These products are pretty much only available to you if you live in Germany at one of my favorite shops called Car M?bel so what’s my point in posting about them here on decor8? You’ll see…
I think these images answer the question — they’re inspiring! It’s fun to look at how things are arranged and draw inspiration from the styling, colors, products used, etc. In this economy, most of us aren’t out shopping as we once were. We’re forced to get more creative in how we decorate our homes. Instead of purchasing something brand new, try to source it first within your own home. Perhaps you have something with similar lines that can be painted and placed elsewhere in your home. Have you checked your garage or attic lately?
Do you hit thrift stores, Craigslist, eBay, flea markets, and even yard sales to find what you need and simply refresh it so that it works for you? You may already own pieces much like the ones shown below in these inspiring photos. There are so many do-it-yourself ideas out there that it just may be the right time to give a few of them a whirl. Try to look at each piece of furniture – the lines, the color, the function, and consider if you already own something like it that you can easily transform in a single afternoon or less.
What if you do not own that one piece of furniture that you are currently in need of? I’ve already mentioned craigslist and flea markets, but you can also visit those unfinished furniture stores or paint IKEA and Target furniture… Interested in some examples of affordable furniture that can be easily transformed?
Okay… I would paint this $349 armoire shown above in a dove gray, wallpaper the interior using my favorite pattern from a leftover roll, and embellish the drawers with new knobs. I’d take this $149 desk, lacquer it in black, and have a local glass company fit a piece of glass on top so that I could place a new sheet of my favorite wrapping paper, wallpaper, or fabric between the glass and the desktop each month to refresh my workspace. This dresser for $249 would be transformed with goldenrod yellow paint and patterned yellow and white hardware from Anthropologie (I’d hit their clearance section for that). And this $35 stool? Easy! Paint it any color of choice and reupholster the top with a scrap fabric you love but don’t have enough of to cover a pillow. You can even reupholster it with a cotton dress or scarf that you no longer wear or a vintage pillowcase or tea towel from a flea market.
How do you decorate your home on a budget? Any tips you’d like to share with readers?
(images: car m?bel, bottom: target.com)
July 15th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I’m a big fan of going to antique malls to find furniture. Most malls carry all periods of furniture and most wouldn’t be considered antique.
In a time when online shopping is becoming the norm I love going to the malls to play with all the retro stuff and get some inspiration.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Spray paint is your friend. I have a table and chairs that I had picked up in college, and by the time I bought my first place, the paint was knicked, I didn’t like the color anymore and didn’t have any money, I had just bought a place you know? :)
I hit the clearance section of my local fabric store and found some great fabric to cover the chairs with. In addition I found a coordinating fabric so I could make a valence and cafe curtains for the kitchen. And I recovered the header part of the blinds on the sliding door.
And those chairs I re painted via spray paint that came in a brushed nickel like finish. I was also able to paint a few frames and other pieces to pull together a unifying look.
My second one was clearance fabric again. I have an AC that is in the wall, there all year long. It was old, circ 1980s and ugly. So I made a fleece cozy for it that blended with the wall, it also cut down on the drafts in the winter. I took it off if I needed it, I hate AC so I only used the thing like twice a year.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Thanks for the great ideas! I have recently ventured into the world of DIY, with mixed results. (Note to self: sanding is important!) But I have a question: when do you use spray paint, & when do you use a brush? I did a headboard with spray paint, but it looks just OK; I couldn’t seem to get the paint on evenly. (I think that might have been because I didn’t sand it thoroughly). I did a coffee table with a brush (it had a cane top, so I felt it would be easier to protect it if I used a brush). That one looks really nice, but I wonder about brushing something with bigger surface areas. Thanks!
July 15th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
such great ideas, holly — and i love those rooms from car mobel. so inspiring.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
What can I say,there are people who makes great things with no so much.
Love the photos
July 15th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
You inspired me to dust off my excuse for a blog to discuss my shoestring budget remodel/decorating of my entire house. I started with my humble living room here: http://spaghettiarms.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheap-and-cheerful.html
My favorite “cheap tricks” are: painting furniture, framing pages from calendars or books for cheap wall art, using wrapping paper or wallpaper to add interest behind cabinet doors, and using twin white flat sheets as breezy summer “curtains.” Also, I worship at the altars of craigslist, Ikea, Target, and yard sales.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
What great ideas! I love to change the way the things I own look.
I had my grandmother’s chandelier, it was made of bronze, really depressive and dull. I painted it with a white acrylic wash and replaced some crystals with red, mauve and amber ones I bought on ebay. It’s really a success, everybody asks where I got it.
