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This is how our entryway looked when we bought our house. Well, okay, not a mess like this – I snagged this picture very quickly one evening before we decided to bust out those wooden screens. It was kind of sporadic and funny actually…

My husband and I had been married a little over a year, I was pregnant with our first child, and we were decorating our Christmas tree in the adjacent living room. We had owned the house for about 1.5 years, having purchased it right before getting married. Neither of us cared much for the screens but we were both working full time and didn’t want to do anything too hasty by ripping things out. But suddenly that December afternoon we decided it would be a great idea then and there to take out those screens. My husband grabbed the sledge hammer and went at it!

This is how our living room originally looked, by the way. That is, after my husband installed the recessed lighting – it used to be much darker in there.

We busted out the screens and it already felt so much better – much more open and light. The wood from the screens ended up being many a garden stake, paint stirring stick, kindling, and more.

The slate floor was in not-so-great condition. It was chipped in some spots and the grout was crumbling in many spots with several large holes. It wasn’t particularly our cup of tea anyway so we had no desire to repair it. Rather, we eventually replaced it a year later with hardwood.

We waited to replace the floor until we did our kitchen renovation, then had the kitchen, living room, and entryway floors all refinished at the same time to match. Additionally, we replaced the baseboards and ceiling fixture and painted the walls.

At this stage we had been living here about 3 years. Projects take time, especially when you have young children, are on a budget, or actually have other things going on in your life besides home remodeling. It stayed this way for several years:

I eventually replaced the small cabinet with a longer table, ditched the coat tree, added an appropriately sized rug for the space, and dressed it up a bit. The wall was still very plain and lacking the character for which I hoped, but it seemed much brighter and fresher.

Dressing the space up for the changing seasons and holidays became a bit more fun, and the “mirror garland” was a new idea with which I enjoyed experimenting. I did my best to work with what I had.

I was still holding out hope that one day we would add an accent wall, but my husband wasn’t completely sold on the idea. At the time of the picture below we had been living here about 7 years.

Finally, for my birthday last Summer, I specifically asked for an accent wall as my gift. My husband and kids surprised me with a little note that stated I would be getting it. Now just to carve out time…

Fast forward to October. My husband had a week off work and lovingly spent several days crafting my long-dreamed-of accent wall. One last photo before the fun begins…

If you’re a details and specs type of person, here are the specs of what he did, as described to me:

• Since we have textured walls, he used 1/8″ thick masonite (hardboard) as the base so it would be smooth. If you don’t have textured walls you could probably skip that bit.
• The vertical slats are “mull casing” from Menards – 3/8″ thick x 2″ wide
• The board on top is a 1″ x 4″ that has been planed to 1/2″ thick (to match the thickness of the masonite + the mull casing), and had a rabbet cut out of it to fit over the mull casing.
• The pegs were [I believe] wooden Shaker pegs about 3.5″ long, ready made from Menards. Holes for the pegs were formed with a drill press.
• The bottom board is a 1″ x 6″ planed down to 3/8″ thickness to match up with the mull casing strips.

The panelling was then painted in Benjamin Moore “Van Courtland Blue” (HC-145). The girls and I went and browsed the historic color line from Benjamin Moore one morning and I picked up a sample of the one I felt was most promising (this one!) and I fell in love! (Poor lighting in this photo – you’ll get a more accurate color depiction in a moment).

Then it was wallpaper time! I opted for peel and stick so I wouldn’t have to mess with water and paste and all that. I found this one a number of months ago and bought it in anticipation of this project. It was more brown on cream than I had thought from the website photos (which definitely looked more gray on white), but I decided to go with it anyway and I think it really works.

Accents were added, like vintage crocks from my mom filled with dried bunny tail grass, a vintage quilt, and a stuffed pumpkin…

…this thrifted lamp with a thrifted pleated shade that I re-covered using a thrifted sheet (sense a theme here?), a flow blue plate hung from a velvet ribbon…

…an ironstone basin full of little pumpkins and preserved moss…

…Fall hydrangeas dried on the bush in our backyard and placed into an antique ice cream bucket…

…and a thrifted print that I trimmed down to size and taped into a foamboard frame that I’ve had for years.

I love it so much and I’d like to thank my husband for taking the time to do this for me (he really likes it, by the way!). I think it adds so much character and charm to our home and that we will enjoy it for years to come!

You can find the sources for this space (what few there are since most things are thrifted!) linked below. Thanks so much for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

Sources:

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore “Van Courtland Blue, HC-145”
Wallpaper linked here
Entryway table linked here
Entryway rug linked here (Use code HYMNSANDHOME for additional savings)
Moravian Star Ceiling Fixture linked here

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This year for my Fall entryway decor I really wanted to create a sense of warmth, coziness, and charm while staying true to my desire for simple, uncluttered arrangements. I still like there to be a sense of order to things!

In recent years I had played around with some neutral Fall decor, but this year I went for all the warm, cozy Fall colors…and I’m loving it. Personally I think that’s the way Fall is meant to be. It’s the way I used to decorate for Fall before things like Instagram told me it wasn’t in vogue. I say do what pleases you – it’s your home. I’ve finally become confident enough in my own tastes to stick to that philosophy.

Fall Entryway Decor Tour

The Garland

Let’s cut right to the chase – the star of the show, in my opinion – this luxurious garland on the mirror! Ever since I hung a garland on this mirror for Christmas last year, I’ve been a little obsessed with having one on there. The Christmas one got extended into Valentine’s Day with the excuse it was red and the Spring garland got used all through Summer just because I liked it! When I needed one for Fall I hit up the craft store and started picking out bunches of things I liked, not really knowing how it would all come together.

