Frugal Finds: 10 Items Under $25

Who doesn't love a good deal?  Here are 10 items I love for under $25 each:

1. Tweet Bird Candleholder, Crate & Barrel, $9.83  
2. Globe Birdhouse in purple, Urban Barn - $10.00
3. Large Inlay Box in lemongrass, Chapters - $17.25 (sale price)
4. 8x10 Labrador Retriever Silhouette, GoingPlaces2 through Etsy - $21.16
5. Table Runner in Red and White Chevron,  through EtsybyBetsey Etsy - $19.14
6. Tira Glass Vases, Urban Barn – $10.99 short, $19.99 tall (sale prices)
7. Vintage Ornate 1800’s Skeleton Keys, HoofAndAntler through Etsy - $10.03 each
8. Cylinder Fuel Patio Burner, Home Hardware - $17.99
9. 18x18 Lime Green Chain Pillow Cover, thebluebirdshop through Etsy - $15.11
10. Hourglass in peridot, Chapters - $24.50

Dining Room Makeover On A Budget

During our house search one of the (many) items on my wish list was a formal dining room. Ok, not really a “formal” dining room so much as a separate room for dining. And once we moved in the dining room was one of the few rooms I furnished right away. I’m not sure why since in a year and a half we’ve only eaten in it twice. Maybe it was because it’s the first room you see when you walk into our house? Or maybe I just couldn’t live with the light fixture!?

Before

I found the perfect dining chairs at Home Outfitters. In addition to looking nice, they were cheap (or should I say “inexpensive”, “budget conscious” or “affordable” as I say to my clients). And so I bought them. I hadn’t found the perfect table yet (well I had, but it took a while for me to order it), so the new chairs sat without a table for months.

During

I really wanted this wallpaper for the dining room but it's just too pricey. Instead I decided to see what I could do with paint. I had 3 Ikea frames I planned to hang on the walls so I decided to colour block around them. This is what I came up with, which I entered in a contest with Style at Home magazine and won.

After

Next up?  Storage, an area rug and possibly drapery panels. However I'm now trying to focus my time and money on rooms we actually use so that might not happen for a while.

Trend Alert: Butterfly Decor

I love butterflies! And as pretty as they are flying around I much prefer the dead ones mounted in frames. I don't mean to be cruel (the butterflies are collected after they have died naturally) or gross, but it's the truth. Growing up I (and many of my cousins) admired the set of butterflies hanging on the wall in my grandparent's living room. For years I've been coveting some of my own - bookmarking links I found online, drooling over photos in magazines & dragging my husband with me (twice!) to Victoria Butterfly Gardens hoping that framed photos he took would fill my void. So when asked what I wanted for my birthday this year the natural answer was framed butterflies - and that's what I got! Knowing how picky I am my husband let me select the butterflies myself, and after hours agonizing over different wing structures, patterns & colours I finally chose the 3 I had to have:

If you check out the website we ordered mine from you'll see why it was difficult to decide. Luckily eliminating the expensive ones (see if you can spot the $398 butterfly!) and the ones requiring permits narrowed down the choices.

I've hung my butterflies on the wall in my entry for everyone that comes over to see (photo to come).  Since hanging them I've noticed all sorts of butterfly home decor items while sourcing for clients and browsing on Etsy (I'm obsessed!).  I might just need a butterfly throw pillow next!