My sister and her family recently moved into a new home close to ours (!) and we’re all so excited about it. The house is a really cool property on a great piece of land. It needs some updating, but everything is in good shape and is totally livable as-is, so Ali and her husband have plans to chip away at projects as time and funds permit. Such a smart approach!
Here is what the house looked like right after they closed. It was dark and outdated for sure, but can’t you just see the potential here?!
Decorating a new home or apartment can be so daunting! Where to start when there are so many new spaces fill?! With Ali’s new home, she basically needed to find enough furniture to fill a front room, a large foyer and a bigger dining room. She and I were so excited to team up with Target to see what we could do with only a bit of paint, a few thrift store finds and some beautiful Target goodies over the course of a weekend.
Here’s what we came up with along with some of my best tips for decorating new spaces on a budget:
1) Keep walls and trim neutral and accessories colorful
Ali and her husband will be replacing their flooring sometime soon, but we thought it would be worth it in the meantime to paint the stained wood floorboards and stairs. Isn’t it scary to paint over wood? That first brush stroke can be terrifying, but what a difference white paint can make! We haven’t finish all of the downstairs yet, but everything feels so new and fresh already! The beautiful Gray Owl wall color is perfect in this space too. I love it.
We tried to make big statements with the new and thrifted furniture pieces we bought. Ali found a pair of slipper chairs at a thrift store that she would like to eventually recover, but the colors in the existing fabric look so pretty in the room now! All the chairs needed was a good steam clean. I think they look great with my old green velvet Baker sofa, which I was happy to share since we weren’t using it.
4) Put your new furniture front and center
Since it’s the first thing you see when you walk in the door, we really wanted to add a statement bench to the entry area and this one fit the space and style of the room perfectly! We painted the curved arch legs to shake things up a bit and I’m really liking it! I especially love the pretty gray linen fabric.
We picked up one of these 7×10 indoor/outdoor rugs to cover up as much of the tile as possible in the huge entry and to add a little color and texture to the space. And Ali’s giant tree and thrifted brass planter are doing wonders for the room! I feel like plants and greenery instantly make a room feel alive and more finished. Major bang for your buck there!
The enameled glass lamp and square shade are both from design-genius Nate Berkus. I really, really love the soft blue color! I’d love to pick up a pair of these lamps for my guest bedroom.
PS Victoria over at SF Girl by Bay threw the most gorgeous house warming party and shared her photos and tips here! Check it out!
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LOVED the transformation in this post! Can't believe how much help the new paint did, wow!
Her house looks so cute!!! Paint is an amazing thing!!!
Those blue chairs are incredible! Are they available anywhere?
I'm dying over that console table. Such a great vignette!
Where is that white and blue vase from?
Wow!!! What a transformation!!! I absolutely love that staircase! Just gorgeous!
http://www.sweetlytattered.com
Thanks guys! The paint job really brightened things up in here, right?
The blue MCM chair is vintage and the blue and white vase is also from Target! :)
Oooo great, thank you!
Well, it looks like a few more intense weekends are needed and you'll have the house completely done. Good job! Such a nice mix between thrift, Target and lots of elbow grease. And a vision, of course…
incredible and just over a weekend. looks great..love your decorating posts.
Jenny, this room update is inspiring! I get giddy over thrifted finds! I spotted the retro mesa temple print. The original link from the past isn't working and I have been pouring over the internet to find it for a while. Would you please be willing to share the link? This Mesa girl would be so so grateful!
Jenny, this room update is inspiring! I get giddy over thrifted finds! I spotted the retro mesa temple print. The original link from the past isn't working and I have been pouring over the internet to find it for a while. Would you please be willing to share the link? This Mesa girl would be so so grateful!
I love seeing before and afters when there was a budget involved because the reality is- most of us have to decorate on a tight budget! This turned out so great!
What a remarkable change with not too much work/money! It's lovely.
– Kaitlyn | http://www.TheCrownFox.com
Wonderful interior decoration with less spending!! Love it!
Thanks guys! We really had some fun with this redo! :)
If anyone would like the temple image file, feel free to email me! I'd love to share.
xo
Really great mix of colors and textures. Especially love the faux inlay mirror you painted. Did you use a stencil to keep it all so straight? How do you go about deciding the collar pallet to mix the warm and cool colors? Also, can you post costs so we can get an idea of what something like this would cost?
What a great makeover! The love for your family really comes through in your design and blog. :)
I love how you did this space! The neutral colors are perfect with all the pops and accents. I need the encouragement right now as I'm about to embark on a deep cleaning and redecorating project for a few areas of my home.
Holy paint! It looks fantastic and as always so inspiring. Also yay for sisters being neighbors!!!
This looks awesome! The bench from Target is awesome! I love that they maintain high quality standards so I can intermingle Target and Thomasville. I look forward to seeing updates on Ali's house!!! My brother and my parents both moved near me a year go and it's awesome – I'm happy for you and your sister. :)
Looks *great* – nice job! Love the little brass table.
Need new light fixtures asap, though. Yes?
http://www.annlanglois.com
Jenny, that bench is everything! Will you share what paint you used on the legs and how you went about painting them? Thanks!
Hi Jenny. I have a random question for you. Have you had any experience with fabric spray paint? I've recently inherited an armchair that I absolutely love and I am going to put it in my son's room. I love the type of fabric but not the color that's on the chair. I've been trying to decide if I want to re cover it myself or just pay to have it done and I stumbled across the upholstery spray paint. It had great reviews but I wondered if you've had any experience with it and what your opinion is. Maybe its not for long term? Any advice you have is great :) thank you!
Wow such a beautiful transformation, So bright and airy and such a grande entrance.
I cant wait to see what you do with the rest of the house. :)