Decorating on a Budget

I have had a couple of great wins on ebay lately. The purpose of mentioning these is not to skite but to let people know that it is possible to decorate your home in a stylish, tasteful manner without breaking the bank.

First was this gorgeous cabinet which I am using to store my upholstery fabrics, magazines and board games.
The seller told me she got it on sale at Harvey Norman's for $900. I paid $155

And then there's this leather office chair. What would you expect to pay for this? I bet your answer wasn't $75!!!! I was so thrilled to get this chair. I had been patiently waiting for the right chair to turn up and it did :o)

I had wondered about recovering it as I want to learn how to do that deep buttoning/tufting technique but it is in such good condition I might wait until it has lived with us for a while. It is stationed at the one and only computer in our household of 5 so I'm guessing it won't be too long before it incurs some wear and tear.

I have heard that a few people are having trouble commenting on my blog. If you want to contact me you are welcome to email me p.grootenboer@aapt.net.au

A big "THANKYOU" to those who visited/commented/followed Tilly's blog. She is thrilled and excited that you did. I have instructed her as to blog etiquette ie responding to comments, so if we can just get her brother off the computer for 5 minutes I'm sure you will hear from her.

You Light Up My Life...

I seem to be having a small fling with lamps at the moment.

These lamps I bought off ebay back in May ($30 pair).

The lovely, talented Sandy at Paint Me White very kindly covered these lamps for me and she did such a fabulous job. All I had to do was attach the black ribbon and they were done.

I think they look really chic.

Today I would like to mention a blog that is close to my heart. It belongs to my youngest daughter Tilly. She loves to cook (takes after her Dad) and is keen to audition for Junior Master Chef in the future. Her blog is called Relax, it's a Recipe She would be very excited if she got one or two comments from people other than family :o)

Chair Makeover and My Ginger Jar Lamps

I don't know which I am more excited about...finishing Sandy's chair makeover or my new ginger-jar lamps......okay, I do know, sorry Sandy but those lamps just give me a thrill.

I went to The Tender Centre on Saturday for the first time and before I'd even entered through the doors I could see the silhouette of these lamps waaaay down the back against the rear window. I couldn't get back there quick enough to check them out, and I wasn't disappointed.
Now, that high pitched sqeaul you all heard around 7pm last night, but couldn't identify? Me, that was me discovering, online, that I had won these lamps for $100!

Take a look and tell me you don't just love them as much as I do!!!

So this has thrown out my whole idea of what I had planned for my lounge decor, but I like where I'm being led so I'll just follow along. Lamp shades are the next thing to think about and I'm sure I'll lose at least a couple of hours sleep over that one.

Onto Sandy's chair.... this is the before,

It's great be able to take photos and have an instant image to refer back to if in doubt. I use to have to draw diagrams to remind myself how to reassemble.

The material Sandy chose was the most gorgeous, "made in Italy", throw or bed cover. I emailed her seconds before, to let her know I was about to make the first cut. It was a frightening experience let me say.

Thank the Lord (and I mean that, I was praying like mad), it turned out beautifully.

Okay, one last look at those lamps :o)