How may I help you??

I have been told that I am good at improvising. Well, I guess I would agree as I have certainly had a lot of experience doing so over the years. It is probably better labelled making do, as many of us with limited resources (both from an accessablity angle and budgetary) have done. I personally enjoy the thrill of the hunt and like to stretch that creative organ, the brain, to keep the cobwebs out. That's not to say I don't bristle with envy when others are able to walk into a store and purchase exactly the right furniture, lighting, accessories...that coordinate beautifully. I have new neighbours moving in next door and they already have their concrete driveway and walkways poured, shed built, and it looks like even the grass will be rolled out like a nice green carpet before they actually physically move in themselves. Yes, instant gratification is wonderful... but for the rest of us, I thought I'd share some of my favourite shortcuts, decorating
improvisations and bargains that we all can get our hands on!!

The photo at left shows how I decided to solve the dilemma as to how to separate the two colours Sophie wanted her room painted. I did not want to do a chair rail as I wanted something different, and my hubby would have to do it and I would have to wait until he had the time. Sooo, I decided to put up a pompom fringe border as I love pompom trim. Approximately 100 or more pushpins and 10 decidedely sore fingers and I was done. It might look a bit skimpy here, but it actually looks quite delicate and pretty in the room (or at least my loyal friends and family tell me so).

The wrought-iron railing is my answer to two problems: my daredevil son who I know would eventually attempt to scale the railing from our main deck to access the pool area, and the issue of adding decorative detail to an otherwise basic deck design. I love the look of iron fencing, but the cost is exhorbitant. My solution: I purchased some of those iron garden borders used in flower gardens for $5 a section and had hubby drill holes to slide them into the fence rail. It was perfect...the ideal (ahem...) deterrant to a little boy scaling a fence, and they look pretty as well.

I have shown this message board before. I have been asked if I got it at Pottery Barn or some other home decor shop, and the answer is no. Again, hubby came to the rescue. We took a thin sheet of plywood, painted it with chalkboard paint and trimmed it up nicely. A crystal knob makes it look like a cabinet door and a small metal bucket holds the chalk. I even prettied up the eraser by adding a "vintage" sticker from the scrapbook store. I have also painted directly onto interior doors and used them as my chalkboards. If I want to remember anything, I have to have a chalkboard.


I particularily like what I did behind this stove area. The photo is of my kitchen in my previous home. I have always admired tin backsplashes but it just was not in my budget and at the time, I still could not get my hands on the vinyl version so popular now. So, I took a couple of tin tiles I got at Walmart for $4 each, painted them with silver spray paint, and trimmed them with "metal" strips I picked up at (again) the scrapbook store in my town. I then just applied them to the wall behind the stove using finishing nails as they already came with the mounting holes in the corners. Cheap, easy, and gave me my budget version of a tin backsplash of sorts.

The next photos are basically just great buys I got that mimic their more expensive cousins. I have very similar lamps to these that I purchased at Walmart for $30 each and I picked up silk shades (on sale) at Zellers for $12. The decorative effect is the same, but my wallet wasn't as drained... Also, my vintage-inspired sink was bought for $200 at Home Hardware and I cannot see the difference between it and its ~$1200 counterparts at Restoration Hardware and other select stores. I love its price and its great looks. I love getting a great look for less...some may say I am not getting the quality, but I have yet to have the lesser twins disappoint me; and with the way my tastes can change, I am glad I don't enter into life-long contracts with my purchases. It makes it all the easier to "redecorate" when the mood strikes...!!!