budget friendly

THRIFTY FARMHOUSE DÉCOR ideas!

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I am always combing through online and brick and mortar stores looking for décor or home items that look great, that are made well and most of all, are the least expensive version that I can find. I love junk stores and thrift stores but sometimes even they want to charge a bit much for the cool vintage items that turn up or they have nothing but junk there the days I go. With two year old twins, I find myself like anyone else out there, that also have small children or lots of time consuming obligations. Therefore, it is always super exciting for me when I find some of the best deals online.Here are some of the places that I’ve been able to find great deals on cool farmhouse and vintage items we all desire!

SAVE ON CRAFTS

Milk Bottles and Crate

Milk Bottles and Crate

 

 

 

 

$ 9.99 or 3/$27

 

 

 

 

 

$6.99 or 10/$60.00

Mason Jar Lights

 

 

 

 

$6.99 or 10/$60.00

 

 

 

 

 

Set of Three Steel Trays

Set of Three Steel Trays

 

 

 

$34.99

 

 

 

 

 

Three Nesting Trays

Three Nesting Trays

 

 

 

$24.99

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Wire Basket

Chicken Wire Basket

 

 

 

12×9 $3.99

 

 

 

 

 

Large Pallet Wood Sign

Large Pallet Wood Sign

 

 

Great for all the “pallet” signs we want to make for those of us who don’t have the time to hustle pallets and then take them apart….

11.75” x 30” for 12.99

 

 

 

 

 

WALMART

I know most of us either love or hate “Wally World” but you can’t argue that their prices are tough to beat on most items. I do love Walmart because they really try to offer quality items that people want, at prices that are affordable to the average or below average paid consumer. I just hate going to Walmart in person. However, they now offer their new “3-day free shipping” pass on most items for just $50 a year….kind of like Prime.

Galvanized Steel Basket

Galvanized Steel Basket

 

 

$7.47

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Wire Basket

Chicken Wire Basket

 

 

 

$7.47

 

 

 

 

 

 

World Market

World market always has tons of beautiful items but they tend to be on the upper end of what I am willing to pay. However, there are a few items they come out with that are beautiful and very decently priced.

Metal Cup Tree

Metal Cup Tree

 

 

 

$14.99

 

 

 

 

 

LTD COMMODITIES

I feel like LTD Commodities doesn’t get the credit they deserve. Granted, they do sell a lot of really cheesy junk but they also have some great prices on quirky gifts and cute décor. I have bought from them several times and have never been disappointed. You do have to patiently look through all their pages though, to find the cool stuff.

Farm Table Runner

Farm Table Runner

 

 

 

$10.95

 

 

 

 

 

Farm Signs

Farm Signs

wickedchickensign

 

 

 

$6.98

 

 

 

 

 

Rustic Clock

Rustic Clock

 

 

 

$11.98

 

 

 

 

 

metalmonogram

 

 

$8.98

 

 

 

 

Metal Monogram

Amazon

Of course too, I am completely in love with  Amazon and my prime membership so I am always searching them for great deals. Sometimes it is hit and miss but usually you can find awesome deals on random items.

Compass Arrow Pillow

Compass Arrow Pillow

 

 

One of my favorite things to search for there are pillow covers, like the one below. I see “Fixer Upper” written all over this! There are so many other cute options too. This pillow cover is only $3.00!!! I buy these and just stuff another throw pillow that I’m not using in them.

 

 

 

Deer Antler Pillow Cover

Deer Antler Pillow Cover

 

This bad boy is only $3.80! I personally bought this one here and it is very durable and beautiful. To me, this embodies the “modern farmhouse” or “modern rustic” look that people are in love with.

 

 

 

Craft Outlet

I recently discovered this site and they have some pretty awesome bargains too!

Magnolia Wreath

20” Magnolia Wreath

 

First glance, these prices might seem a bit high. Trust me, they are great! Wreaths are not cheap anywhere, especially ones like these.
20″ (36 leaves) $29.95
22″ (48 leaves) $39.95
26″  (? leaves)   $59.75

 

 

 

 

Recycled Burlap Sack

Recycled Burlap Sack

 

 

These are recycled burlap sacks from either coffee or various grains.