That’s pretty much my typical system of shopping for florals – I pick whatever looks good knowing I can return what I don’t use as long as I don’t remove the tags. This is because I typically have one or more young children with me and don’t really have the luxury of time for making detailed decisions in the store.

To make the garland…

I started with a base layer of 3 of these stems. I wired them together using floral wire to create my main structure.

I find it the easiest to make my base layer on the floor, hang it on the mirror, then wire the rest of the pieces in while it’s hanging. That gives me the best feel for where I want things.

Next I wired in a mix of these Apple Spray Fall picks and these Orange Spray Fall picks. I alternated them to add interest and fullness. I probably had about 7 of them total.

Finally I cut apart 2 of these bushes and wired in clumps of the flowers wherever it seemed right.

The entire garland is held on the mirror by floral wire connected to command adhesive hooks which are stuck to the outside edge of the frame of the mirror. I have about 5 hooks on there. They are somewhat heavy duty hooks – can hold about a pound apiece I think. Don’t use the mini ones – they can’t hold the weight. Make sure you clean your mirror’s frame and let it dry before applying the hooks, and try not to tug too hard on them when wiring on your garland.

In case you’re wondering, this mirror is from Target. (And you can find that dress here.)

Moving on to other parts of the Fall entryway decor, we have a fun mix of vintage and new with all sorts of cozy textures.

When you want to create a sense of warmth, mix textures:
Woods, warm metals, paper, linens and knits, natural elements, ceramics, etc.

Vintage items instantly add character to any space. I just love this little wooden toolbox I picked up at an estate sale a few years ago. It works for any season and is great for piling full of natural elements like these mini pumpkins from Trader Joe’s and pinecones from my parents’ backyard.

I had a few stems left from the garland and put them in that little blue and white vase I picked up at Michael’s last year (sorry, not available online anymore). The blue and white adds a little freshness to all the dark. Lastly I stuck in a few vintage books which are also a great filler in nearly any setting.

Terrariums, like this one from Hobby Lobby, are a fun item to change out seasonally! To change it over to Fall I layered some moss in the bottom and then simply stacked a few mini pumpkins of varying colors in it. These are real pumpkins but you could certainly use faux. (Fun fact – the bottom right pumpkin grew in our garden this year!)

Speaking of pumpkins, I fell in love with this giant knit pumpkin at Target a few weeks ago. I pretty much stopped buying any new pumpkin related decor, but this one got me with all its big knit texture.

To create height and added texture, I stacked it atop some vintage baby quilts that I’ve found from thrift stores over the last year. The top quilt has Fall colors while the blue and white quilt complements the orange and ties in with the vase on top of the table.

A few weeks ago I went to Vintage Market Days and found this old ice cream bucket. I’d been hoping to find one of these for quite a while and was thrilled to find this dreamy white one! What a perfectly charming and rustic way to display any seasonal stems! I filed it with a mix of about 5 (total) of these stems and these stems.

Get the look…

Well that pretty well does it for our little tour! Our entryway is small so there’s just room for the table and mirror but it’s fun to dress them up with the seasons.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our little Fall Entryway Decor Tour and thanks so much for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

I almost talked myself out of posting photos of this bedroom.

Why? Because my mind told me it wasn’t “finished” enough…that the setup is less than ideal…that I should have some sort of vintage quilt on the bed…that the lighting wasn’t right…and maybe it’s not, but it’s our home and my kids enjoy it, so why shouldn’t I share?

In an age where so much of what you see on the internet is perfectly staged and all the details are “just so,” let’s love on real and practical homes: Homes that are lived in and not always “ideal” situations, but they are loved by the people inside those walls who have added their own special touches.

My kids – a boy and a girl – currently share a bedroom while the baby uses the nursery. While we felt bad about moving our girl out of her room, we tried to make the transition as smooth as possible and assured her it’s not forever. Once the baby is older the girls will share a room. (We have 3 bedrooms including the master.)

The past year has been a juggling act of keeping both kids feeling good about the room. It’s involved removing some things and adding others. It’s also resulted in a less-than-ideal bed setup at the moment, as our girl is still in a toddler bed (crib with the side removed). We’ll be getting her a big girl bed before long.

Our kids also share a closet, which we just recently reorganized. I am choosing not to share photos of the inside of their closet out of respect for their privacy, but here are some of the items we added to help us stay organized:

Both my kids love all things that go – airplanes, trains, trucks – you name it! I suppose this room has somewhat of a transportation theme, though I only just realized it as I was writing this post. It’s funny how things come together naturally bit by bit as you add what you like. I just adore these vintage wall decals we found on Amazon! They come in 3 different sizes and this was only the medium – there’s an even larger size! They were the perfect whimsical addition to this big open wall.

Just as in the rest of our home, items have been added bit by bit as we have found them at thrift stores and rummage sales (with the exception of the firetruck lamp from Target a few years back).

I think a home that’s been slowly collected is a beautiful thing. That means it’s a collection of only the most special finds and meaningful pieces. The Beatrix Potter artwork below was commissioned by my mom from a young aspiring artist our family knows. She gifted them to us at our baby shower when I was expecting our first child, our boy. The wooden toy box was handmade by my Father-In-Law for our son. The little white table was picked up off the side of the road by my aunt who knows I like flipping furniture. The little lamp on the table was used by my husband when he was a boy and by his dad before him.

