The Thrifted Chair

I bought this chair for five bucks at a local thrift store. I was stoked after the purchase because I always read about other people finding crazy steals on beautiful chairs and sofas, and I wonder how they're so lucky. Although this chair isn't grand, I can finally say that I found a deal.

This chair has been sitting in my house waiting for some love. I finally decided to refinish it after seeing a mustard color paint that I fell in love with. I started sanding yesterday and hope to have it finished this weekend. I'm crossing my fingers that it turns out great!

Picking out a media console

Photo courtesy of Design*Sponge

How long did it take you to pick out a media console? It should be easy, right? Not so much.

We're currently making a couple of changes to a few rooms in our house, including the bonus and living room. Currently, the bonus room is where we spend most of our time. We turned it into a kind of tv/entertainment room, however, the room isn't what I would call pretty. We have a cheap media table, a broken leather couch and a few baskets holding all of our video games and movies. What's worse is that I bought all of the "nice" furniture for the living room - the room that we never spend time in. Does that make sense? I'm finally doing something about it by moving the tv upstairs and turning the bonus room into an office with a sitting area. We've already purchased a wall mount from Monoprice (if you don't know about Monoprice, check it out!), but we are lacking something to hold our dvd player, cable box and all of the game consoles that we own.

I didn't think it would be that hard, but we looked and looked and looked today, and didn't come home with anything...not even a candle or a vase. It was frustrating and eye-opening to say the least. I didn't realize you had to take so many things into consideration when choosing a media console. Where will the cords go? Will you be able to use the controller if the doors are closed? It's all very complicated and to top it off, we have a pretty small budget for this - under $500.

Here are a few I like:

Pink Peony

Peonies are my favorite flower. You want to know the catch? I've never seen them in person until now. Pictures of peonies are breathtaking. That's how they crept to the top of my list. So when I saw them at Whole Foods last week, I almost died. Seeing them in person confirmed that I was totally in love. I swear for like two days, I was the happiest person alive. How can a simple flower do that to somebody? Because it is a peony - a pink peony no less.

Pastel Pots

I saw these beautiful tiny painted pots at a local store close to where I work. I thought they'd be perfect for a sunny windowsill in my house, but the $9 price tag (yes, for one) didn't appeal to me at all. So what did I do? I decided to recreate them for way less cash. The final result adds a lot to a window, but spreads color throughout the room. Plus, I only spent around $15 bucks on both the pots and the plants. Four words - you can't beat that.

You will need three tiny clay pots and three to four succulents, herbs or other small plants. I ended up using potting soil and various paints I already had laying around. Since my pots will be insiders, I used acrylic paint, but if you plan to keep your pots outside, please look into a waterproof or outside approved paint. Design*Sponge featured ways to make terracota pots look aged or weathered. Whatever you decide to do, experiment and have fun!

DIY Wine Crate Herb Garden

Wine crates can make amazing accents to any home, whether using them as planters, stacking them to create a side table, or utilizing them for storage. I obtained a few recently and have been wondering what to do with them. I've seen some absolutely amazing projects involving wine crates, including shelving, a dog bowl, and more, but I opted to soak in the sunshine by creating a mini herb garden. This project is not only super cute, but it is really cheap! I probably spent less than $30. Plus, this is great for city dwellers, too.

You will need potting soil, a wine crate, and six to eight of your favorite herbs. I picked cilantro, basil, mint, rosemary, flat parsley, and lemon thyme.


Drill six to eight holes in the bottom (depending on the size) for drainage.


Fill with dirt and place herbs. I got lucky because my wine crate was sectioned, which made for easy placement.



Viola - a wine crate herb garden!