Hello readers! I'm always a busy body around our home whether its organizing, cleaning or creating. I have learned a lot about decorating around the house ever since we got our first place a few years back. I have made some mistake purchases along the way but luckily I know a few more pointers now. They definitely come in handy when choosing new items to bring into your home.
First off I want to talk about patterns. I LOVE patterns! Right now I'm into almost every pattern Target has to offer on their home items. I'm also still a big fan of animal print and floral. Unfortunately, that tends to clash when its mixed together, ha ha.
Our first apartment was all decked out in animal print.
Check it out:
(Of course my adorable pet had to be perched right in the middle, ha ha.)
I'll give you a quick breakdown of where I got everything back then. I will also give you some tips explaining how I have changed from this animal print look to another style.
The couch actually never came with the large over sized foot rest. Believe it or not I found the foot rest at a furniture outlet and it just so happened to be the same exact color as the couch. It was also less than $75. Score! The pillows were just from Kohl's, Target and Walmart. Its hard to see but the animal print lamps were from Pier 1 Import. Kinda spendy but they were a gift. The picture frames were from Family Dollar. They actually had a cute leopard print frame which was the real reason I wanted them. I ended up taking the animal photos our and placing photos of our family in them instead! The zebra bean bag was from Kohl's. The zebra rug was from Target. I do not recommend that kind of rug if you have kids or pets. I cannot remember what it was made out of but my cat got sick on it and when I tried to clean up the mess, the black bled onto the white and it was ruined =( The fake tree was from Good Will and they almost always have them. At least the one in Elk River, MN does. I eventually ended up putting small white lights in the tree for a cool night light effect =) I barely spent anything and still managed to have our whole room decorated!
This was all BEFORE we settled down and had our son. Since then we have moved and the only thing I still have is the bean bag chair in our spare room, the lamps are in storage and the tree with lights sits in our current living room. EVERYTHING ELSE IS DIFFERENT. I'll post new photos in a future blog but now I'm going to explain why I decorated this way...
Notice the couch is a solid color? Patterns go out of style pretty fast. If you are not rich, I recommend staying with furniture that are a more neutral color. (this isn't neutral but its what I had to work with at the time)
For example: its cheaper to add new throw pillows for 20 bucks that add a pop of color and a new pattern rather than having to go buy all new furniture for who knows how much because you are sick of the pattern on it. I mean, you can't have a green and red floral couch and then decide you want to go safari and add black and white zebra pillows can you? ::Shakes head:: You would have to replace your furniture which is more expensive of course. So I highly recommend solid colors and very little pattern with furniture. Instead, add pattern and color to your room with items such as candles and holders, lamp shades, pillows, and accent rugs. These are all inexpensive and when you want a change, you can easily replace them! Try to limit patterns however and focus more on colors. That way when you change the look of the room, its less you have to change =)
Next is painting! If you rent, I feel your pain because most of us can't paint but if you are allowed to... take advantage! Painting is a great way to change the look of a room without spending much and you can always switch it up! Try an accent wall to add pattern to your room as well =)
Accent wall:
*notice the solid/neutral couch with patterned pillows added. The more expensive pieces in this photo are neutral while the inexpensive little items added to this room are the ones with the character.
Another great tip for decorating your home with a trend that will eventually pass is using wall decals. They stick onto the wall very easy with no mess, they are inexpensive and can be taken down without ruining the wall.
Wall decals:
I swear I don't know where I would be without Pinterest... It is such a great website to find ways to turn something old into something useful again. Search this site the next time you want to redecorate your home on a budget!
Last but not least, I came across a helpful website with similar tips on how to decorate your home.
CLICK HERE to check it out =) Thanks for reading!
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