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Decorate on a Budget

August 10, 2017 Lucy Leave a Comment

The most important to things to grasp as you decorate your home on a limited budget is patience and sweat equity.

You may not have lots of money to spend on expensive furniture and decor, but you are smart and you probably have some energy or time…I hope anyways. =)

Here are some suggestions to help you to meet your decorating and designing goals:

Set a budget for each project and save money each week or month for that project. Try to pay for your projects with cash. Again, this will take patience, but beauty has a price and sometimes the hardest thing to part with is your time! It is rarely worth accumulating debt to get a look you want right now when you can get the look with a little more time/patience. Not only will you have a beautiful room or home, you will have the peace of mind that you are not putting yourself into financial ruin to do it.
Curate inspiration. One of the best advice I got when I was getting ready to buy a home was to start collecting ideas that inspired me. Pinterest is a great place for this. (Check out my Pinterest profile: Lucyjohome.) You can also tear pages out of magazines, copy and paste pictures, collect fabric swatches and take samples that are available through the home improvement stores you walk through. Just like a vision board helps you create the life you dream of, a mood board helps you to make your home decor/design ideas a reality. [A mood board is a collection of images and products that will inspire your decorating/designing.] Take note of the homes you love to visit and the places you travel to that bring you joy. If you can’t get a picture, write a note about the area and what you remember the most about it. When it is time to actually buy your materials or commission work, you will know exactly what you want and that feels good!
DIY projects are your best friend. There are so many DIY ninjas out there. Follow their blogs; try the projects they feature and create pieces for your home that you love. Some of my favorite projects have been creating floating book shelves for my children’s books, reupholstering a kid table and chairs, creating a headboard and framed state silhouettes for my front room. A lot of the project ideas I used came from the book Young House Love, and the others came from Pinterest posts that I saved. Investing in your home through your sweat can help you feel like you are making progress. Warning: Don’t get caught up in doing a ton of little, low-cost projects if you need to save your money for larger projects. Do you need a wreath when your kitchen tile is falling off? Make priorities based on your needs and not just on your wants. Also, carefully evaluate the cost of creating something yourself and the buying it new. There have been some DIY projects we opted not to do because it was less expensive, and less time-consuming to buy the item. Be wise with your time, money and energy.
Remember that less funds does not mean less beauty. Scarcity is the mother of invention. Get creative by taking stock of what you already have and how it might be used in different ways. Could that old mirror be new again with a coat of paint? Does that old couch just need a new slip-cover? Do you have some fabric to cover those stained pillows? There may be projects to do in your home that you just haven’t thought about yet. See your stuff with fresh eyes. A book that really inspired me to make the most of my home was The Nesting Place. The author always emphasized “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”

I know it is hard not to have the homes that we see on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest; at least it is hard for me sometimes. I get discouraged that I can’t buy the $800 rug that I love or buy all the furniture I want in one pop, but I know that as you learn more about interior design/decorating, you will be able to create beauty with less, and what you don’t have, you can create or save for with some work and patience.

Best wishes in your efforts to create your heaven on Earth!

Lucy Jo

Visiting a Special Home

July 27, 2017 Lucy 2 Comments

Lindsay prepping the room.

I met Lindsay my sophomore year of college. I remember seeing her at church and having the thought that we could never be friends because of how pretty she was. Boy, my first impressions were wrong!

I was a president of the women’s organization at my church when I first saw Lindsay, and I was trying to decide who I should choose for my counselors. Lindsay got up to speak and I knew that although I didn’t think we could be friends, I knew that this gorgeous, gregarious, faithful person needed to be one of my counselors. Little did I know that Lindsay would be a a fast friend and we would be close for many years to come…12 years so far. Like so many good things, Lindsay has only gotten sweeter with time.

She is still beautiful and the life of the party, but I have always connected to her genuine and kind personality. It was such a treat to spend time with her and her family while I was in Utah these past few weeks.

Not only does she have a stylish home, she has a home full of energy and love. She is the mother of four boys (two of which are twins). She amazes me and I am not surprised that she can keep up with all the responsibilities she has. Everyone in her home depends on her and she wants to rise to the occasion and does.

Take a look at how she has decorated her home…it is so fun and beautiful! Lindsay exemplifies true beauty. She has created a lovely house AND a home of heart, faith and laughter.

What is your favorite part of her house? I wish you could meet her in person and tell me what you love about her too. It is easy to love her.

