31 Days of Cheap & Free Decor: Day 31- Be Content

You know what the absolute cheapest way to decorate your home is? Be content with less.

I love that I've been given ways to furnish and decorate my home cheaply. I love that the internet and DIY show me how to give old furniture a second life. I want to have a home that is beautiful, calming, welcoming. I want to have a home that people love to visit.

But a home can also be an idol. And furnishing it and decorating it can be an idol as well. If I continue to always want more, better, newer, cooler... that could still be greed. If I'm worried about what people think when they visit, that could be fear of man. If I'm wanting change all the time (even if it's free), that could be discontentment.

Check your heart. (As I've realised I need to check mine.) God gives us good things. God gives us earthly joys and pleasures. But check your motivation. Are you building a sweet home to provide joy and comfort for your family and those you have over? Or are you building a cushy little kingdom- to your comfort, your good taste, your diy abilities. What are you hoping for with every project you complete?

A friend of mine admitted once that as she sat down to start a project, she realised she was already imagining all the great feedback she'd get when she posted pictures online. I've been guilty of the same thing more often than I care to admit.

Maybe the best thing for your home to put away the paint and the sewing machine, log off Craigslist and ebay, and just sit. Thank God for what you do have. Maybe go for a time without something you know you could get cheaply, to remind yourself that you don't need every creature comfort right away. Look outside your home to the needs of those around you.

Maybe, for a time, do nothing new, and just be content.

31 Days of Cheap & Free Decor: Day 30- Don't Get Greedy

I'm a bit ashamed to admit this is a lesson I've been having to learn lately.

I've never thought of myself as a greedy person. I'm moved so often that I don't often become attached to things or places. My home has been almost entirely second-hand, and I liked it. I never felt like I had to have designer furniture, or even new. Didn't that at least get me out of the 'greed' category on sin?

Then came the coffee table incident.

I love my coffee table- I really do! The problem was that it was like the fourth coffee table I'd had in a month. Or close. When we first came, I used a black Ikea lack table. £5. Easy. It worked, but it was small, and more modern than I like. A couple months ago, someone lent us a small wood table. I liked the look much better, but still, it was more like an end table than a coffee table and we were constantly moving it around to whatever chair we were using. So, using some pallets and wood I found, I made another one (not pictured). I was okay... but an awkward size for our living room, and the pallets were a bit too uneven to sit a drink on. Then I found this, and yay! I love it!

But it wasn't just the coffee table. It was summer and people were clearing out. So I was picking up Freecycle finds a couple times a week.

In my mind, every change was an improvement. And they were free. But I realised that I was becoming known for having 'new' things, even if they were second hand. I realised that wanting something better can still be greed, even if it doesn't cost a penny.

There are some amazing bargains out there. If you have the time and freedom to pursue them- do! Enjoy it! Save your money for better uses and make your home a place of beauty on a budget! But don't let a constant desire for 'more' rule your life. Don't let greed slip in.

** Even Apartment Therapy has decided to write about greed this week!**

31 Days of Cheap & Free Decor: Day 29- Bribe Your Husband

So this is our guest room. I'm standing in the doorway, and the only thing you can't see in the photo is a 2x3 table with a trunk on it that I use for storage. This room is teenie-weenie.... and higgly-piggly. There's not a right angle in the whole place! As is true with many old London homes, walls, floors, and ceilings are all just slightly askew, meaning that the angles are all a bit wonky. On the end where I'm standing, the room is about five feet wide (152 centimetres). On the far end, where the futon is... well, it's less.

When I saw this futon on Freecycle, I measured the walls. Right below 140 centimetres. Maybe 137 at the very back, but that would be right up against the radiator, so we could leave a few inches. Perfect fit!

But when we got it back.... it was no where near fitting! I realised that I had measured the wall at about waist height, not at the floor. The baseboards are each 1.5 cm, and apparently, the walls narrow as they go down. The width at the bottom 130 cm. (To recap, that means there's about 3 in difference from waist height to floor. And there's a 9 in difference from one end of the room to the other!)

Hoo boy!

But the darling hubby buckled down, and with an ancient circle saw that we borrowed (no, seriously, it was so old it barely worked at all!), cut down all the slats on the futon base so that it would fit into that end of the room! It took 45 minutes. And that AFTER he'd taken me to pick it up, loaded it in the car, lugged it up to our flat, and assembled it. He's a keeper.