We definitely wanted to bring in some whimsical touches that our daughter would love. These sweet fairy decals from Amazon were a fun and unexpected addition to the closet doors. I let our girl decide where the decals would go – and some were meant to go up the wall. It’s not where I would have placed them but it makes it more fun and special that she decided herself.

Her little rocking chair moved into this bedroom with her. You can see the little makeover I gave it several years back in this post. It’s really a fun mix – she simultaneously loves pink and fairies but also all the transportation themed stuff too.

We held back some of the dog decals from the vintage airplanes and put them over the curve of her toddler bed. Just a fun little touch.

Well there’s a little peak of our vintage kids’ bedroom!

Always remember to put things in your home that you love – a slowly collected home is better than a house full of stuff that you only kinda like!

We are all real people living in real houses – it doesn’t need to match a Pinterest photo to be beautiful and to serve you well.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

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I’ve always loved our dining room but knew it was missing a key part that could help the room finally feel complete!

A room update doesn’t always have to be huge to make a difference! Our dining room update consisted of just one more element to tie everything together.

Here was our dining room last Fall:

A rug does wonders to make a room feel complete. We’ve slowly been adding rugs to our home over the years. With each addition our cottage feels more and more cozy.

However, we were always hesitant to add a rug under our dining table. I mean, with 3 little kids eating spaghetti can you blame us?! When Boutique Rugs approached me about their new line of washable area rugs I was all for it! This was the perfect opportunity to finally complete our dining room in a beautiful, real-life-friendly way!

Introducing our newest addition: the Cream Hera Washable Area Rug by Boutique Rugs!

This rug really was just what the doctor ordered! Even though we measured ahead of time we were surprised at how well it fit in the space and how the light color made the room feel larger. If you’ve been around here for even a minute you know I love blue and white…so the blue/gray design on top of the cream background was SO perfect for this space!

This rug is thinner than our other rugs as it should be to be machine washable. It’s still very comfy under foot with a soft texture. I did need to add a grippy rug pad underneath as we have hardwood floors and the rug likes to slide. If you’re considering a washable rug, take note of the washing machine chart on the product page to be sure it will fit in your washer!

We now have 4 rugs from Boutique Rugs in our home and we love them all. They are excellent quality, handwoven rugs with beautiful designs at a very reasonable price. Our first 3 rugs we purchased ourselves but this last one was gifted. We now have their rugs in the dining room, living room, master bedroom, and entryway.

If you are interested in any of their products, use my code HYMNSANDHOME to receive an additional 5% off their already discounted prices. Just to give you an idea, the rug I’m featuring here – “Cream Hera Washable Area Rug” in the 6’7″x9′ size is currently $179 at the time of posting. My code would save you an additional $9. Shipping is free in the contiguous United States. I do make a small commission off any purchases made through my links and code so you’ll also be supporting this blog if you make a purchase! Thank you!

I love that the design of this rug is somewhat vintage while staying fresh. It contributes to the aesthetic of the room without screaming “here I am!”

Boutique Rugs offers a huge variety of styles and sizes. You really can find just about anything you’re looking for – indoor, outdoor, traditional, farmhouse, boho, kids and more in a variety of materials – some of which are washable. They also have a large selection of other home decor like pillows, furniture, lighting, etc. Definitely go check them out!

So if you’re looking for an easy way to update your room or make your room feel complete, consider adding a rug! If your room feels too dark and small, a rug could help then too. I know it seems counterintuitive that adding more stuff to a room could make it feel bigger, but a rug can actually lighten the floor space, draw the eye across the room, and help to anchor furniture.

Thanks so much for reading! If you can’t tell I’m pretty excited about this addition! Drop any questions or comments below and I’ll talk to you soon!

Blessings,
Melissa

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Shortly after my husband and I purchased our house we gave the master bedroom a makeover. It was the very first room we did. Yes, you read that right – the before photos in this post were our first master bedroom makeover.

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You see, we were both completely new at this home owning and renovating thing and had no clue what we were doing.

We were going to be married in 3 months, we were both working full time, and we were still in wedding planning mode. My husband had already moved in and I would move in after our wedding. We wanted to have the master bedroom finished before the wedding, so we rushed the project and settled on a lot of things we shouldn’t have.

We brought whatever furniture we already had into the marriage, including my large dark cherry dresser with a trifold mirror. I got that dresser from my parents for Christmas when I was 12 and always loved it, but it just didn’t work in this space as it was.

I know people’s taste in decor changes over time, but I’m really not sure what I was thinking with the curtains. Hmm.

Shop the post!

Here are 7 mistakes we made in our first master bedroom makeover 7 years ago:

1. We didn’t correct the paint color when it came out too dark.

We were in a hurry to “be done” so we decided to live with it. The next 6 years were spent saying how it was too dark. Ugh. Don’t settle – just repaint it until you’re happy.

2. We didn’t paint the ceiling.

It was still the dingy off-white it had been when we moved in and did not lend itself to a light and airy feel in the slightest. Always give the ceiling a fresh coat!

3. We didn’t replace any of the trim.

The old, short 1960s baseboards and door casings were still there – we just slapped some white paint on them and called it good to save time. The window didn’t have any trim and had short, ugly sills. It’s amazing the difference larger, fresh trim can make! If you have the time and resources, do it!