26″ x 40″ $1.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope this helps some of y’all out there, even if only a smidge. Trying to subdue the urge to want to decorate and redecorate is a difficult task, especially because most of us don’t have an unlimited décor budget. However, finding great deals that can give us a bit of what we want is always refreshing! Good luck and many blessings towards KEEPING your home, the best place on earth!

DIY No Sew Curtains

You never truly realize just how EXPENSIVE curtains and window treatments are until you have to start buying them for a house with, what feels like, a bajillion windows. There are a lot of ideas out there circulating about DIY curtains and most of them are great. This is what I personally used and found to be the cheapest ,but best looking, alternative to traditional curtains.

Materials:

Drill (or a Hammer,nail and screwdriver)

Mainstay Cafe Rod Set ($2.97 @ Wal-Mart)

Mainstay Cafe Curtain Clips ( 14 ct $2.84 @ Walmart)

Mainstays Twin Flat Sheet ($4.99 @ Walmart)

or

Ikea Vivan Curtain Pair ($9.99 @ Ikea) Buy Here

Rod,Clips and 1 Flat Sheet

 This window is 24″ wide so I cut my sheet in half for each side. If your windows are much larger,I would recommend 2 flat sheets.One for each side. i used 7 cafe clips on each side since 14 came in a pack.

This is with them closed. They look much fuller closed if you use two sheets or the Ikea curtain pair, but I never close them now. I’ve been using two sheets on the majority of my other windows.

I keep thinking I want to eventually upgrade my curtain rods, but then my money saving conscience keeps saying, “why?!”. They look fine and are functional. I may, perhaps, make some DIY valences one day if anything. I don’t know about you, but I hate the idea of spending 10 or 20 PLUS dollars on ONE curtain rod.It’s absurd, even if you have unlimited funds. It totally blows my mind.

COST:

$10.80 plus tax (one sheet method)

$15.79 plus tax (two sheet or Ikea method)

Laminate Countertop Makeover

Did I mention how much I love paint!? I don’t exactly love painting but I love what paint can do to transform almost anything. Going back to Giani Granite, they are best known for their countertop makeover kits. I chose the White Diamond kit because I wanted to create something that looked similar to marble or least the same color scheme.

Source

So, we have those dreaded 1980’s faux wood countertops that are hideous. We will EVENTUALLY replace them with DIY wood countertops but we really want to make sure we know what we are getting into before we make a final decision. Meanwhile, I don’t want to look at these ugly counters in the meantime.

Of course the prep work is never fun, but obviously you will need to thoroughly clean your surface area. I also rubbed the countertops down with denatured alcohol as well. Then I taped off the edges and tacked up craft paper to protect my newly painted cabinets. The first coat is the black primer.

 Then the Pearl Mica sponging comes next.

 Then comes the white limestone.

 A sponge comes with the kit.

I made my own with a cheapo sponge brush and just cut the tip.

 Beginning the second coat.

 I thinned it out just a tad to make it a little easier to spread and dab.

Finished product before the epoxy coat is applied.

This is the epoxy glaze I used to get a super shiny look that would help make it look like it wasn’t painted.It does look pretty good but I really, really don’t recommend it. You have to work very very quickly with it before it gets tacky, you have to mix it until your arm falls off and your mixture ratios have to be measured perfectly.

My first batch was a bust! Apparently, I didn’t mix it enough so it never cured. It was tacky,sticky and gross. Everything I read said I had to scrape it off and start over.WRONG. I didn’t want to scrape because I didn’t want to mess up my pretty paint job. I mixed up a second batch, poured it over the bad batch and waited for it to cure overnight. It worked! It took a 3rd batch to finish the rest of the counters.

Again, it looks pretty good but I wish I would have just used the polyurethane top coat that came with the kit. Either way, it’s temporary for now and looks way better than the faux wood.

 After the epoxy.

 Finished and functional.

I highly recommend the Giani Granite kits, however, I do not recommend the epoxy glaze (not included) if you have never used it before.

I’ll throw in my “Clayton,NC” art gallery wall for good measure. All the frames were different colors so I decided to spray paint them all in the same color that I did the cabinet hardware in. The Rustoleum Dark Bronze looks great on just about anything.