Home Decorating Ventures

For those of us on a tight budget, decorating (especially seasonal) can be a bit of a challenge. Because of this challenge, I had become somewhat of a minimalist....but then realized that's not really what I wanted.
Instead I took on the harder task of making do with what I had - asking the Lord to reveal Himself in how I decorated my home and made it beautiful for all who entered.

It all started with a little 3 tiered shelf that caught my eye at my neighbor's garage sale. I bought it for $2 and with $6 worth of glossy white spray paint, I made it what I had envisioned. (side note - its not smart to spray paint something outside on a windy day. Inevitably whichever direction you work from, the wind will be pointing AT you)
Anyway, here it is unfinished...












And Finished:
I hung it in the corner of our dining room where my only houseplant hung - which necessitated a new home for the plant. I'll get back to that later.
I filled it with a tea set that matches my kitchen mugs, a bath apothecary set that had been sitting in its original wooden box for the last year, and at the top, I placed my two favorite candles - cinnamon spice and sugar plumb...

The second decorating dilemma I had to address was the empty space at the end of the half-wall around our stairs. On the one hand I kind of liked it because it was one horizontal area that I've been able to consistently keep clear of clutter. But it needed a little something there nonetheless. I placed a few candles up there that had been previously cluttering the coffee table and took the attractive wooden box that the apothecary set came in and filled it with mute-colored silk flowers.
The flowers had mostly come from a flower arrangement I had gotten as a gift that I honestly hated how it was done. So I had taken it apart and was waiting for an opportunity to use them again.
I also placed a little piece of artwork in front of the box (see closeup). I hadn't thought of a way to display it until now. It's called pergamano - its a creation using heavy velum as the base and using a combination of embossing, watercolor, inks, and hole-punching to make a beautiful design.















With that done, I had to find a new spot for my plant. Not having any other reliable hooks in the ceiling, I settled on placing it on the corner of the mantle.
It looked great there with the leaves cascading over the edge.

These are just a few things I got enjoyment out of when decorating my home - hope you enjoyed it too. My goal is to make my home a place where we can all relax and enjoy it. I admit, I'm somewhat new at it and it takes alot of work and some ingenuity, but it can be done.