Thank you Walmart for sponsoring this post.

I've been refreshing the patio this spring and the next step was to replace or refinish the table. I decided to save my pennies and refinish it which made it real easy to justify buying new chairs ;). I loved our old ones but 2 of the 6 had broken and we need at least 5. When these chairs went on sale at Walmart, I jumped on it. I admit they're bigger than I thought they'd be- they'd make awesome front porch chairs- but I love them. They're so comfortable and well priced. I love Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart for outdoor furniture and entertaining. The style and price can't be beat. Here's a close up of our new chairs and a few more budget-friendly patio finds on rollback that are still in stock!

There are certain home décor categories that you innocently delve into before realizing how broad they are and how expensive they can be. I almost always see a photo online and instantly fall in love with something well out of my price range. oops. Thus begins the quest to find something I love that's easier on the budget. Next comes me sharing with you, well, because I love you.  And generally on said quest, I learn a few things too. So here are a few things I've learned about window coverings and my favorite budget picks that we have in our home. Make sure to check out the GOAT budget option from amazon, at the end!

 Thank you Walmart for sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine. 

You guys know I've been a long time fan of Walmart Home but it just keeps getting better. Recently they rolled out some fun summer-y finds featuring bright colors, patterns, and modern silhouettes. It's just so good and the prices can't be beat! I've rounded up some of my favorites for you below- starting at just $10!

If you follow on Instagram, you know I have the "magic" rug in our loft and, well, the magic has worn off. I'm ready for a change. That said, I have to add though that this rug has been so good to us and was GREAT for 4 years with 3 littles. It cleans up really well and goes with everything. So don't rule it out if you need a kid-friendly rug! I've been checking out Rugs USA (not sponsored) and found a variety of large-sized neutral area rugs. I shared them all on Like.To.Know.It but I hear some of you prefer round-ups on the blog so this one's for you! 

I'm sure I'm not the only one looking around my home at all the projects that are half done or yet to be started. I mean there's something about being 'stuck' at home that opens our eyes to things we've been ignoring. Or sometimes, nothing's bugging us but we're itching for a change. Either way, getting projects done while under a stay at home order and can't shop poses a challenge. That's why I started taking note of all the things we've done (or can do) even while staying home. Here are 10 easy and inexpensive home updates to make while adhering to stay at home orders.

Our current sofa is GORGEOUS and super comfy but it's linen which apparently you can't touch. I have 3 rambunctious kiddos and while we don't eat in the living room, it's literally 3 feet away from where we do eat and a few more feet from the kitchen. Let's just say my kids aren't rule followers and I need a sofa I can wipe down or wash. Enter slipcovered sofas. While I love modern decor and clean lines, slipcovered sofas have the casual look I'm craving. They now come in low and deep styles with track or shelter arms that make my heart go pitter-patter. Per usual, my budget is smaller than my appetite (is that a phrase? It should be). So here are the best, slipcovered sofas I could find for under $2000...and one over that. Couldn't help it!

Have you ever looked at a room and you just couldn't take it anymore?! This describes our dining room. Even my 10-year-old comments, "mom, we need a new table!" Our table was purchased during my farmhouse phase so the style no longer reflects the rest of our home. But I could get over that- really, I could!-- if it wasn't for the quality of the table deteriorating before our very eyes. It was not built for kids or moisture and the top is destroyed. We plan to replace it eventually but it did not make the project/house expense list this year. Besides, I'd really like to push it a little longer in the hopes that there will be fewer messes and more cleaning up after themselves in the future. (I know, I know, but a mama can hope!). So here's what I did to avoid replacing all the things, which is what I really wanted to do! And here's what you can do to makeover a room with very little cash if you're in the same predicament!

You guys! I'm calling the bathroom complete. I can't wait to share it with you- it was a labor of love and learning. If you've ever tried to find inspiration for a 5x8 basic bathroom that doesn't include big expenses like new faucets, new flooring, tilework, etc, you know it sort of doesn't exist. But I'm a big fan of the phase 1 makeover and since the kids' bathroom is the one overnight guests use, I was motivated to give it a facelift on a budget. Read about our budget-friendly basic bathroom makeover-- why we made the choices we did, and ideas to improve your own bathroom.

I lamented here about the blank walls in the living room. Finding Art is overwhelming; inexpensive art is even more of an enigma. Luckily there's a variety of affordable art out there and I finally found some I liked! Keep reading for tips to find modern, inexpensive art that fits your aesthetic (even if this isn't it!), and to see other options I considered.

