Price my Space--My FREE Living Room.

My biggest blog-crush, Nester, is having a Price My Space party! If you're stopping by from the Nester's, thanks for coming! I'm just getting started here at City Seed so I am thrilled to have visitors (read: I am a desperate attention-gobbler. Read me. Follow me. Comment me. I have no shame.)

I just redecorated, and I definitely have a budget living room! In fact, my room was free! How is that possible?! Well, sometimes trial and error can be profitable. If you have no money, but are willing to take the time to hunt for a great deal, you can only end up with a great space for a great price!

(Remember, click any picture to enlarge it!)



1. The big, round mirror--Craigslist. The couple selling it was moving out that day, and it had to go. LOVE it's wide, black frame. $30.

2. I kissed a lot of frogs to find this chair! But this is where you gotta listen closely, girls, so grab you a Frappuccino and lean in... I stole. I mean, I looked for STEALS of a deal! On Craigslist, that is. Why? If I change my mind, I make money when I resell and I can use it to buy me more house pretties. Love me some pretties!

The first chair I bought was a white, slip-covered love of a thing. It was $70, but when I got it home it was just too big for my space. I resold it the next day for $150. Love that. Then, I found a pair of DAMASK WINGCHAIRS! 13 months new. $100. For the pair. Yes, I said $100 for the pair. Brought them home, loved the damask, but felt like they were too formal for the room. I resold them for $200 each. Then I found a cane-backed, french style, silk upholstered chair for $15 at Goodwill. I loved it in there. It looked just right. I hated to part with it. But I ended up deciding it wasn't practical with two small boys creating ruckuses right and left. I sold it for $100.

So, for those of you who are good at math (unlike me), I am currently ahead by $465 on the chair venture. Now, I could have just gone out and spent my new fortune on a chair at retail price, but what would be the fun in that? I'm a hunter. It's the thrill of the chase.

So when I found the custom upholstered chair above, I knew it had to be mine. It's a red and tan gingham, and I covered the seat cushion with painter's canvas. Didn't even sew it. I just tucked. $45 including the canvas. The clock above the chair was $5 at Goodwill. I spray painted it with paint I already had. I will talk about the lamps later. Total: $50.

3. The sofa and loveseat. I had an ugly (to me) microfiber sectional. I was DYING for fabric-covered pieces, preferably in a slip-covered style. I resold my sectional for $600 and told myself I would spend no more on new furniture than what I sold my old stuff for. This 3 month old set was being sold by a couple retiring to Florida. $500 total. $100 in my pocket.

4. I spent my "extra" $100 on a faux fireplace with a candelabra inside.





5. My coffee table was free. It was a battered looking, pine thing, but it had nice drawers and beadboard styling. I spray painted it white, distressed it, and added a number with a paint marker. I changed its knobs out for new ones I had gotten for $0.25 on clearance at Tar-jay. Total: About $12 for the knobs and spraypaint.




6. Black end tables--Craigslist again. I spraypainted them, including the hardware! $30 for the pair. The set of 3 lamps was bought at Costco for $60. The frame was free at a garage sale. I put some scrapbook paper in it, and hot glued a Z (our initial) that I had shmeared with craft paint. The books were $2 at Goodwill. The birdie was $1 at Michael's. On the other table, I have a frame ($4) again with scrapbook paper and some pretties from my stash, and a little succulent in a pot (fake fake fake! POOPIE alert!) that I got for $2.50 at Michael's. Total for end tables, lamps, and accessories: $101.50


Here's my room again, so you don't get lost trying to scroll to refer to it!





7. Um, I skipped the number 7 apparently. Take a break to sip those Frapps and meet me at number 8. Thanx.

8. Welcome back. On to my rug, numero ocho. My rug was a GREAT investment. 100% wool, 8x11, thick! I love the colors in it. It is a soft white, a soft gray-blue, and some tan. $300 from HomeGoods. Oh, sweet mercy, I love that store. I am not including this in my total because I got it before I redecorated, so it was pre-existing. Everything else has been aquired in the last 6 months or so.

9. The Armoire is one of my favorite things in the room. Not only does it satisfy my "house pretties" craving, it houses our TV, some media, 47 million toys, and even diapers and wipes. And it's solid as the day it was made. $185 on, you guessed it, Craigslist. I traded out the knobs and pulls for more Tar-jay clearance ones. $3.50 for all hardware. The hurricane lanterns on there were $16 for all three, and the candles in them were $6. All were clearance finds at Michael's or Joann Fabrics, not sure. The huge, white platter was $6 from Goodwill and the barn star was $5 at Lowe's. I painted it blue with some leftover paint I had. Total for this area: $221.50.

10. I am about to let you in on a secret. I almost hesitate to even post it, because I don't want everyone to go steal my yummy deals! But here it is: Lowe's is negotiable on clearance prices. Oh yes, they are. My big, white mirror that sits on the mantle is broken in one corner. Lowe's wanted $30 for it. I asked if I could have it for $10. I walked away singing. Singing in a slightly grunty, strangled voice belonging to a girl carrying a very, very large and heavy mirror. The apothecary jar set was $20. I got it on chefs.com of all places. The stuff in them was free from my yard, except for the petal filler which were $2. The little lamp was $3 from Goodwill. Total: $35

Room total: -$45. Yep, that is right. I have $45 more now than I did when I started. Mercy me.



Thanks for touring my living room, and be sure to look at everyone else's Price My Space posts over at the Nesting Place!

Let's Go

When we finally put our pretty little house here in the 'burbs on the market, in preparation for our move to farm life, I had a revelation:


I didn't wanna.

On the outside I was dutifully watering my curb-appeal enhancing flowers, swiffering my floors until the kids could sock-skate on them with ease, and turning on all of my 47 million lamps for each showing.

On the inside, I was digging my cute little black high heels in as hard as I could.

One day, during a showing, I took the boys (who are 2 and 4) to a park. They slid down slides, ran themselves in circles, and got generally sweaty and dusty, much to their satisfaction. Soon, it was time to leave. I gave the 5 minute warning. The sun was getting hot, I had no sunscreen, I hadn't started lunch, naptime loomed, and a trip over to Grammie's house was planned for later in the day.

"Okay, 5 minutes is up, take one last slide and come on over, Rovers!"

The teary, stomping tantrum that ensued from my 4-year-old was epic. And predictable. He did this way too often.

I'm not one to mince words, so on the way home, I laid it on the line. "Look, Mr. Man, you are four years old. You are not a baby. Tantrums are not acceptable. When I say it is time to leave, you need to obey. You need to trust that Mommy loves you and knows what is best for you. When I say it is time to go, it's for a good reason..." At this point I started choking on my words. It was like looking in a mirror and talking to my own face. But the Voice wasn't really mine.

"I have other things planned for us. If you didn't come with me when I asked, you would miss out on a bunch of good stuff. Sometimes there are things going on that you just don't know about. But I know about them, so you need to trust me to take care of you, even if it doesn't seem fair or fun to do what I say. Okay, honey?"

As my preschooler sighed his understanding and submission, I wriggled my nose against the sting of tears that threatened me. "Sighhhhhhh... Okay, Lord. Let's go."