Sticking with my Frugal fashion theme I thought I would share some "inexpensive" ways that we were able to add to our home. Now I understand that inexpensive is relative for everyone, but keep in mind that we have officially lived here for a year next week and we've been holding out for some of these items for that long as well!
IKEA. Low cost home decor is a life saver. Most of our big furniture items are from Crate and Barrel but we've also mixed in a few Ikea items such as our entertainment center, some small decor items and now our new kitchen island!
This is love people.
I don't always love Ikea because you save on cost by putting in your own labor which is no fun, and the materials aren't always the nicest. However, you can definitely find some gems and we were so excited when we found this island because we didn't feel like we were compromising at all for the look and function we were going for!
The end result!
The end result!
We went with two of these shelving units for a few reasons. First of all, we've been looking and looking for almost 2 years now for a dining table. I can't settle on any because we are renters and we've never truly had a defined dining area. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a giant dining table when we could up and move again next year! (considering we've already had 2 apts in 2 years anything is possible)
Secondly, I wanted something that could function for eating and storage since we are very limited on kitchen cabinets here, which led us to the island idea. I love that these are sturdy but also provide lots of extra storage for dishes freeing up cupboard space! We had a fairly large kitchen area that really wasn't being used to it's full potential, now that we have a place to gather, eat, and work it almost adds a new usable space to the apt that was only being used for cooking before. Also, since Mr. Jones works mainly from home this gives him a more practicle work space than the couch. And lastly they can easily be used for other things in other rooms if/ when we ever move. They fit our style well and I can see them as shelving, a bar area, or even again as a kitchen table if we ever have a proper dining room!
Next up, new art a la Ikea yet again! We've been dying to get some new art over the couch that actually fit the space and we've also had a bare wall that was dying for some decor, for under $100 we were able to cover all of our bases to get this!
Ribba frame plus San Fran poster from here that I ordered months ago finally hanging proudly on our wall!
Two LARGE Ribba frames with Paper Source paper inside for inexpensive art!
Secondly, I wanted something that could function for eating and storage since we are very limited on kitchen cabinets here, which led us to the island idea. I love that these are sturdy but also provide lots of extra storage for dishes freeing up cupboard space! We had a fairly large kitchen area that really wasn't being used to it's full potential, now that we have a place to gather, eat, and work it almost adds a new usable space to the apt that was only being used for cooking before. Also, since Mr. Jones works mainly from home this gives him a more practicle work space than the couch. And lastly they can easily be used for other things in other rooms if/ when we ever move. They fit our style well and I can see them as shelving, a bar area, or even again as a kitchen table if we ever have a proper dining room!
Next up, new art a la Ikea yet again! We've been dying to get some new art over the couch that actually fit the space and we've also had a bare wall that was dying for some decor, for under $100 we were able to cover all of our bases to get this!
Ribba frame plus San Fran poster from here that I ordered months ago finally hanging proudly on our wall!
Two LARGE Ribba frames with Paper Source paper inside for inexpensive art!
We have two Paper Source locations here in the city, but you could easily order any of their papers online as well. They are high end nicely made papers that come in large rectangular sheets in a plethora of colors and designs. I chose two that complimented each other and our overall color scheme and am so happy with the way they turned out! The photo doesn't do it justice b/c of the glare! The best part each sheet cost under $5! Total for this project $70. Love!
The end result...
Kitchen looking into living room! LOVE my new view!
The end result...
Kitchen looking into living room! LOVE my new view!
We also purchased a new bathroom mirror from Ikea that I may share later although it's very nice looking, it's hard to get a good shot, and I do have a few DIY projects up my sleeve as well that I'm hoping to complete this weekend!
So there it is, it took a little time and patience to finish these projects that I've been dreaming about for some time, but now that it's almost complete I feel like it's a brand new house!
Hope I've inspired you and all of the highlighted words are links to what we purchased if you want to re create the look for yourself!
Happy Friday lovelies!
XOXO- Miss V
So there it is, it took a little time and patience to finish these projects that I've been dreaming about for some time, but now that it's almost complete I feel like it's a brand new house!
Hope I've inspired you and all of the highlighted words are links to what we purchased if you want to re create the look for yourself!
Happy Friday lovelies!
XOXO- Miss V
Love the new kitchen island, very cute! The San Fran art is perfection...
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, super jealous of all your kitchen space!! And I looove exposed dishes!
ReplyDeleteI literally have to shop for an entire* apartment. Not sure if that's fun --or frightening? ;)
Great additions! I love them all!
ReplyDeleteWow! Looks great...love how industrial it is! Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteLove the new addition! It look so perfect in there. Ikea is the best!!! :)
ReplyDelete