About 5 years ago we moved to a very tiny little apartment, and at the beginning, I made my creative self quite distanced from the idea of making it feel like home. It felt temporary to me and filled with accents and fixtures that drive me crazy to this day! So I went through my days surrounded by white walls, bland decor, and zero personality, until one day my husband said something along the lines of this: “you should always appreciate what you have while you have it, and make wherever you are feel like home”. Now I know this should have been common sense, but like I said, I just didn’t want to put any creative energy into such a small and standard apartment that was not even mine. But after he said that a little light bulb went off in my head. I told myself: “I’m an artist, so why not make my home reflect that”. So from there it began. I insisted that although I wanted our apartment to feel creative, I was NOT going to spend very much money. So our entire apartment is decorated and embellished with thrifty finds, handmade goodness, and even some freebies from my very thrifty dad!
I see a lot of decor blogs talk about decorating on a budget, but I wanted to take this moment to talk about that. I have a pet peeve sometimes when I see a headline “Decorating On A Budget” only to read further and find pieces that are $100 and even sometimes in the thousands. Now it is quite obvious that I love decor/design and the chic pricey pieces make my heart melt, but I am on a serious budget and spending even $100 or over for one piece of decor for my home is out of the question. So, what to do, I hit up all of my local thrift stores and made a few things myself. I think it’s important to highlight homes such as mine, that is not necessarily chic and classy, we don’t have hardwood floors and grand ceilings, or ikea pieces, but I find joy in recreating a purpose for something that someone no longer had a use for, or seeing something in a magazine and then making it myself for half the cost. Decorating your home is not about trendy pieces, and designer names, but about the warmth and creative passion that you are willing to put into it. One of the most biggest transformations to your home can happen just with a can of paint! So, in honor of this post, I ask that all of you who may feel a little uneasy about decorating or feel that you have to have the pieces and decor you see in the design magazines, to rethink your mission and squeeze your creative juices because a home is not defined by how much it costs, but how much love you care to put into it. And with that said, i welcome you all into our little abode. Please forgive any unbalanced lighting and over saturation, as I am no Interior Photographer, which is why I love highlighting them so much here on JuBella, because they really do capture the essence of of a home so beautifully! It’s nothing fancy, quite shabby/chic/bohemian. But it’s ours and I love it! Enjoy your visit!
My “Studio” Space: This is where I paint, sketch, and sew for the most part. I bought the luggage from goodwill for $3-8 each. I use them as storage for my art supplies. it works great at keeping little fingers out of your things as well! The frames were given to me by my dad(note: my dad is a serious thrift junky..I think this is where I get it from). I originally planned to buy art for the frames, and I hung them up as placeholders and decided I liked them much better empty:) my sewing machine is an old Elna that my hubby bought for me about 8 years ago and my fabric samples are my treasures that inspire my colors and creativity..I just don’t have the heart to cut them! I like to collect old album covers and I loved the composition and colors in this Dian Ross cover. the lamp($2.99) use to be a pea green until I painted it white, and until I make the lampshade that is in my head(I want a sheer layered/ruffled look), it will stay shadeless.
Reflection Space: This is where I do my journaling and sometimes reading. It’s actually our little ones old baby crib that I painted with a white washed/weathered effect. I made the pillows, the floral sheet came from the thrift store($3.99) and the little basket holds address and birthdays of all of my special friends. i keep it stocked with envelopes, paper, and stamps, to make letter writing easier and often! My favorite thing in this space is my “Dream” card which I purchased from “Made By Girl”.
Dining: Our dining table use to be quite goddy(ahem some may say it still is), it was silver & gold with gray seating. It was hidious. Yet again, my dad found it at some yard sale and asked me if i wanted it, so I said yes, and then I saw it and was like “what am i supposed to do with this!”. So, when all else fails you break out the decopauge. Yep, the entire thing is decopauged with magazine paper. I call it my Anthropologie table because I used so many of their old catalogs. Some may call it kitschy/tacky, but I think it’s lots of fun!
Can’t afford It? Make It! I just finished this pillow Sunday. It was inpsired by a pillow I saw at Urban Outfitters(which I was not going to pay $40 for). I bought an old round pillow for $2 at the salvation army and covered it with scraps of fabric I had laying around.
Outdoors: Our patio is VERY small. but there is enough room to have some tomatoes, basil, aloe vera, bellpeppers, and a small lavender plant. The wooden chairs I got from non other than the thrift store for $5 each. I plan on painting them but not sure what color yet. No, the ducks are not ours, but they roam around our community all lined up in a row. They are super cute!
The Kitchen: Our kitchen is quite simple, with a touch of fun. I painted the laundry room door with chalkboard paint and covered our terribly old fridge with food clippings. I love using glass jars and they make great holders for forks, spoons, and knives! I bought some tiny magnets and used them to hold my cookie cutters on the side of the fridge. If you ever get tired of looking at all of those clashy cereal boxes, then I suggest making yourself some cereal bags. I used plain white cloth to make ours in which you can usually find cheerios in it!
The Little One: This is our sons room. He is 5 years old. I painted these jack and the bean stalk vines along the sides of the wall, and one wall is painted all green. This picture means so much, because minutes after I was done taking the photos it appeared as though a hurricane had hit it. LOL! Oh how I only wish his room was always this perfect! Iironically enough, that is not chalkboard paint on the back of his bookshelf…little did I realize that regular flat/dark paint takes chalk quite well! As you can see…he re-purposed an old film canister from our photography days into a jelly bean container!
The Bedroom: This is one of my favorite spots. I wanted a headboard, but did not want to spend that type of money, so I whipped out some semi gloss paint and it turned out great! The hubby was quite skeptical, but loved it after he saw it!
My Desk: When I am not snug into the corner of our couch typing and researching on the lap top, you might find me here where I should be sitting! This space is actually a storage closet turned workspace! I can close it off entirely by closing the two folding doors on each side! My favorites are the 3 crane birds I made hanging from the ceiling, my “Fly & Be Inspired” bag I received from lovely & creative Andrea of Fly Girls, my “LOVE” card, and a very inspiring letter printout from a fabulous fellow mommy blogger by the name of Que Jimenez!