4. We didn’t change out the lighting or hardware.

The white ceiling fan worked okay, but upgrading to a nicer ceiling fan this time around made a huge difference! Even small touches like a new doorstop helped in making the space feel complete.

5. We chose the wrong curtains and hung them improperly.

They were too dark and heavy, the wrong color, and we hung them too low. This sucked up light and made the window and whole room feel smaller and darker.

6. We packed too much furniture into our room.

We have a moderately small bedroom yet we tried to fit in a queen size bed, 2 nightstands, a dresser, chest of drawers, small cabinet, and a large armchair. It was too cramped. Plus, my dresser was massive and dark.

7. We didn’t put a rug under the bed.

We incorrectly thought that adding a rug would make the room feel smaller, when in fact it helps to tie a room together!

That being said, why did we wait 7 years to redo this room?! Two reasons: Higher priority projects and children!

Once the bedroom was finished and we were married and settled in, there were SO many other projects that took priority – like our first, unexpected repair job! Next came our major kitchen renovation, bathroom renovation, countless other paint and trim work jobs, outdoor projects and landscaping…oh, and we had two babies exactly two years apart in there as well.

When I was pregnant with our third baby last summer we decided we needed to make this master bedroom makeover happen. Every other room in the house had been completed and we had now come full circle.

We needed our master bedroom to be a peaceful retreat in the midst of our busy life as parents.

This was also the perfect time to do it because we had just moved our two older kids into the same bedroom, so the nursery was now free to act as our temporary bedroom.

The first step in our makeover was to create a mood board.

What’s a mood board? It’s a page (physical or virtual) where you can collect all the inspiration for a room and see how things will work together before remodeling. I put this together on Canva.com. It’s free and a great resource. I do pay for the “Pro” version, so I’m able to easily remove image backgrounds (among other features). But you can still use the free program to create your own mood board!

How we transformed our master bedroom on a budget

Join me on a little tour of this master bedroom makeover!

The Master Bedroom Paint

We tried out many samples but finally settled on “Winds Breath” by Behr in an eggshell finish. We love it! I would describe it as a light gray that sometimes looks a little green. It’s very calming.

The ceiling is painted in pure white ceiling paint.

Some have asked why we choose to use Behr paint. Honestly, it’s just because it’s readily available and affordable at a nearby home improvement store. That’s it!

The Master Bedroom Trim

My husband replaced all the baseboards and door casings in the room and added trim around the two windows. Framing in the two windows as one large window made a huge difference! Anytime you can make something feel bigger about a room – like making two windows seem like one – do it!

We paint all our trim with semi-gloss ultra pure white.

If you’d like some specifics on how my husband framed the window, here is a sketch he drew up:

Curtains and Shades For Our Master Bedroom

The window treatments are probably one of my favorite parts of our master bedroom makeover! I found these lace-trimmed curtains on Amazon. They’re very affordable and I’ve been pleased with them! Just note that they will filter some light but not provide much privacy or act as a blackout shade. I hemmed them by flipping the top over and sewing straight across to form a new rod pocket. It was really simple and only took 15 minutes. That way the lace at the bottom remained untouched.

Remember to always hang your curtains higher than the top of your window. We aim for just a few inches down from the ceiling. Also try not to block your window with the curtains. Ideally hang them on the outside edges of the window. In this case we had to block a little of the window because of the odd positioning of the window on the wall. There are only about 4 inches between the right hand side of the window and the perpendicular wall. We didn’t want the rod to look totally lopsided, so we still centered the curtains which covered a little bit of the window.

We wanted cordless shades and ultimately decided on woven wood shades from blinds.com. These are the Bonair Flaxen Woven Wood Shades. We added the blackout liner for an additional fee. They’ve been great. They were easy to install and are exactly the look we wanted. The only downside is that they took forever to arrive (but then again most things do these days) , and the pricing on the website was a little sketch as it seemed to keep changing while we were ordering.

The Bedroom Furniture

We mostly used the furniture that we already had for this bedroom makeover. I did give my dark dresser a fresh start, which you can read about here!

I fell in love with that mirror from Homegoods the minute I saw it! I wish it was just a few inches larger, but I love it so much I am set on using it!

Our headboard was made by my Father-In-Law back when my husband and I were dating. He made it for my husband because he didn’t have a headboard at all. I knew things were getting more serious when my husband (then boyfriend) kept sketching the headboard out on paper and asking me what kind of features I liked and didn’t like. It’s like he was planning for it to someday be mine too.

We don’t have matching nightstands, but boy do they have character and history! My husband’s nightstand was made by his grandfather. It was used by my Father-In-Law when he was a little boy, then by my husband when he was little. We plan to eventually pass it down to our son and probably build or buy matching nightstands at that point.

My nightstand is a really old table that I found at a consignment shop back when I was in college. I found SO many things at that shop – boy do I miss it! Sadly they went out of business. This is one of those pieces I’d love to take to the Antiques Roadshow. I feel like it’s super old – like maybe early 1800s kind of old.

We previously had my vintage armchair crammed into our room, but it was really too big for the space. We moved it to the family room. I found this sweet little vintage chair at the thrift shop a few months ago. The tag indicated it had been sitting there a whole month with no takers, so I got them to lower the price to $20 and brought it home with me! It fits perfectly in this little corner of our bedroom.

My husband’s dresser was also made by his grandfather. That man was a very skilled craftsman!

