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Twenty Dollar Tuesdays: Decorating Mantels

August 3, 2010 By

Right now I’m in a decorating lull. I’m not doing much for a few reasons:

1. First of all, I have a couple of large projects in the planning stages, so I’m trying to bank my decorating budget for a bit to save up for those.

2. I’m leaving our summer decor up for a bridal shower I’m hosting mid-August, which I’ll tell you all about in a few days!

3. And thirdly, we’re starting to gear up for Halloween (yes, already…you just wait!), so a fair amount of my creative energy  is going towards planning everything that will be involved there. (P.S. I think “creative energy” makes me sound like a crazy hippie dance instructor or something…)

This all means I’ve been doing a lot of looking lately and not much actual decorating. But the great thing about this activity? It’s FREE! The hubby, in particular, loves this aspect. Today, I’ve been particularly fixated on mantels. The mantel in our living room is my favorite spot to decorate. I remember watching my mom decorate our mantel with the seasons when I was a little girl, so it only makes sense that it’s now my favorite. I espeically love the mantel in our house. It’s this big stone thing that isn’t square, but is kind of tucked in a corner. It’s very unique. This is what it looks like empty, just waiting for me to get my hands on it:

Disclaimer: Please ignore the yellow walls. I hate them and hope to paint them VERY soon.

After trolling the web for a bit, these are some of the things I’ve found that I really like:

The Lettered Cottage

This first one (above) is from Layla at The Lettered Cottage. If you haven’t checked her out yet, do so NOW! I love the solid white with the pops of green. Simple and homey, but not overdone. Just my style!

The Lettered Cottage

Okay, this one is from The Lettered Cottage, too. Clearly I’m a bit obsessed. But once again, it’s simple, but fun. Dare I say “spunky”? Wait. Can a mantel be spunky? I’ll let you ponder that one while I move on.

Country Living

I just love the oversized letters on this mantel. I bet you could do this look for $20!

Centsational Girl

Here’s a Halloween-y take on mantel decor from Centsational Girl. Love it!

Thrifty Decor Chick

Okay, one more Halloween mantel, this time from Thrifty Decor Chick. Can you tell I’m getting excited for Halloween?!?

Nesting Place

And last, but not least, is this one from Nesting Place. Lovely, lovely. And her kiddos helped her decorate (they painted the canvases on either side).

Okay, I think I am properly inspired! Now…what to mentally decorate next…

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Twenty Dollar Tuesdays – Sprucin’ Up the Guest Room

July 27, 2010 By

So sometimes you can’t put $1000 into fixing up a room, sometimes you can’t even afford to put $100 to fix up a room. Sometimes all you have is $20.  But what’s a girl to do to spruce up a bedroom for $20?!?

Well, say you have a cast off piece of furniture from another room…

Use a $5 can of spray pain to transform it into a brand new piece!

Search craigslist for inexpensive pieces of furniture. I scored this end table for $10.00.

And then I used the same paint I used on the desk to give it a fresh look as well. Then I added a lamp I found at Goodwill (for $2.50!) and painted teal. I added a few books in colors that coordinate with the room and a little clock I found at a garage sale for $3.00.

I’d love to invest more money in this room. But it’s our second guest room that we hope to one day make a nursery, so I don’t really think it’s a great plan to invest cash here right now. But these little touches make it more than just a bleh room with a bed in it! Here’s the price breakdown:

Desk: Free (It was a cast off from my Man Cave redecoration.)

Spray Paint: $10.00 (I used two cans)

End Table: $10.00

Lamp: $2.50

Books: Free (I already had these on my bookcase.)

Clock: $3.00

Total: $25.50

Okay, this was a little more than $20, but not much! And I got a whole lotta bang for my buck!!!  What do you think?

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It’s Summer!

June 9, 2010 By

Okay, maybe it’s not actually summer…but here in our house it sure feels like it!  I decorated for Spring a few months ago. And it was lovely then–so fresh and inviting. But that decor has been up for a few months now, and I was definitely ready for a change!  Here’s what I had to work with:

(Do you see my faux coral in there?!?)  I started by taking all the Spring decor down and putting it away.  This is what my mantel looked like ne-ked. It’s so empty!

Then I decorated the mantel. It took me a while to finally settle on this:

I love how it turned out!

Next I started working on the bookshelves:

Here a few of the details up-close:

And here’s me as the Fourth of July Fairy… I may have been a bit slap-happy and this point. Just maybe.

And there you have it! My Fourth of July Decor. I’m now officially in summer mode!  How about you? Do you change up your home decor with the seasons?

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Twenty Dollar Tuesdays

June 8, 2010 By

Last summer, I decided I wanted to go for a beachy theme with my summer decor.  My favorite store was selling gorgeous coral pieces, but they were a bit pricey, so even though I wanted to buy five, I could only afford one small piece. So what’s a girl to do? Improvise!  I found some great branches in my backyard, and spray painted them a reddish-coral color. Cost? A $3.50 can of spray paint (and I have lots left over for future projects!). I just love how they turned out!

Sorry this isn’t the greatest picture…but you’ll see a better shot of these in my post tomorrow!

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