Best,

Lucy

Sitting Room

Dining Room looking into Living Room

Kitchen

Entryway

Sitting Room

Living Room

5 Ways to Furnish a Home on a Budget

July 20, 2017 Lucy Leave a Comment

Buy, Sell, Trade Facebook Groups: These groups can be a little more safe than Craigslist because there are administrators monitoring regularly (hopefully) and people’s profiles are attached to their post.
Craigslist (see story below)
Thrift Store: Remember that visiting frequently will increase your chances of great finds. People that find great deals don’t go in once, they go in weekly. This takes patience, but it often pays off!
Online second hand furniture stores: Here is a list of companies to check out. (Chairish, Etsy, Viyet, Krrb, EBTH (Estate Sales)
DIY furniture projects:(There are so many IKEA furniture hacks that truly are stunning. It is less expensive, but the sweat equity is a factor. Check out my Pinterest boards for ideas. Lucy Jo Home is my Pinterest profile name.)

This weekend I convinced my husband to help me pick up a sofa and two matching chairs from someone on Craigslist. We borrowed a truck and I prayed on the way there that the furniture would be in good enough shape to buy since we were driving 30 minutes away and borrowing a truck. But, to begin with, I did do some preparation before I went to all this effort…

Look at the pictures and pick up on clues. The picture quality of the posting I was interested in wasn’t great, but the fact that she made the slipcovers said she had some sense of style and beauty; she actually had decorative pillows on the sofa and her end table was styled with flowers and a lamp. We are on to something now. And the fact that she named the brand of furniture was also an indication that she valued quality.
I knew what I was looking for. I am refreshing my basement, and I knew I wanted a white sofa. After realizing that my budget was not going to allow for a brand new piece, I started to look on my local Facebook Buy, Sell and Trade pages and on Craigslist. I was so pleased to see a white slipcovered set of Baker Furniture for $100 on Craigslist.
The next step was to contact her. She had only one source of contact, email. I always ask about things that are deal-breakers–smell is one for me. Confirm price, and arrange to see the piece in person. I always ask if it is smoke-free and pet-free home. I do not buy furniture that smells like smoke or pet urine and I doubt you would want to either. Now, just so you know, I took a chance on the furniture this weekend when she told me that she had pets. I was worried, but I also figured that if they were white slipcovers that she wouldn’t be selling it if is was ripped up by a pet or smelled to high heaven. Again, I did make an assumption, but it was a calculated risk.
Go get it! I took a good look at all the furniture and when I was ready to buy it I handed her the cash. I didn’t negotiate on price because I thought it was very fair for what I was getting. If it is worthy of buying but not worth their asking price, you know what to do. Offer what you think it is worth.

If you need furniture for your home and you don’t want to go into debt for it, it may take some time and effort, but you will be surprised at what you can find. One of the coolest things about furniture now is that you can create beautiful pieces of furniture just by paining them. I have yet to paint any furniture, but I do have a friend who has a business painting furniture for people and I have asked her to do a guest post.

Do I want to buy brand new pieces of furniture? Yes, I am looking forward to it, but in the meantime, I can create beautiful spaces and still stay true to my other super important goal of paying off debt instead of going into debt. It is fun to create a challenge for yourself and make the most of what you have. I will post pictures once the basement is done.

What are some ways that you have furnished your home on a budget? Which ways have you used to get affordable furniture.

“I want to go home!”

July 19, 2017 Lucy 2 Comments

Marion and Maureen Panganiban Family Reunion 2017 (not pictured: Adell Simmons)

We have been in Utah for nearly two weeks and it has been filled with a lot of good memories, but memory-making comes at the cost of routine and sleep. When my girls and I are at home we have a tight schedule that we keep for good reason. Naps and quiet time are not just for me to have a break; my kids really need that time to rest. So, as we have been visiting friends and family and traveling back and forth between them and home-base at my mom’s house, my kids have not had their naps and if they did, it was at a home they were unfamiliar with. So, last night as we drove the hour to my mom’s house, my kids were completely strung out. I heard a lot of the following–in screaming form:

“I want my Coty (their dad).”
“Where’s my daddy?”
“I want to go home!”

I have thought about this since and I see a lesson. My kids needed rest and comfort from a long day of new people and places. We pushed the envelope of their mental, emotional and physical capacity by strapping them into car seats to drive for the tenth time that day. During this time of stress, they yelled for their dad and home…two things that would ease their burdens and bring them peace in an otherwise hectic day.

