I first got married when we were in school. Sonny in graduate school, myself in nursing school and soon we had a little family. It was wonderful and crazy at the same time (thank God for my in-laws, couldn’t have done it without them). We had absolutely no money. My aunt gave us our first bed. We went to yardsales for furniture and kids clothing. as people graduated and went on to jobs we acquired hand me downs. I remember those days so well,  they were some of the best-  we had each other.

I started to want to make my spaces pretty and luckily I had Aunt Faye ( everyone should be so lucky to have an Aunt Faye). She can make anything- even a dump look amazing. We scoured cheap places and made things together- she helped me decorate my first homes. I learned how to go outside and gather branches, and natural elements for Christmas, the fine art of  spray paint, floral design and many any other tricks from her.

This year I had the privilege of helping a couple of young ladies do some Christmas decorating. They don’t have the collection of stuff that many of us in the design world have because they are just starting their married lives. We spent a lot of time talking about their individual styles and how to decorate a space on a budget. So today I thought I’d share with you, the readers of this fine blog, some of my secrets for getting a beautiful space on a budget and  in a later post how to determine your style so you can begin to collect things you can use in your home for years. While this post has some lovely Christmas photos, the ideas transcend the seasons. I preach that you need basics and then a few pieces to get you going in any season.

This is what I affectionally call my blue room. It has been an office, a formal living room, TV room and the drop zone for all things I didn’t know what to do with. It has been changed the most out of all the rooms in the house- and painted 3 times in the last 19 years. I LOVE this room, always did- but now I feel that I’ve found the real vibe of the space. This is probably one of my most favorite Christmas displays as well- it just gets me in the getting place…

This room however speaks volumes about what I am trying to say.  So Theresa’s tip number one:

GO to the thrift store!  Treasures abound at your local thrift store. Yes, there will be junk and crap!  Just take a Zyrtec and good buddy and get your behind there and search. Books are something every home should have as a basis for decorating. they make great layers and levels. I purchase three kinds of books, hardback by color, paperback to deconstruct and vintage. All three types are used here; on the shelves  (some open to expose the beautiful prints inside) , as parts of the design inside the shelves and the levels and base of my Christmas trees. Notice how I have the front of some books exposed as opposed to the spine..

My second tip is to NOT shop new for your furniture. Honestly, unless you have a good amount of money to spend it is rare to find a really good solid piece of furniture. Have you ever been to an antique auction?  This is the place to find good quality furniture at a reasonable price. Look on Craigslist, search Facebook marketplace. You can put a little work into a piece, have something that can be amazing and it will last forever.  The piano was bought for very little from a friend, the bar table is walnut and is actually an old sewing machine, the table in the foyer is solid and is from a thrift store…Don’t be afraid of upholstered pieces like couches and chairs. The chairs in the living room are all reupholstered and were discovered at the thrift store.

Thirdly- repurpose what you already own. the blue vases the trees are in were once canisters in my kitchen, the chalkboards are old pictures that I repurposed into chalkboards, the frames once held pictures and that is an actual map of India on the wall. Repurpose.

Lastly save your money for the big special pieces. I always wanted leather chairs- real leather…I looked and looked, even vintage ones were expensive. I found these from Article and they fit the ticket. I love them and they will be forever, heirloom pieces.

I hope this give you a little place to start when you feel overwhelmed in creating your space. I’d love to hear from you, also shoot me any questions you have about design or decorating your space. I’d love to help!

Theresa