Master Bedroom Bedding & Rug

This is probably a boring answer, but we’ve had the same blue and white checked quilt for several years. I think I got it at Homegoods. Once I find something I like I’m not keen to replace it just because. Here’s a similar one if you’re trying to achieve the look. Ours reverses to a stripe – the linked one does not.

Our dust ruffle is also from Amazon and is exactly what I hoped for! Be sure to measure your “drop” from your mattress to your floor before ordering as it comes in different sizes.

The lovely rug is the Murrindindi Area Rug by Boutique Rugs. I cut strips from this rug pad and placed it under the edges of our rug to provide grip and avoid accidents.

The bolster pillow was from Homegoods and the folded quilt at the foot of the bed we’ve had since we got married – also from Homegoods!

These are our white ruffled pillow cases. I wanted something simple, soft, and feminine paired with the simple more rustic wooden headboard. Just be aware that they are relatively thin, so if your pillow is patterned or has words on it, that will probably show through a bit.

Our sheets and pillow cases (back pillows) are by Hearth and Hand from Target. I like them a lot, but fair warning if you’re a hot sleeper they are pretty warm!

Art & Accents In Our Master Bedroom

Shopping your home before buying anything new is one of the best things you can do to save money! I stole this collection of baskets off the wall of our living room and hung them over our bed. They look so much better in here!

These baskets were miraculously all from one thrifting trip several years ago. The whole arrangement cost me maybe $5. They are hung with straight pins (sewing variety) that I hammered into the wall through the cracks of the baskets.

All of the wall decor hanging in our master bedroom was thrifted!

This little print was a love-at-first-sight thrifting find a few months back. I love the peaceful country scene. My husband prefers a more vibrant Fall themed print I found (also vintage), so we’re working to compromise on that decision. This one made the photo, though!

Our ceiling fan is by Hunter. We like this model so much we have it in 3 rooms!

The bedside lamps were from Homegoods.

The print to the left of our window is actually a framed tea towel or some other linen. I haven’t opened it up, but it seems to be a printed fabric under UV protective glass in a custom frame.

Upon doing a little research I learned it was mass produced in some fashion, but am still unsure of its origins or value. Unfortunately this one does have a water stain on the entire left side, but I don’t even mind! I just think it’s so neat!

This vintage oil painting was my most recent thrifting find. I think it was $16, which I didn’t think was bad for a painting of this size and the frame in such good condition. It’s certainly more “moody” if you will than the other art, but my husband and I have a thing for England and little villages, so I thought this was perfect. This resides above our corner chair.

Thank you so much for coming on this little tour of our master bedroom makeover with me!

We have been enjoying our fresh, peaceful retreat so much and I’ve been eager to share it with you!

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below or message me on social media!

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Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

I thought it would be fun this week to do a little tour around my home highlighting everything that has been thrifted, diy’d, and otherwise transformed in a thrifty way! We’ll cover the main living spaces plus a little peak of the master bedroom. I’m pulling photos from all seasons so you’ll get to see a lot of different decor!

I love the creativity and challenge that thrifting and diy offer! The result is as satisfying as the process: a uniquely curated, thrifty home (and a happier wallet!).

Let’s get started on this thrifty little home tour!

My Thrifty Kitchen

The kitchen has to be my favorite room of the house. I feel like it embraces everything I love: cottage style, thrifted and diy elements, and vintage touches. All the plates on the walls and the bowls on my counter were found in thrift stores. The beige vintage crock holds our bananas while the vintage ironstone mixing bowl (from the 1940s) holds sweet potatoes, avocados, or tomatoes depending on the season.

The kitchen curtains are all homemade. You can find the tie-up curtain tutorial here! That little green vintage stepladder peaking out of the corner was an estate sale find for just $20.

Our quirky vintage church pew is another piece that I absolutely adore in our kitchen. My husband was so skeptical when I brought it home from Vintage Market Days, but it has proven to be invaluable. The kids sit there every single day for snack time, to play, the occasional timeout (eek), or just to visit with Mommy. Kids’ shoes and jackets are stored in those baskets underneath as we don’t have a mud room or very functional coat closet.

It underwent a pretty big transformation though! Here’s the before (where my husband was like, “what have you brought into our house?!”):

My Thrifty Dining Room

Technically the dining room is part of our kitchen. When we renovated our kitchen, we knocked down the diving wall between the two rooms turning it into one larger space (best decision ever!). However, this is our only eating space so I’m not sure whether to call it the kitchen or the dining room!

A few months after we got married, my husband and I bought the 1920’s hutch (pictured above) and sideboard (pictured below) from a lady through Craigslist. There was a matching dining table but she had just sold it separately! We paid $250 apiece which felt like a lot of money at the time, but I can appreciate now that it wasn’t too much to ask. I love dark wood mixed with lighter colors and painted furniture. it really helps anchor the space. I will never EVER paint these lovely antique beauties!

The old windows hanging above the sideboard were a Facebook Marketplace score for just $10. It’s fun to change out the wreath that hangs on them seasonally. The pair of lamps were from Goodwill for just a few dollars apiece; I changed out the shades. The vintage crocks under the sideboard were my mom’s – she didn’t want them anymore. The gold mirror on the wall was an inexpensive antique mall find at just $20.

The side chairs were also a Facebook Marketplace find at $15 apiece. I painted and reupholstered them to match the dining table chairs. Can you believe I found 5 different decades of fabric when I took apart those chairs?! Whew! You can learn how to reupholster dining chairs in my tutorial.

