Yard Sale Finds Are My Friends

Yard sale finds, castoffs, items hidden deep in my mom's basement storage room....these are my friends.  I never thought I'd be the type to say that I loved junk.  I enjoy looking at an item and finding a new use for it.

Like these old shutters my mom had in her basement.  They were black, nothing special about them at all...but I felt like they needed to be displayed somewhere and out of the bottom floor of my parent's home.  I took them to our house in Bardstown, where they hung out in our storage shed for awhile.  I was unsure of the perfect place to use them.  As a picture holder?  As a decorative accent on a wall in our home?  Nothing sounded just right.  Until around Christmas time, when I decided to take a shelf off the wall and it left a HUGE mark where the brackets had been.  Oops.  I searched frantically for a solution to hide the eyesore and finally came up with one of the shutters.  I displayed it on the wall and hung our stocking from it for a couple of months (oh, you don't take your Christmas decorations down until March either??).

Soon after, we moved and I haven't found the "perfect" place to put the shutters back up in the new house.  I've been trying to decorate very deliberately and with purpose and not just throw crap on the walls just to have decorations.  But one day, while I was watching TV, it hit me.

Duh.  These shutters make the perfect frame for our TV!  When Marty mounted the TV, it left quite a bit of open spaces on the sides that I always felt needed something.  I didn't want to hang pictures because I felt like that would distract from TV viewing, but I didn't like the idea of leaving it all blank though.  Marty complains that they make his TV look smaller, but I don't mind a bit.

I'll leave you with some other TV wall inspiration that just make me drool:

via thelaurenelizabeth

^ I literally have dreams about this wall I love it so much.  Maybe one day.

via

Love these colors.  And the frame around the TV.

via

I'm geeking out over this.  I want sliding barn doors!

Do you have any creative ideas to make a TV wall look prettier?  Share! 

DIY Diva in Training....new series!

I think the Little Red Hen had a little bit of DIY-er in her when she said "I'll do it myself!"  I want my home to look like something out of a magazine, decor-wise.  But getting it to look that way is craaaaaaazy expensive. If you go the ready-made route, good for you!  Since this momma is low on funds and trying to pinch her pennies, I'm going the DIY route.  So, introducing the "DIY diva in training" series!

Each week, I'll be transforming a piece of furniture or adding character to my home by doing it myself and saving money.  Here's a preview of all the furniture pieces that I have around my house that need a little TLC.

From top left, going clockwise: 

1.  Corner table (yard sale find: $15). 

2.  Adorable little table with cubbies (yard sale find:  $10). 

3.  Your guess is as good as mine (yard sale: $1)

4.  Really flipping awesome desk (antique store in Bardstown:  $40)

5.  Octagon side table (consignment store in Bardstown: $12)

From top, going clockwise:

 

1.  Chest of drawers (from Marty's childhood bedroom)

2.  Dresser (from Marty's childhood bedroom)

3.  Side table (yard sale find:  $15)

 

I'm going to breathe new life into these tired little pieces.  Give them a fresh coat of paint and some TLC.  But I'm also going to share some other little tips and tricks to decorate your house for as cheaply as you can get away with.  I'll be doing one big project or renovation every week, so be looking for them!  Maybe I will post them on Tuesdays for the Twitter hashtag #transformationtuesday (Or is it Transformation Thursday and Throwback Tuesday?  Whatev).  I will gladly welcome any and all ideas or pins that you think would be fitting for these pieces (particularly that little cubby hole table...can't figure out what I'm doing with that little dude just yet).  Hopefully big ideas and big reveals will be happening!  So stay tuuuuuuned :)