I know half my home musings would never come true if it weren't for a patient hubby who helps carry paintings, mirrors, and tables down the street, who pulls sofas up to a third floor window with a rope, and who wheels sofas half a mile down the street on a dolly!

I owe that man a good steak dinner!

31 Days of Cheap & Free Decor: Day 28- Hold on to Things

I know yesterday's post said not to hold on to things too carefully, to use them and not hoard them in a cupboard. But today I'm talking about when to hold on to things, for a time.

I'm not talking about keeping something indefinitely just for the sake of never getting rid of it. I'm not a big fan of the 'well someday I might use that' approach. But there are times when, in the midst of changing things around, you do want to keep your options open, and so holding on to something old for a time is a good idea.

Do you remember the artwork hanging over my sofa?

If you remember, I picked them up from a man who was clearing out his mothers home. These were two of eight pieces I carried home that day. I propped them in the corner for a while, trying to decide which to mount... but I liked a couple of the others. Several of them have huge gilded frames that are amazing... I really want to use them someday. But I can't right now. So they are tucked in the attic, for a time. I won't keep them indefinitely... there's no point. But for now, it's ok. 

Give yourself a break. I'm quite keen on regular purges of one's home, of keeping the clutter down and not storing what you won't use. But there's a balance, and sometimes, it's okay to just put it aside for now.

*PS- sorry to my email friends who were inundated with today's update. I missed the last two days, as our internet wasn't working, and I've been too busy to get internet elsewhere. I wanted to post the whole series, but I'm sorry for giving you so much junk mail!*

31 Days of Cheap & Free Decor: Day 27- Don't Be Precious

I've been amazed at how many British English words are different than American English. Considering its technically the same language, they are SO different. (And that's a whole different post for another day.) But one word I've really enjoyed learning is 'precious'. Yes, I know, we use that word in America, but really only for things/people that are super important or sentimental to us. the English use 'precious' or 'dear' to indicate value, or expense. So I love when the little old lady in my church say this sack of potatoes is 'dearer'. Or when my friend says not to worry about the sweater I dropped food on, because it's not 'precious'.

I think many of us tend to keep things, especially gifts, as precious. If someone gives us something we love, we save it, not wanting it to break or be ruined. But then I find we don't really enjoy it as we ought.

I was given this bowl from a friend before I left the U.S.

I LOVE it! So for a while, I kept it tucked away. But I want to use it. I want to see it! I want to remember the sweet friend who gave it to me, and enjoy its beauty. So now its on my bedside table, holding my jewellery at night. (And I just realised that both the bracelet and the ring in the bowl are gifts as well.) Enjoy the things you have. God has given them to you for a time. You can't take them with you, and you ought not become too attached to material things anyway. So be grateful... send them a picture of their gift in your home. (Or send them the link to your blog when you feature it!)

But don't keep it precious, hidden away.

31 Days of Cheap & Free Decor: Day 26- To Dye For

This year I experimented with dyeing my own fabric. I didn't use it for decor, technically. I made a skirt. But still, I think the tip is valuable enough to point out.

I used turmeric and a couple tea bags to get this colour, and sadly, couldn't get a very good picture of it. It's really quite nice..a a bit mottled, with parts being lighter or darker depending on how the fabric took the dye.

The fabric was a large beige curtain I found on Freecycle.... but I really didn't want a beige skirt. (BORING!)

Here's a great site for what dyes can be found in your home, or at least the supermarket. Try it-- let me know how it turns out!

http://pioneerthinking.com/crafts/natural-dyes

31 Days of Cheap & Free Decor: Day 25- Ikea

I know, I know. I can hear some of you groaning already. But it's definitely worth mentioning in a budget decor blog.

Ikea tends to one of those places people either love or hate. Well, actually, we all hate it at some point, when we're lost in the kitchen department trying to find our way out of the maze they designed to creative vertigo and confusion in their customers.

But it can be great. I know they don't have investment pieces that will last generations. But they are pretty cheap... especially for bits and pieces. And with Ikea hacks all over the interweb, there's no reason you should settle for plastic-looking furniture. So stock up on snacks, tuck your head, and take a look. Then get it home, work on your marital communication while you try to assemble said piece, then put your own spin on it!

Or.... just go and buy lots of candles, frames, and cheap dishes that you don't have to do a thing to.