Using Your Crafting Skills For Home Decor Projects

Moving is exhausting.  You pack all your stuff up, move it, then unpack everything.  Plus you end up doing a lot of searching for home décor and furniture to fill the gaps of what you need to make your home feel like home.

It’s also expensive to move.  The moving boxes and moving method  start off your ever mounting expense list.  Once we actually arrived at our new little house, the bottom line kept increasing and I was determined not to go over the budget that I had set for myself.

I’m a very thrifty shopper.  I won’t buy anything unless it’s on sale or better…clearance.  I’m fine with a good scratch and dent corner.  I also LOVE garage sales and thrift stores.  I still have things my husband and I got for our first house going to garage sales 35 years ago!

I made a new discovery with this move.  Facebook Marketplace.  You know from a previous post that my craft cabinet came from a Marketplace purchase and what a deal!  It was my all-time favorite find.

One of my other finds was a nice old and sturdy pedestal table with 4 chairs and a leaf.  Another great deal.

Two of the chairs were a little wobbly and the other two had seen better days.  I can fix those chairs with some wood glue, a good clamp and some paint.  My original plan was to do a banquette in the dining area.  This is a nice open floor plan with the kitchen and dining area on one side and the living room open to both spaces on the other.  You can see that a banquette would be perfect here and super cozy.  I also thought that a wooden banquette could provide extra storage in our tiny cottage.

The problem is that the windows are 60″ long and I didn’t want to cover any part of that window with a high backed banquette. The view outside that window is a divine slice of paradise!

Instead, I settled on a very sturdy settee in navy (on sale with free delivery) that can seat 3 people if needed.  My color scheme has turned out to be navy, gray and white.

My table base needed to be white and I didn’t love the style of the chairs with the settee.

A trip to Joanne’s allowed me to pick up some very inexpensive Folk Art Home Décor White Chalk Paint.  One small container gave me two coats on the table and the leaf.

I applied it with a very inexpensive paint brush from the hardware store and a recycled deli container.  I LOVE the way this turned out.

You can see that I chose to leave the top the maple color and just paint the table skirt and pedestal.  I also painted the skirt on the leaf and decided to leave the leaf in.

I also got two chairs in a ladderback style and darker wood that have black leather cushioned seats on clearance of course.  That table runner was FREE.  Wayfair actually has a program where you can get two free items each month as long as you review them and include a picture on their website.  So far I’ve gotten a set of queen sheets, a welcome mat for the door, the table runner, and a set of 6 solar hanging lights for the patio.  (I tried to get the two chairs for free but mysteriously they wouldn’t load in the cart even though they were listed in the free stuff category. Interesting.)

The clock came from Hobby Lobby for 50% off and the rug was a President’s Day clearance sale as well.

How cute did this little corner turn out?

I have a matching rectangular rug in the living room that I got at the same clearance sale.  I love the colors in the rug. They work so well with the gray on the walls, the luxury vinyl tile floors, and the living room furniture.

For a very few dollars, I got the nice white pedestal table with the wood top that I was hoping to get and a modified banquette type seating area.  I can seat at least 6 people.

The original chairs did not go to waste.  One is in the guest bedroom and the other 3 are in the master and will soon become a bench with a nice cushion!

This is a tiny little room, but the chair will give guests a place to hold some things.  That decorative pillow…also clearance for only $6!  It’s perfect for the striped bedspreads that I selected.  You can see the orange and green in them, so that green chair actually works in here.

I plan to attach the other 3 chairs together and sew a nice cover for a thick piece of foam that will form a cushion and create a bench for our master bedroom.  I’ll share that project as soon as I create it!  It’s on the list.

I love using my crafty skills to make our house a little homier!

I feel like I saved a lot of money and spent a few creative hours.  You have to feel good about that.

Now I’m working on some art for the walls!

I’m also waiting for one the window treatments.  I’m a plantation shutter fan.  They were due to arrive this week, but who knows when they will get installed with all of the scary stuff going on now.  I can live with the mini blinds that came installed with the house when we moved in for a bit.  But those shutters will look amazing.  Plus, I got 10% off!

I’ll be sharing more home décor projects in the future.

I would also encourage you to try the chalk paint.  It’s very inexpensive and the table turned out great.  Keep in mind that most of the time it is just me and my husband so there are no kids beating up on the furniture.  I did this about two weeks ago, so I can’t speak to how long it will last.  I will keep you posted on that too!

Have a wonderful day.  I hope you are well…stay healthy!