My 1920’s hutch is filled with thrifted white ironstone pieces. Amazingly I found a large set of Federalist Ironstone at Goodwill for only $40 and combined it with old English ironstone and other white ironstone pieces – all thrifted!

The biggest thrifty pieces in the room have to be our dining table and chairs! This was the set my husband used as a kid and we got it for free from my In-Laws. You can find the full makeover here, but here’s how it looked when we got it:

Two of the cane back chairs were broken; one was completely busted through. I recaned the two broken chairs, added wood appliqués, painted the bodies of the chairs, and reupholstered the seats.

My husband refinished the table top, I painted the bottom, and it’s like a different set entirely! Paint color is Fusion Mineral Paint “Lamp White” and top is stained in Minwax “Coffee.”

Moving on in our thrifty home tour…

My Thrifty Living Room

By far the most popular thrifty find in my living room is the coffee table. It’s a solid wood Ethan Allen table that I got off Facebook Marketplace for $50. My dad helped me pick it up from a young woman who was making donuts in her apartment with her friends and I swear that coffee table smelled like donuts for months! Here’s how it used to look:

It was good quality, but very beat up. My husband routed the sides to give it a fresh edge then refinished the top in Minwax “Jacobean” and sealed it with polyurethane. I painted the body in Rustoleum Chalked “Linen White.” You can find the post about our coffee table here.

Speaking of tables, our side tables were a Goodwill find for $15 apiece. There is one on each side of the couch.

You can find the blog post and all the details here, but here’s how they used to look!:

The lamps were also a diy project (that involved lots of baking soda!). I got them at Goodwill for $6 apiece and added new shades from Target after I finished transforming them.

Here’s how they originally looked!

You may have seen my recent blog post about my thrifted hutch (that almost wasn’t!). It was a Salavation Army Store find for $50, is solid wood, and is just right for this corner of our living room! The painting over the piano was a Goodwill find for $12.

Here’s a better, albeit Christmasy, photo of the paining. I love the peaceful scene in the painting!

My vintage hutch in the corner is filled with thrifted ironstone and china – all from Goodwill, Salvation Army, and St. Vincent DePaul. Learn how to turn anything into a planter – like this vintage canister – in this blog post!

My Thrifty Family Room

Our family room actually serves as a combination playroom and office. Since our house has three bedrooms and we use them all as bedrooms, we needed a place for our desks and computers alongside the kids’ toys and a space for them to play.

A lot of people assume that this view is my entryway – understandably so! – but it is actually the tiny hallway between the kitchen and family room.

See?

That little black bench (find the story here) was a Facebook Marketplace find that my In-Laws ended up paying for as a birthday present to me. It got a few coats of Fusion Mineral Paint in “Coal Black” as well as a trip to my husband’s workshop for some leg repairs. Here’s how it used to look – it really was that orange/red!

Our family room curtains are inexpensive Ikea curtains that I turned upside down, flipped the top over, and hung with clip rings. You can find the tutorial and details for that hack in this post.

I spy another thrifty diy over in the corner! Why yes, it’s my reupholstered vintage chair! Does anyone remember when I bought it off Facebook Marketplace and it looked like this?

I don’t quite remember what I paid for it – I think $40 – but the lady was even kind enough to deliver it to my house since I wouldn’t be able to fit it in the car with the kids!

This corner of our family room has change a lot over the last few years. The print hanging on the wall was a Salvation Army Store find for a few dollars, the vintage chalkboard was a garage sale purchase for $3, and the floating shelf was made by my husband out of extra wood flooring!

Here’s the shelf being made out of lots of little pieces of scrap flooring! We hung it with black iron brackets from Hobby Lobby.

On the opposite side of the room are our desks. Now I won’t show my husband’s desk (which was made by his grandfather), because I didn’t ask him first, but I’ll show you mine. It’s actually an old vanity. I stashed away the trifold mirror and it makes a great desk! Both the desk and the chair were consignment shop finds back when I was in college. The tulips are in a big kimchi jar!

My Thrifty Master Bedroom

Now I’m not going to share too much in here yet as I’m saving that for a master bedroom reveal post in the next few weeks, but here are a few highlights!

My dresser used to be so dark and heavy for our bedroom. You can find the makeover post here.

We swapped the trifold mirror for a free-hanging round one, painted the dresser, changed out the hardware, and it was so much lighter and fresher for this space!

For some really thrifty and easy decor above the bed I hung a grouping of thrifted baskets. They’re hung with straight pins gently hammered into the wall. This only cost me a few dollars. My “nightstand” is a vintage table from a consignment shop (same one as my desk – I miss that store!).

There is also a thrifted side chair and thrifted vintage art in our bedroom now, but like I said I don’t want to give too much away before the “reveal!”

My kids’ bedrooms also have some thrifty pieces in them but I don’t have any good photos to share right now and you’re probably tired of reading anyway! Kudos if you made it this far!

Well I hope you’ve enjoyed this little thrifty home tour! Thanks so much for reading!

If you enjoyed this, consider sharing with a friend or pinning it for later!

Blessings,
Melissa

I few weeks ago I was walking through one of my favorite thrift stores by myself (my parents had the kids), and in my usual fashion hit up the dishes first and eventually made my way back to the furniture section.

I came upon this cute little “bookcase.” I looked it over and it seemed to be solid wood and good quality.

It could make a cute bookshelf for the kids, I thought, so I took the tag off to claim it and kept walking.