When my first son was born and because I needed storage space, I took my mother in law’s chest of drawers, which then was a dirty white, painted it blue and orange and put some fun knobs. Nothing too inspired, but it really looks completely different and suitable for little children.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:03 am
Thanks for the comment! It was great to hear from you. Thanks for sharing such inspiring and beautiful things with us. =)
July 16th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Well, I am no expert per se, but decorating on a budget is pretty much my forte. My most recent projects were for my new baby nursery. I got the dresser/mirror off craig’s list for $80 total. The chair and ottoman I got for $25! The red raw silk fabric with the burnout velvet design I got on UBER clearance for $1.50 a YARD! The mirrorws sconces I got a few years ago for I think $12 a piece on clearance.
Every room in our home is filled with furniture we’ve made ourselves, bought off of classifieds, craig’slist, crazy clearance sales. If you have the drive, and you want a certain look for less, you CAN make it HAPPEN!!
July 16th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Lovely rooms…they definitely inspire me! I am big on moving things around and repurposing things….however, my seven year old daughter thought I was a little nuts for bringing home a large branch,painting it white and using it as a curtain rod!
:)
xo
Melissa
July 16th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
You’re so right Holly!! Last year I painted all of our old “Ilvar” shelving from Ikea just the right shade of espresso brown (I call it Pottery Barn brown). Now our living/dining area looks brand new.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I like to hit up the remnant tables at fabric stores for good buys. Last winter I found a great discontinued designer fabric collection for $3 a yard that I made into pole top draperies, dining room seat covers, and pillows. I also hit a great estate sale last fall and found some beautiful dining chairs that I painted,some lamps, vintage books, and light fixtures. I use Craig’s list to get furniture I need, and scour Target and even my local Goodwill for things like picture frames that I can refinish.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I love your transformation ideas! We recently acquired an old writing desk/cabinet (has a large slatted cupboard on the bottom with 2 doors that you pull open, then a little drawer for pens, etc., then the top half of this ‘thing’ is a large space that has a door, which folds down into a writing desk, and a long drawer on top of that. It was originally black and we painted a cape cod blue over the black, then cream over that. Then we sanded the edges off to show the different paint layers, so it is mostly cream with distressed edges. We changed all the door knobs to pretty cream pulls with silver bead trim, wallpapered the inside with pretty wrapping paper and now use it for kitchen storage! :)
July 16th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Ooh…this post is perfect! I love furniture redos. Making used furniture your own can be a lot of fun, even if it requires some elbow grease. My mom always used to drag me and my brother to antique stores and garage sales, where she’d often pick up a piece of furniture. Sometimes she’d leave it as is and sometimes she’d strip the old paint to reveal the beauty of the wood grain. When I was a kid I wanted what everyone else had, which was mass-produced furniture from big name stores, but now I’m glad that’s not what I got. While I don’t have many nice pieces of furniture of my own (yet), I do have a few that I bought with the purpose of redoing. While that hasn’t happened yet, I did redo an Ikea dresser. It took many Saturdays and several coats of paint, but I am pleased with the result.
Thanks for posting about “hacking” used/mass-produced furniture. While obviously there are many independent furniture designers making amazing and unique pieces, these are often out of my price range, so it’s nice to see some other options.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Very very pretty!
It is really inspiring to me, although it kind of is like the way i decorated my own place.
Thanks for sharing all those beautiful things with us, i am very grateful for that!
Have a great day.
Mila.
July 17th, 2008 at 2:10 am
great ideas. i love painting, refinishing and reupholstering….find a deal and transform it! thanks for the inspiration.
July 17th, 2008 at 4:15 am
@NancyV908….sanding is your friend. If you have a large, flat surface (dresser, etc.), try sponge rollers. They give a bit of an orange peel texture, but with a polycrylic top coat, you really can’t tell. Oh yeah, and sand, sand, sand. Get a great deal on a detail sander at a place like Harbor Frieght Tools and go to town!
July 17th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
If she is going to be in MA in Sept. she should check out the Brimfield Fair- the event takes place three times a year- the last fair will be Sept. 2nd. to the 7th. Here is a link http://www.brimfield.com/ . Brimfield is about 1 hr. from the city. FUN!!!!!!!!
July 18th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Usualy decorating “little by little”!
Every month we use a small budget to make something new or necessarie in our home sweet home!
This way i can always change things without make a mess in the budget of the family!
beijos
July 20th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Hello Holly!
How funny that you write about Car-M?bel! Have you seen this tabel
http://www.car-moebel.de/docs/shop.aspx?domid=1087&id=38013&aid=156286&cid=703 !
It looks a bit like the one in the Swedish/Danish magazine you have mentioned in an older post. With a little work you can
transform it the way you want it!
July 21st, 2008 at 2:41 am
I wish I lived germany, so I could shop there! Those images are truly inspiring! I really love to transform old furniture that I am tired of, and give it a new look!