Friday Faves...Accessorizing your home with bargain store decor

My mama was a believer in saving up and buying something of good quality that would wear well.  I followed in her footsteps, and appreciate the difference in something of quality that is well made, and something that is cheaply made with poor craftsmanship.  When we bought our leather couch, chair and ottoman sixteen years ago, we bought good quality furniture that was on sale.  Even then, it was still an investment, but it's lasted for the long term.  In the end, buying good quality is cheaper than buying poorly made furniture that doesn't wear well and needs replaced frequently.

I try to save up and buy quality for the things that get a lot of wear and tear, then fool the eye with bargain priced accessories that still look nice. The key to this is to recognize the items that look like they could have come from high end decor stores, but that you actually got at Homegoods or Ross or similar bargain priced stores.  In the photo above the mirror above the t.v. came from Ross, the media cabinet was on sale at Target, (I'd like to find an antique or vintage piece to replace this at some point, but didn't want to leave the space blank in the meanwhile). The side table was on clearance at Marshalls, the drapes were name brand but very inexpensively bought at Homegoods and the chair came from Ross. (An occasional chair only gets used occasionally, and most of the time just sits there looking cute.  So, while I wanted it to be sturdy, I didn't need to spend a bundle.  I just made sure it looked well made.)

The antique trunk that serves as our coffee table came from the Goodwill and was half off the Goodwill price!  The basket came from Homegoods, the Johnson Bros. tureen made in England came from TJ Maxx, the vase from Ross, the pillows and quilt on the couch from one of three stores, Homegoods, Marshalls or TJMaxx, which are owned by the same company and often have the same sort of things.  You can get great deals on name brand items for bargain prices!

When looking for art for my walls I try not to fall into the trap of buying cheaply made mass produced wall art that looks like cheap hotel decor.  I look for things that are unique.  The wooden key came from Ross as did the large letter S, which was on clearance and painted in zebra print before I took it home and spray painted it.  The wooden arrow was made for me by my son-in-law, the ironstone platters were either thrifted or found at antique stores.  The mirror was another Ross find. I changed the frame with some paint.  The hello was a cheap chipboard sale item at the craft store and I took it home and spray painted it gold.  The h-o-m-e letters were Christmas ornaments from Target as were the glittered feathers that I placed inside of a clearance sale frame.  The red lamps were purchased at Marshalls, the blue planter at Ross and the large basket in the corner on clearance at Ross.

This blue and white planter was four dollars at Ross.  I don't think anyone would know it wasn't purchased at a high end store.  I love it.  The shelf near the big chair in the photo below was purchased at Ross and the little side table at Marshalls. The large pillow was a gift from my daughter, purchased at Target.

The moral of this story.  Save the big bucks for items that will need to take a lot of wear and tear.  Accessorize with items that won't break the bank, but fool the eye into thinking they are more expensive than they really are.

Well, it's almost Friday, friends!

Have a HAPPY, HAPPY Friday

and 

a safe and BLESSED weekend!

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