9 cheap ways to decorate

I'm always working on making our house less shabby and more chic with little or no money. This involves checking out blogs, like apartment therapy or thrifty decor chic or my friend's new blog luminous homes, and many books from the library. My efforts have been minimal, but enough for this weeks list.

1. Photography. These are pictures I took in Honduras of the street markets that I printed, matted, and framed. The entire cost to finish these prints was around thirty-five dollars and now these originally digital pictures have become art on my kitchen wall.

2. Pillows. There are all kinds of tutorials for throw pillows and pillow covers online. Martha Stewart has many great ideas here. Great fabric on old pillows will easily freshen up a room.

3.Curtains. Remember the nursery curtains? This very simple sewing project adds so much character and color to Eden's room saving me the many trips to thrift stores searching for acceptable and affordable wall art.

4. Chests. We picked this up at goodwill for 10 dollars. It works perfectly as a coffee table in our den giving the room a unique rustic aesthetic while providing extra storage for our small house.

5. Color. When we bought our house it was small, dark,and old. By investing in the time to paint we brought light and energy into our home, opening it up and giving it new life.

6. Windows. There are so many decorative uses for old window frames. When we were finishing our basement we ripped out a couple old windows, original to the house (1929). I turned it into a great wall hanging for Eden's room. This website has many many more and mostly awesome ideas for windows.

7. Mason Jars. I may have mentioned my love for mason jars once or twice. There is just so many decorative things you can do with them: candle holding, kitchen organizing, herb growing, light giving, and they are so cheap!

8. Crates. I have wooden crates all over my house for extra kitchen shelving, toy boxes, and craft storage, etc . I like the look and their dual purpose of accent and use.

9. Fabric. There are all kinds of way to display fabric and liven up the walls. I have seen people use embroidery hoops to hang fabric like here. So simple and easy it may just have to be one of my next projects