensive!! Luckily, I LOVE discount items, consignment stores, and antique markets and have made it a personal challenge to decorate using the smallest budget possible.  I love a great deal and refuse to pay full price for home decor.  I have a few antique stores that I frequent regularly and love browsing through "old treasure" wondering about the previous lives of the items in the store.  I get this trait from my Mom-- she loves it too.  Lucky for me she lives 20 minutes away and we can do it together now.  And of course TJ Maxx/HomeGoods is always a good idea.  And I never forget to check out the clearance section in stores like Pottery Barn and Serena & Lily-- sometimes they have amazing markdowns! Thought I'd share some of my bargain finds of late.  None of the rooms in the house are "complete" but it's a work in progress.  Decorating on a budget takes a long time and lots of patience.  I hope to share the finished product someday, but for now, here are some of my favorite things I've found!  Happy Wedensday...stay dry!!

This is in our sunroom/playroom.  We keep a changing table in here so it's obviously not very fancy.  Everything is kid friendly and can be lived on.  Our new wall cluster is lots of fun.  I got the bird pictures at a boutique in Seaside for $12 each!!  The mirror was a hand-me-down from my Mom.  The framed H is my favorite part of the cluster.  The frame is vintage and refinished and the H is actually an old H that was used in a old timey movie marquee sign.  Love that it has a fun history!

 Not the greatest picture, but the orange bench was $60 at my favorite "budget friendly" antique store.  It was a shell of a bench that someone found and repaired then painted bright orange.  The baskets under the changing table are vintage storage bends that my Mom found and gave to me.  We have a yellow, red, and green one and they are fun way to store the girl's toys.

My favorite piece of wall decor-- A chicken wire, distressed picture board from TJ Maxx/ HomeGoods!!  It was $50 and takes up the whole wall.  The kids love to look at the pictures and so do we.  It's our favorite find!!

Someday this shelf will be filled with something--but, I haven't gotten there yet.  It was another fun find from A Classy Flea.  And I love the runner on top that I found super discounted on Serena and Lily!  The photo cluster is made up of frames my mom picked up different places.  I love the reclaimed wood.

Rugs!!  I used a runner in the kitchen I found marked down at Ballards Backroom.  And this hall rug is from the Pottery Barn clearance section.  I can't see ever paying full price for a rug when I have little kids.  Just totally not worth it because they will find some way to get something on it!!

New runner from Serena and Lily summer clearance that's lots of fun!  The rug is another Ballard's Backroom find.  It's 9 X11 and $143!!  It's indoor/outdoor, but again-- I'm not paying big money for my kids to ruin a rug!!  The entire dining room is getting an overhaul-- one of my best friend's, Jenny, is an interior designer and she is going to help me refinish the chairs and reupholster, get curtains, and add some umph...but these are two pieces I picked up so far!  I can't wait to see it evolve!!

Vintage french linen framed in a very old, refinished frame.  I love this piece of art.  My mom had to repair the frame for me, but you can't even tell it was damaged now!  She did a great job

 These last two are from my favorite "more pricey" antique store.  The bench is distressed and I love it. My mom gave it to us for our anniversary this year.  I had been eyeing it and she got it really discounted.  And finally, the trunk.  I love this "Louis-Vuitton" wanna-be trunk.  I was lucky to get it...the store worker said he almost bought it for himself!!