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The only thing going for the before room is our cute sister Allyssum ;) But really, the before was bad. It was dull and dirty and full of self doubt! I wondered how we'd ever make it cute again. After Wren re-did the floors (see here, here, and here), painted, and did the baseboards (see here), it was time for me to step in and get going on the fun stuff. The decorating. Wren and I (and now Radcliff), spend most of our time in the living room so it's important to us to make the space not only aesthetically pleasing, but comfortable for our guests and for ourselves. We like nothing more than walking into a room, sitting down, and going, "Awe..." This room makes us do that. We decided on a stark white and have really enjoyed using it as a neutral for pops of black and color. It's actually one of the only paint colors that we used in the entire house that I really like, which is ironic considering it's plain old white. I love the combo of new and old, modern and eclectic and I think we accomplished that with this space.
No one loves a deal more than I, and no one loves to brag about a deal more than I, so here's some of that...
-I bought all of the gold frames displayed in the picture collage on our wall from the DI for a whopping $20. Most of them are 8x10s and the middle one is even a 16x20, so for that many large frames, $20 was a score. Ch-ching!
-I wanted black and white striped drapes from the second I saw a pair in a high end decor magazine but knew I couldn't afford them. So I bought just plain black drapes for $20 for two panels and then sewed white fabric stripes onto them. It almost killed me, but that's another story for another day. Needless to say, we really like how they turned out and like even more how cheap they were.
-The gray bookshelf corner piece was given to me by a good friend. I sanded it down and painted it which is also another story for another day. Total, it cost me about $30 to do so and it's probably one of my favorite pieces of furniture we have. Thanks S!
-The milk glass china was also the deal of a century. There was a place called The Store (see post here for more info on why I love it so much) here in Salt Lake that was run by the Salvation Army. I talked them down from $150 to $25 for the entire set. Don't ask me how I did it, but I did, and have been in love ever since. I like the contrast of the white and gray together.
-We actually made the ottoman, so total cost to us there I believe was around $70 for fabric, padding, and plywood which is pretty good considering the size of it. Ottomans can be so expensive! And we love our ottoman. Yer crazy if you don't have one. Everyone needs a place to kick their feet up and relax at the end of the day. See our tutorial here on how to make one for yourself.
-The black geometric mirror I bought, again from The Store, when we first got married before geometric shapes were even in style. It was only like $5 and I painted it black. The black chandelier hanging in the corner of the room was $5 from The Store and the pink clock was another find from The Store that was also only $5. LOVE that place.
Other purchases:
Media center: Ikea
Side lamps: Ikea
Couch: Sofa Mart
Rug: Home Goods
Pillows: I made all except for the black chevron one which is from Ross and the red and white one which is from Hobby Lobby.
White frame (a favorite!): Thanksgiving Point
Gold frame (another fave): Ross
All other nick-nacks: Thrifted
Paint: Clark and Kensington's Chantilly Lace (Ace Hardware)
I'm a huge advocate of not having to spend a lot when making a space unique and feel like your own. I hope you enjoyed and sorry it's taken so long to get this posted!
Now it's...
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