Tag Archives: budget decorating

Pottery Barn Lamp Makeover (and Chalk Paint Sneak Peek)

19 Aug

I recently scored these Pottery Barn lamps for $10 on Craigslist and gave them a major makeover.

Here’s my favorite after shot:

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Here’s the before photo from the original Craigslist ad:

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When I got the lamps home and began my post-purchase inspection, I definitely wondered what I’d been thinking when I bought them.

The peeling, rusting finish in this pic should give you an idea of their poor condition:

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I got busy scraping with my putty knife and then sanded with 150 grit sandpaper.

When I removed the lampshades, I was greeted by even more rust. So I sanded away.

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After sanding and cleaning the lamps thoroughly, I taped them off with painters tape and enclosed the cord in a plastic grocery bag.

Shhhhh….I smuggled in the plastic grocery bag from a different city due to a bag ban ordinance in Austin.

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My Top Favorite Thrifty Finds

22 Jul

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There are treasures to be discovered at thrift stores, estate sales, and even some retailers. There’s also plenty of over-priced junk. I’ve purchased both.

Sometimes I leave empty-handed. Sometimes my hoarding tendencies kick in and I buy something I don’t need or want.

But sometimes, I find just the perfect thing for Around My Home, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite finds with you in this post.

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Budget Decorating: Re-purposing Old Books

15 Jun

During a recent trip to Restoration Hardware to buy paint for our kitchen makeover, I took a quick peek around and instantly fell in love with this look:

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A closer inspection revealed a small stack of what appeared to be old paperback books sans covers and bound together in a neat little package with twine.

I was surprised to find a price tag – RH sells these bundles for $15 each! Are you kidding me?!

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I loved the look but decided I could probably create it myself for close to free.

So I marched right home and instantly went to work.  Okay, it was really about two weeks later in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep and was looking for something to do and remembered the book idea.

I pulled out some books that I was getting ready to donate and reviewed my stack of recent thrift store book purchases, too.

I was completely delighted (insert happy squeal here) to discover some twine in my husband’s workshop. Yay, Honey for having twine!

I was able to quickly put this bundle together in just a few minutes:

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