Tag Archives: decor

How to Find the Best prices on Vintage Christmas Decor

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Vintage Christmas decor has a huge collector market. And it’s understandable! I, myself, want to decorate more sustainably and am not a big fan of modern holiday decor. I want color, I want bright, I want shiny, I want Bing Crosby tap dancing with Danny Kaye 😉.

How to Find the Best prices on Vintage Christmas Decor

Over the years, I’ve amassed a good collection of vintage holiday decor, but I have a rule: I never spend more than $25 on anything. And if it’s more than $25, it wasn’t meant to be. Here’s how I’ve scored the best prices on vintage Christmas decor.

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Holiday Decor Ideas for Small Spaces

Decorating for the holidays in a small space can be challenging. You want to be festive, but small spaces can quickly go from all is calm to all is cluttered. Here’s four ideas to help you decorate your small space for the holidays.

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5 Ways to Sustainably Decorate for Fall

Do you have the urge to go pumpkin balls to the wall? I get it! I do too, but I also want to celebrate and decorate sustainably. Here’s a few tips on how sustainably decorate for fall. (FYI: Pic from last year, I’m trying to wait just a liiiiittle bit longer to decorate.)

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5 Ways To Make Your Home Look Cohesive When Decorating With Thrifted Items

Last week in a FB group I’m in (shoutout to Yes and Yes Blog’s Money + Happy group), someone asked how to make thrifted items look cohesive in a space. I, of course, was raising my hand enthusiastically to help! Here’s some of my best tips…

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Airstream Update: Bed Buildout Tips

before6Humble brag time! In the past week, we’ve accomplished so much on the Airstream that I have to break up this update into two posts!

Above you can see a before shot of the bed area. Below you can see the bed build progress shots.

Bed Build ProgressIn this photo, you can see that George first built the initial frame. It fits a queen size bed! He built the bed by taking measurements of our current mattress and our new “bedroom.” Then, he built a box to house the mattress. He made it easier on himself by building a rectangular frame for the bed, then cutting rounded side pieces to fill in the curved areas.

For extra sturdiness the bed is attached to the wall. This will be helpful in case we want to haul our home on our next adventure!

Wooden Bed BuildElevated Bed Painted with StorageGeorge also built a really great front cover for the bed. This will allow us to hide junk under the bed. (Speaking of junk, please excuse all the mess! It’s hard working in a small space!)

I asked George if he could give any tips for building a bed in an Airstream and he jokingly said, “Just buy one!” It was a difficult and frustrating process. But in all seriousness, his tips were:

1.  Measure carefully
2. Be prepared to cut the curved boards more than once
3. Realize that it will never be perfect. Working with curved walls is difficult.

I am so proud of the hard work he put into building this bed. I’m also proud of myself for the paint job!

I can’t wait to eventually sleep in here!

Have you ever built furniture? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

Reclaimed Coat Hook

Coat Hook
Having very little money to decorate has forced George and I to get creative when it comes to the home items we need. I’ve shared my secrets to thrifting, so today I’m going to show you a little bit of how we reclaim items.

spigot

We desperately needed a coat rack for our tiny entryway. I hate the look of coats thrown over chairs and scarves hanging on doorknobs. We found a piece of old barn wood, a horseshoe and two spigots in (what else?!) an old barn at my in-laws house. All we had to do after that was screw the horseshoe and the spigots onto the piece of wood and instant coat hook!

Kinda looks like something from Pottery Barn, no?

Have you ever used something unconventional to decorate your home? I’d love to see it, so leave the links in the comments!

love,
melanie

Before and After: Cedar Chest

 

before3before

Most of the things that live in our house are either thrifted, handmade or gifts. Rarely do George and I buy any home goods full price. We both grew up on the low end of a middle class households. When I was little, my mom made all of my clothes and George grew up in the country (’nuff said), so the DIY attitude has been engrained in us.
before2We thrifted the chest above to use for George’s t-shirts. He has amassed quite the collection since he began working for a clothing company– one of the perks! We knew that Lane Cedar Chests are good quality, but the finish was in bad shape. We thought it might be fun to paint the chest instead of staining the wood. I really liked the bones of this piece, just not the surface. So, instead we sanded it down, primed it and painted it. (We didn’t paint the inside, of course. Cedar smells too good!)

We decided to highlight the different panels of the chest by using a different color. I love the color combination of grey and yellow. Although, I did make poor George go to the paint store multiple times to get the right shade of grey. Grey is such a hard color to get right!

After!Here’s the after shot! TA-DA! It’s amazing what a little paint can do.

Do you have any Before and After Projects to share? Show ’em to me in the comments!

love,
melanie

Home Tour: Bedroom

DSC_1028It feels like it has been raining for the last month. I have the hardest time getting out of bed when it is raining. Rain pitter pattering on my tin roof is one of the best sounds in the world. Since I’ve spent so much time there lately (and I’ve cleaned a ton!), I thought I’d share my boudoir with you! I don’t think it will ever get any cleaner, so I had to document the occasion.

DSC_1022George made the moon backdrop for our wedding. He free-handed it. That man is amazing.
DSC_1023 DSC_1024My dad made this nightstand in woodshop when he was 16. He gave it to my grandma, and after she passed, he gave it to me. It is one of my most precious things.
DSC_1026 DSC_1033I love our little bedroom and our home, but I do hope spring will show up soon! I need to get out of this house!

love,
melanie