I went and down a few more rows of furniture and saw a nice little cabinet. I really didn’t have any use for a little cabinet like that, however, and kept walking.

Now a few minutes later, something clicked in my brain – perhaps a gentle nudge from the Lord who knew I’d been searching for something for a certain corner of the house for about 2 years – but I had a definite “wait a second” moment.

I raced back to the cabinet and pulled out the little measuring tape I keep in my purse. I took a measurement of the top and raced over to the “bookshelf” and measured it. Yes, it was indeed possible that they went together. I picked up that heavy, solid wood shelf and lugged it down the aisle over to the cabinet. Then, as gracefully as possible in such circumstances, using my knee as a prop halfway up, I heaved that thing onto the cabinet and stood back to examine.

Yes, I was convinced they were one piece.

I put the hutch back down on the ground and happily went through the rest of the store, both furniture tags in hand. I didn’t quite know where I’d put it, and figured my husband wouldn’t be thrilled I was bringing home more furniture, but I would find a place!

As it turns out, this little corner was just right for it. I really like it next to the piano.

Plus, it has the storage I was looking for to store family board games! This is real life – I thought it would be silly to reorganize the cabinet just to take this picture.

They were priced separately, placed rows apart, and were almost separated forever.

But now they’re together in the little corner of my living room, holding some of my ironstone collection.

Yay for a happy ending!

Tell me about a favorite thrift store find that you’ve had in the comments below!

Blessings,

Melissa

Two and a half years I ago I bought this cabinet at an estate sale with the intention of painting it, but never did. Here’s why:

You know how there’s this certain guilty feeling that comes around when you really want to change something, but the thing you want to change is “nice” or “good quality” or others would probably be upset by the very fact that you did such a thing? That was me with this cabinet.

I found out about this particular estate sale via a Facebook ad on the last day it was going. Usually by the third day all the good stuff is gone or there’s a herd of people throwing elbows to get the remaining stuff clearanced. It was pretty sparse when I got there – with only an hour left to the sale most everything was gone except for a few furniture items. I had gone to the sale specifically looking for this cabinet and a black Windsor chair – both of which I had seen in the ad – totally expecting them to already be gone…

…lo and behold they were both still there! Not only were they still there but they were half off. The original asking price for the cabinet was $300. It was down to $150, so I offered $100 figuring they’d probably like to get it off their hands…and they accepted! It was definitely a close call, though – I had taken the tag off the cabinet and carried it with me to the front table. Just as they accepted my offer, a gentleman came up behind me asking the sales people how much the cabinet was and if it was still for sale! Yikes! Guess it was meant to be.

I bought the cabinet with the intention of painting it. As soon as I got it home (with the very generous help of my In-Laws!), my husband cried, “don’t paint it!” seeing the lovely tiger stripe wood.

I admitted it was nice vintage wood.

And so it sat, in my basement, for 2.5 years, piled with stuff, with me never really loving it and it feeling too dark and heavy and uninspiring….

…until a few weeks ago when I finally said, “You know what? It makes no sense – keeping something a way I don’t like it just because I’m supposed to value and like it that way.”

And so I painted it.

And I love it.

This was my first time working with milk paint.

I used Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in “Lucketts Green” for the exterior and “Linen” for the interior. I wanted something cheerful and fun and this definitely fit the bill! I purchased the paint from a lady on Ebay who was clearing out her supply after closing her shop. Mine was the original formula; they’ve since changed their paint formula to be completely natural and eco-friendly. You can find retailers that sell the paint here.

The paint was super easy to use – you literally just mix the powder together with water in a container, wait a few minutes, mix again, then paint away! I used a 1:1 ratio of paint to water but you can adjust according to what amount of coverage you want. I just used a regular old paint brush from the hardware store.

One thing I did find was that keeping a light hand while painting produced a better result – pushing too hard seemed to rub the paint off as I went.

Also, be sure to clean your piece before beginning. I like to give my furniture pieces a quick wipe down with Simple Green All-purpose Cleaner – it takes away grease, odors, and dirt.

I am seriously enjoying my cabinet so much more now! It makes me smile when I see it. I’ve even intentionally gone over to my craft area for no other reason than to just smile at my cabinet.

I hope the biggest take away you get from this post is not so much painting furniture or using milk paint, but to stay true to your style – to make your space one that makes you smile, no matter if other people like it or not.

I mean, if other people live in your house you have to respect that…but you know what I mean!

Happy creating!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

I absolutely adored the way my entryway mirror looked at Christmastime with a garland! In fact I loved it so much I kept it around through Valentine’s Day and justified it with the fact it had red in it. Ha! But alas, the time finally came to take it down and the wall felt so empty – it needed another garland!

I literally just went around my house and gathered up some greenery and florals that I already had. They were all from Target and I’ve linked them all below in case you would like to recreate the look. Then I set to work wiring them together into a garland – it didn’t take much time at all! You just have to not be too perfectionistic about it – the more random and natural looking the better.

Spring Mirror Garland Tutorial

Supplies:

Clear Command Adhesive Hooks (I used 4 of them)
Floral Wire
Wire Cutters
3 Faux Trailing Stems (I used the 38″ ones linked here)
Faux White Peonies
Faux Small White Wildflowers
(This is my mirror from Target)

Step 1: Place clear command hooks around the outside frame of your mirror.

