Ella recently moved into a house where she is attending her first year of law school. Her house is a cute one-story ranch that has an open kitchen/family room floor plan with three quaint bedrooms and two bathrooms. She moved in last month and has settled in and is now ready for some decor to make the house into a home. Enter mom! I was happy to get the phone call to come down for a visit to see the place and help Ella with some quick, easy (and budget friendly) home styling and decor.
THE THREE "R" RULE
To style her home we didn’t have a lot of time or money (we were working with a 4;30 tee time and a 1st year law student’s budget). No worries on either front. I know I repeat this a lot in my DIY and decor blogs but I can’t say it enough. When decorating on a dime remember the three “R’s”. Always look to reuse, repurpose and recycle.. For Ella, she already had a decorated dorm room and two furnished apartments throughout her undergrad years so she had stuff to work with. Also, she had been 2nd hand shopping and even snagged a TV stand from the garbage! No denying she is my kid…she gets it honestly to reuse, recycle and repurpose! With little time, little budget and using what was on hand we styled 4 spaces in under two hours (we even fit in quick trips to Home Depot and Home Goods for shelves, baskets, a fiddle leaf tree and some artwork). Here are the quick and easy home styling and decor updates we were able to accomplish and tips for styling a space quickly and on a budget!
LIVING AREA
USE SHEERS INSTEAD OF CURTAINS – We kept it light and airy with a set of sheers instead of heavy drapes or curtains (Ella didn’t even know what sheers were when I mentioned using them – LOL). Sheers are also less expensive than curtains so budget friendly too!
TRASH TO TREASURE – It’s amazing what college kids throw away on move out day. Ella found the discarded TV stand in the alleyway behind her college apartment. SCORE! When decorating on a dime, don’t overlook what one person deems as trash as another person’s treasure.
HIDE THE EYE SORES – The “new” TV stand was a great find, however, it does not hide cords from the TV set. Therefore, decorate with purpose to hide eyesores in a space. Baskets (Home Goods always has a big selection of different colors and sizes) are a perfect and inexpensive solution. They not only hide outlets, plugs and cords, they also provide extra storage in a small home for blankets, pillows or even dog toys!
ADD SHELVES – An easy and low cost solution for adding design and decor to a big or small space is to add shelves. Guess what, shelves are easy to install and inexpensive too! We purchased mounting brackets and two shelf boards (less than $10 each from the Home Depot and they come in lots of colors and sizes). Four screws into the wall later, we had an inexpensive update to a large bland wall that can be styled with various knick-knacks, books and plants. We mounted the shevles high because she has a very large puppy that is also very nosy and not very decor friendly!
STUDY ROOM
LIGHTING – One of the bedrooms in Ella’s house is now her study room. Instead of a desk, she reused our old breakfast nook table. The table sits next to the window for natural light on her work space and a view of the real world during those long study sessions! We also added a table lamp for direct task lighting on her school work.
ADD COLOR – Ella wants to keep her house decor very neutral. However, sometimes a pop of color is necessary. I felt that was especially necessary in her study room. She will be spending A LOT of time in this space as a 1st year law student. In order for the room to be a comfortable and productive space with little distractions we reused curtains from her sister’s old dorm room, hung a couple prints on the wall and threw some pillows on an over sized corner chair and ottoman that she can sit in for study breaks without having to leave the room.
KITCHEN
STAGING A SPACE – The kitchen and family room are combined with a bar peninsula that is the only eating area (no room for a dining table). We staged that space with a place setting for two, swapped out the furnished bar stools for bar stools we brought from our attic and a centerpiece tray that works as a base for decor such as a candle, some faux greenery and holiday decor.
BUY ARTWORK THAT WILL WORK EVERYWHERE – This is a trick I use in my own home. I buy artwork that I can literally put in any room of my house. This over sized piece of artwork we found at Home Goods looks great in every room of Ella’s house (we actually used it in the bedroom for photographs as well as the kitchen). As she collects artwork and more wall decor for her home over time, she can decide on permanent placements. In the meantime, for decor on a dime, start with one piece that is versatile and can be moved around the home where you are entertaining.
BEDROOM
DON’T BE AFRAID TO PAINT WOOD – Ella had this project done before I arrived but I was so impressed with not only her 2nd hand store shopping find (two solid wood side tables for $40) but also that she took the initiative to paint them white to match her neutral home decor. They are so cute and perfect on both sides of her bed.
FIDDLE LEAF PLANTS – these faux plants/trees are a DIY home decorator MUST HAVE. They are fake so no maintenance or upkeep, they give ANY room some definition whether you get a tall, medium or short one (they come in all sizes) AND they are easy to decorate with. Pop them literally in ANY corner (put them in a basket to add any room decor or color) and it will will elevate that space. No matter the room, house, space, fiddle leaf trees or plants are a must!
I also reuse and repurpose ! Love all you’ve done to make it feel warm and cozy and CHIC !!!
Awesome. Always amazed at how you make affordable & terrific changes. Love the 3 “R’s”.