Bit by the decorating on a budget bug

It seems that several of us have been bit by the decorating on a budget bug this week. So, I thought it would be fun to do a little more show and tell. Be advised, I am no expert.

I am an amateur and a deal finder. Some of my ideas may go against every good and qualified decorator's advice. However, I do have fun finding cheap things and putting them to good use in a fun way.

And I figure since the Bible clearly says that the Proverbs 31 woman made coverings for her bed this is all quite Biblical... somehow.

A great starting place when seeking to decorate a space is to pick an object to serve as your color palette. It can be a piece of fabric, a rug, or even a floral arrangement.

Here is an arrangement that I used for the color palette for most of the downstairs of my home. I love the earthy tones mixed with splashes of red. I also love the interesting texture and pattern of the feathers.

I heart chunky accessory groupings. I got these three pieces for a great deal from Steinmart. I obviously like stores that end in the word "mart." Again, look at the floral arrangement in the photo above that serves as my color palette. Having those colors as my guide makes it easier to pick out accessories that work.

I also love to put things in my home that tell a story about my loved ones. My husband is an avid outdoorsman. I am prissy and can't understand his burning desire for dangerous adventure. But it is part of who he is and since I love him, I've decided to embrace things he likes.

It took some prayer ladies... just FYI.

Here we have one of his trophy mounts. Right beside it, I placed enlarged black and white photos of Art on one of his expeditions. The cool black distressed frames are straight from Walmart.

These pictures tell quite a story and I've grown to love seeing him telling all people of the testosterone variety his tales while standing in this part of our home.

Here's another thing that tells a story. In our den we have two handcrafted tables from the Adirondack Mountains. A friend of ours works at a family camp that we go to each year. He makes these tables and sells them to help support his family.

Not only are they beautiful but they are wonderfully unique with a story about where we spend part of our summer each year.

I've learned to not be afraid to add something a little funky here and there in my home. I got this chandelier at Lowes. It was the cheapest option.

So, to add a little spunk, I replaced the standard white shades with these red ones. Then in a crazy mess of hot glue and black craft feathers... wallah... Don't ask me how many times I burned myself and sent a red lamp shade flying across the room.

Remember the beauty of the unexpected. Things don't have to be matchy-matchy. My budget has never allowed me to walk into an expensive furniture store show case room and buy a complete set of furniture. I've collected pieces from here and there over the past 16 years. Part of the fun of decorating is finding things that look uniquely you.

In my dining room, I have quite the unexpected collection of furniture... but I love it. Remember the color palette from above to understand how all this works together. I found my china cabinet for a steal in the scratch and dent section of a discount furniture store. Because the piece is painted to look distressed, I couldn't find anything about this piece that looked damaged.

I found the black and brown woven chairs at a tent sale for $25 each. I love how unexpected they look at a traditional dining room table. At the end of each table I placed a pair of fabric covered chairs to give the set some bulk and again to tie in colors from my color palette.

And the wicker plate chargers? Walmart!

Lastly, don't sweat the small stuff... we all have unsightly stains on our carpets or crayon marks down the hall way... or piles that still need to be put up somewhere, sometime.

Sigh... will my work ever be done?

Happy decorating. Remember, wait for a good deal... collect things that look uniquely you over time... have fun... and post pictures for us to see when you complete a project.