I used 4 of them. Basically you want one or two near the top that will hold most of the weight of the garland (make sure your hooks are rated to hold the appropriate amount of weight), plus a few down the side to guide the garland.

Step 2: Wire together 3 stems of trailing greenery.

Shorten any super long stems, then overlap the branches as you wire them so that the leaves of the previous branch hide the beginning of the next one. Keep your stems pointing in the same direction.

Step 3: Wire in groups of white peonies.

I like to group them in odd numbers (I did a group of 5) and to vary the sizes in each grouping. These are your main focal point in your garland, so don’t be afraid to go big! I tried to have mine fall at the very upper left of my garland – the balance just felt right to me.

Step 4: Wire in groups of white wildflowers.

I cut smaller pieces off the main stem, then wired the little cuttings into groups, staggering the length of each to make them more natural. I then attached those groups to the garland. Just a few here and there – not so many as to overwhelm the garland

Step 5: Secure the garland to the hooks using floral wire.

Wrap floral wire around sections of your garland to form little loops, then hang the loops on the command hooks. I like to make my loops at least 2 wires thick (I wrap it twice) for added support. You can then fluff and adjust your garland until it’s just like you want it! Don’t be too perfectionistic though – the more random and natural the better!

There you have it – a quick and easy Spring Mirror Garland!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial! You can certainly apply this technique to any season and florals you want – it’s very versatile!

If you found this tutorial helpful, want to save it for later, or share it with a friend, don’t forget to…

Pin it!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

I’ve had this dresser since I was a young girl. I distinctly remember getting it for Christmas one year (I was the type that asked for furniture and decor – go figure, ha!). I loved it for many years and it served me well. Once I got married and it moved with me into our house, however, it was a huge, heavy piece in our little master bedroom. (The poor wall and curtain choices didn’t help, but that’s a discussion for another time!)

We lived with it like that for nearly 6 years. When it came time to finally makeover our bedroom, however, I knew something about the dresser needed to change! I was going to either make over the existing dresser or find a new one entirely.

I should just tell you that this is going to be a short post because it was such a simple makeover! But that’s a good thing, right?!

The first simple step in lightening up the dresser was removing the trifold mirror and replacing it with a free-hanging round mirror.

I fell in love with this one from Homegoods:

The second step was patching, cleaning, taping, and painting. That’s several steps but they’re so brief that we’re grouping them.

Before I painted, I removed all the hardware and filled the hardware holes in just the top drawers. They had 2.5 inch spacing while all the other drawers had 3 inch spacing. I had already chosen my hardware and wanted to use all the same size. I highly recommend selecting specific hardware before you paint. That way you’ll know if you need to patch holes, sand, etc. I used Varathane Wood Filler in Natural. Just fill in the holes and sand down the excess at the top once dry. You may need several coats depending on the depth of the hole.

I then gave the dresser a good cleaning. I love using Simple Green Cleaning Spray for prepping furniture pieces. It removes dirt, residue, and smells.

Next I used some Frog Tape to tape off the top of the dresser. I wanted to leave the wood top as it was and just paint the body.

For the paint, I chose Fusion Mineral Paint in “Victorian Lace.”

If you’re not familiar with Fusion Mineral Paint, it’s a fantastic line and I definitely recommend checking them out. You can visit their website to view the color selection, read about the benefits of the their products, and find a local or online retailer.

I ended up needing three coats to completely get rid of brush strokes over the dark finish. It dries to the touch quite quickly, so re-coat time is pretty fast. I just use whatever decent quality paint brush we have available in the house – nothing terribly fancy or expensive.

I painted the drawer fronts separately out on the driveway.

Finally, after everything was completely dry, I attached the new hardware.

My husband sweetly surprised me and drilled new holes in the top drawers for me while I was napping one day (I was very pregnant), so I didn’t need to do it.

For the hardware I chose a vintage-inspired yet simple pull in “Antique Bronze.”

Then I spent a ton of time deliberating over the top of the dresser – Refinish it? Leave it? Stain it darker or bleach it natural? I finally decided just to leave it for now.

Is it slightly more red than I would like? Yes. Is it unthinkably vile? Haha, no – at least I don’t think so. Plus, it currently has a very smooth and durable factory finish which I’d hate to destroy if I’m not 100% positive what I want.

There’s definitely something to be said for taking the time to be certain about a decision and knowing one’s personal limits. Refinishing a dresser top at 37 weeks pregnant was not something I really wanted to take on. I’ll live with it for a few months and if I would still like to change it then I’ll refinish it later.

In working with my decision to keep the existing top, I purposely chose a tall vase that has a similar dark rusty color around the top. This continues the dresser hue upward and connects it with the natural wood trim of the mirror, helping to better harmonize the contrasting tones.

It’s amazing how so simple a makeover can yield such big results. The piece feels so much lighter in the room now – it’s like a weight has been lifted.

In case you’re wondering about sources for decor and the room, I’ve listed them here:

Mirror, Tall Vase, Short Vase, & Lamp: Homegoods
Faux Eucalyptus Stems: Target Hearth & Hand
Faux Potted Fern: Target
Books: Cozy White Cottage & Wild Creations
Rug: Boutique Rugs
Bed Skirt: Amazon
Dresser Paint: Fusion Mineral Paint Victorian Lace
Dresser Hardware: Amazon
Wall Color: Winds Breath by Behr

Thanks so much for following along – I hope you found this simple makeover inspiring. Sometimes it’s the simple changes that make a big difference!

Found this inspiring? Pin it!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!