This made me realize just how important our homes are and what home really means. The definition of home that I have formulated lately is

a space to be our true selves and room to become better.

Our homes are literally havens (a place of safety or refuge). It made me feel good that my children yell out for home; that means that they feel that safety. I am also equally glad that they call out for their dad. In a world full of absent fathers, they know that they will find strong arms to hug them and tender kisses on the cheek from a man that sees them for who they are and who they will become.

I hope that every child of God has a place to rest from their cares–a place to call home.

Best,

Lucy

4 Ways to Find Your Style and a Simple Style Assessment

July 14, 2017 Lucy Leave a Comment

I recently interviewed a few of my family members about some pain points for them in regards to decorating and designing their homes. I am excited to address some issues that are real and hopefully they will be helpful to you.

1. Recognize what really impresses you. Sometimes we don’t really take note about the things that we really like. One of the best pieces of advice I got before I started looking at homes was to be really observant of other people’s homes and pay attention when I saw homes online so that I could start to see what would bring me joy when I encountered it. Some places to find inspiration is in your friends and family’s homes, Pinterest, Instagram, Houzz and other websites dedicated to showcasing interiors. With social media today, it makes is super easy to start creating your own “vision board for your home”.

2. Take inventory. Many of us have not bought everything that has found a way to our home. Many things we inherit or were given, so some of these things are naturally not going to be your style. If it does not bring you joy to see it, sell, donate or gift it to someone that may really enjoy it. You can replace it with something that does bring you joy. This process of weeding out things that are not “you” and replacing them with pieces you love may be a slow process depending on your budget, but you will find that as you are deliberate about your decorating, your friends and family will recognize your style and start getting you things that fit. For example, I had a friend that bought me some really cute yellow lemon salt shakers for my kitchen. They were a perfect addition to my kitchen decorations and I didn’t even buy them. The sooner you start to find some consistency in your style, others will catch on too and help you get what you need.

3. Go shopping. I love to shop for my home, so this comes easily for me, but even if you don’t like to shop, you can go with the express purpose of just seeing what catches your eye. Do you always go over to a certain color? Do you love wood or a metal or both together? Are you into textures? Do you like the quirky, eclectic decor or do you stop to look at the traditional furniture? There are so many places to go shopping, but the obvious choices are places with a good variety of styles, so that you are not limited in finding your aesthetic.

4. Ask a friend or family member that you feel has this home decorating thing down and see how they figured it out. They may start to ask you the perfect questions. Since I am your friend, here are a few to ask yourself. Write down the answers and it may reveal your style.

Style Assessment

Which photograph do like better?

(If you chose A, you may like darker, moodier interiors, or you at least like to add drama to contemporary spaces. You appreciate rich, deep colors.)

(If you chose B, you like bright, airy and open spaces. The more light and white, the better for you. You likely enjoy adding life and nature to the indoors with greenery and flowers.)

When you walk into a room, what do you notice first–how clean and organized the room feels or that there are a lot of cool things to look at?

(If you notice organization and cleanliness over the things in the room, you probably like a more minimalist space that is strategic vs having plenty to look at, but feeling overwhelmed by all the interesting things to look at.)

(If you notice the small details and like the variety and more is more look, you probably like a Bohemian or Modern glam because the space, while deliberate is filled and interesting and or beautiful.)

Which do you prefer?

A. Formal sofa and perfectly styled gold-lined coffee table

B. A bright and bold sofa with a colorfully patterned pouf

C. A wicker chair, warm blanket and a wooden trunk that was passed down through the family

D. A chaise lounge, a still portrait in a gilt frame on the wall and a grand vase of silk flowers

(A. Glam B. Eclectic or Bohemian, C. New Country/Rustic D. Traditional)

Which of these styles do you relate to the most? If you don’t know what one of these looks like simply put the word and then add interiors into a google search.

You can like more than one style, and many times, the ones you like can be combined. Emily Henderson has an awesome Style Wheel that helps you to see which styles can be combined without one overtaking the other. Like finding complementary colors on a color wheel, you want to choose styles that are across from each other on her color wheel to find your style’s complimentary partner.

Image Source

So, do you feel like you might have an idea of what style you prefer for your home? I hope you do and if you don’t, I hope you will take the time to figure it out.

Remember that you can always change your mind. Your style can change as you grow, but don’t change what you love to fit just what is popular in the moment. You will love your home a lot longer if you are true to yourself, despite trends. Let your house be another way that you express your best and authentic self!

Best,

Lucy Jo