It's All in the Details

We've lived in our house for about 9 years. Sadly, in those 9 years I don't feel like I've done a really good job of making our house a "home". My mind changes a mile a minute and I've never been satisfied enough with my decorating skills to do much more than throw in some furniture and matching curtains into a room, which doesn't leave much of a warm, inviting feeling.

This time last year we bought new living room furniture...a deep chocolate sectional that stole my heart from the minute I saw it. It was quite the stark contrast from the ivory furniture we had before it. As much as I love it, it really darkened our small living room space, especially coupled with the dark wood of our fireplace and end table.

We didn't really have money for a new pieces, so over the summer, I decided to enter into the world of chalk paint DIY. To my surprise, the fireplace turned out amazing and was just what our living room needed. I'm still waiting on my husband to mount our TV, so I can actually use the top of the fireplace, but that's another story!

  

This past weekend I pulled out the chalk paint and finished what I had started with the end table. I could not get over the difference. I absolutely love it (and now I want to chalk paint EVERY piece of dark furniture we have!). I used Valspar Chalky Finish paint. I found it very easy to use, inexpensive, and of great quality! I lightly sanded the piece first, added two coats of chalk paint, followed up by Valspar's Sealing Wax. The process was surprisingly very simple and the paint gives amazing coverage even on dark furniture like mine.

With that, I was happy with the direction the living room was headed, but it was still lacking the personality I was craving for it. We purchased an ottoman and it was the perfect place to start with some accessorizing. Of course I headed straight to two of my favorite spots, Michael's and Target, and as always, they did not disappoint!

I found this adorable farmhouse-esque whitewashed piece at Michael's. It's actually meant to be hung, but I thought it would make a cute addition to the ottoman as a spot for our drinks, remote, etc.

The larger gold hurricane also came from Michael's. I wandered down the wedding aisle quite by accident, and my eyes were immediately drawn to them in the David Tutera centerpiece collection. Even better yet, they were on clearance for half price at $8.99! There were some other gorgeous colors as well, including rose gold.

The smaller gold vase and the tiny glass plant came from the Dollar Spot at Target for only 3 bucks each! My budget (and my husband) were pleased with these finds so that's always a plus!

I snagged the floral pieces at Michael's for under $9. I thought the greenery gave a nice subtle color boost to the golds and whites.

The cute little framed "you make my heart smile" plaque and the small gold candle also came from the Target Dollar Spot at $3 each. I swear that Dollar Spot is my best friend! It's like the highlight of my week to walk into Target and see what new goodies are there.

So this was just an inexpensive way to add some detail to our most used room in the house. There are still some other things I'd like to do, but this was a great stride!

My next home project is my office! I will be tackling that very soon and sharing the transformation along with money-saving tips!