Divine Design on a Dime

Many of you who have seen the new place asked me where I get my stuff, and I told you that I'd blog something about my best bargain deals. As you know, it's a passion of mine to decorate, however, it's incredibly more exciting when I find a great deal.

Here are some of my thrifty design secrets:
1. Find the hidden treasures on Craigslist. I have two young children and I didn't want to feel like I needed to be in bondage to expensive furniture with them around, so I still wanted something formal, but I wouldn't have to worry about my children being children. So, I went to Craigslist! Guess how much I paid for our new, but not so new, dining room table?

American cherry. Solid Wood. Turned Style Legs. Two leaves. No visible scratches, dents. Just a few knicks on the corners that my wood marker ($6 at Home Depot) took care of. Ok, guess?

$25. It was so cheap because the owner in Ashburn said that the table was broken. I took one look at it, and knew Patrick could fix it. He did -- in fifteen minutes! Advice: On major furniture purchases, go local because driving 30 minutes or more to find out that a piece of furniture was not as they advertised is a huge loss of time. Also most things that are solid wood and not missing any parts is usually repairable if you've got the right tools. All is not lost!

2. If you can't paint, Motif!
While I am dreaming up brilliant design ideas for Caelan's room, in the interim, I didn't want to stare at blank white walls or put temporary holes in the wall, so I saw this peel and stick artwork called Motif in a minute at Target for $14.99. There are cars, trains, princess castles. I chose this one because it goes perfectly with his existing whimsical animal theme.

Incidentally, I also bought this bumper and bedskirt at a consignment in Chantilly, called Little Lords and Ladies. The set is from Pottery Barn, and it was also $25.00


3. Look for department store clearances.
If you have a local Sears or JCPenny, they usually have an online outlet where they are discontinuing furniture. They also need to make room for new styles. If you order anything on line, they generally will send you a follow up "coupon" for free shipping, etc. Save it for a rainy day. You can also have them ship it to the store for free, and you just pick up. I found these beautiful solid wood chairs for $50 each and the elegant pedestal table was the perfect size. 42" round.
The set really punches the green in our family room. The entire set including taxes was $420. You really can't find that price anywhere for a five piece solid wood dinette.

To pull the whole morning room together, I added a white runner with black embroidery (Pottery Barn Outlet $14) and artificial hydrangeas (AC Moore $7 with 40% coupon) and some plates (Ross Dress for Less. $6 for 4 green plates, and $5 for 4 salad plates.)

That should hold you over for a little while. I find so much joy in the hunt for bargains, I will share all my secrets.... if you can have as much fun with this as I am!