You guys. I got new pendant lights for the kitchen. And I'm obsessed. It's like that quote 'you were everything I never knew I always wanted.' That's how I'd describe these fixtures. I thought I wanted shiny and new. I was wrong. I thought I wanted modern. That was a lie. Turns out I never knew I always wanted vintage fixtures with the most beautiful patina in a rather traditional shape. They're huge and they make my heart flutter. And they came from [drum roll please] FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE. I'm sorry I'm screaming but I just never thought I'd find the perfect affordable brass light fixture on facebook. Craigslist? Maybe but not likely. OfferUp? Probably not.  Wayfair? Overstock? AllModern? Hayneedle? Yes, yes, yes, or yes.

Have you ever 'swiped up' on an Instastory to see where a product was from and it was an $88 Christmas doormat? No? Just me? If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know I'm not interested in spending $100 on a holiday doormat. ha! Decorating for Christmas on a budget is possible and with a little ingenuity, it can even look good. Whether your decor comes from Target, Studio McGee, or somewhere in between, I hope you'll find these ideas useful.  Here are my favorite ways to use what I already have to decorate for the holidays.

Raise your hand if you scroll Instagram drooling over all the home design eye candy? Also, raise your hand if you've noticed that 97% of them have amazing vintage rugs that either A) cost a fortune or B) the lucky owner scoured eBay or Etsy for hours and at just the right time snagged one for an insane price? Unfortunately, many of us don't have the time or the budget for scenario A or B. But clearly we have the great taste exhibited in both scenarios and can't buy the rug that comes with a 6 piece living room set from Bob's Discount Furniture (by the way, don't ever buy those). We could just grab a great non-vintage rug but those can also cost a fortune. So what's a stylish homeowner to do?! Well, look no further because here I am with a FUN roundup of affordable vintage-inspired rugs.

Hey! Welcome to a peek of my home! I love autumn and can't wait to share a few simple areas to make a big impact when decorating for the season. I'm pretty excited to be a stop on the home tour hosted by Meg of Green With Decor. Make sure to visit the creative and lovely homes featured for so many great ideas and inspiration. But wait, stay here for a bit!

I thought of a few titles for this post.  One was "Pretty and Approachable Fall Mantel" but I'll be honest, no one is going to put that into google search and I'm all about SEO these days. Hashtag keepin it real. My point is that you don't have to be a designer or have a beyonce budget to create a pretty mantel.  Side note: I often get overwhelmed, rather than inspired by all the beauty out there. I'm always looking for inspiration but it's nice to have attainable inspiration from time to time. Hopefully you'll find that here today. Here's what I came up with + scroll to the bottom for my top 5 tips to create a budget friendly fall mantel.

I finally "finished" Genevieve's toddler room.  In real life there are a few things I wanted to add and hey it's only been two years.  But I'm calling it.  Pretty soon I need to move Nadia into her room to make room for baby. {Update since starting this post several days ago--Nadia has moved in! It's night #3 and maybe I WON'T pull my hair out tonight! But I digress...}

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I finally finished Genevieve's gallery wall! I don't think I could be more excited.  It's amazing the difference having something on the walls makes in the room.  It went from looking "in progress" to looking nearly complete. 

A little background on the wall:  I've been gathering items for it since before Nadia was born--just a frame here and there.  I also used several frames from Genevieve's nursery.  As is the case for most of my projects I wanted to keep it low budget.  All of the frames were really inexpensive.  And even better--all of the prints in the room were FREE.  Clearly, I'm pretty excited about that. 

Because I'm drooling...I'm talking heart palpitating for Jonathan Adler for JCPenney.  Happy Chic?  YES PLEASE.

Inspiration Board.

So I've been working on a few projects lately...and as a result haven't had time to tell you about them!  Of course accomplishing things is a little more important than writing about them (I have no idea how people do both successfully!) so I figured I should focus on the former.  But I finally wrapped them up (read about one of them here) so I figured I should at least begin the documenting process!

Or should I say "impossible to find toddler bedding." Now that other projects are coming to an end (Nadia's circus party for instance) and others are under way (stay tuned for a post on Genevieve's dresser), I'm finally ready to get back to Genevieve's "big girl room."  My goodness, I've been working on this on and off for some time.  And I'd love to mark it as complete.  Besides finishing her dresser, the next step in her room is to get her out of her crib!  She climbs out if it almost on a daily basis (and will say to me "go stand over there and watch me." as she climbs out or climbs in--landing head first of course).  I'm just waiting for her to land wrong and hurt herself   It's an awful feeling!  But I guess not awful enough for me to grab her toddler bed out of the garage and make the transition   I mean, am I supposed to let her sleep on it without cute bedding?  What, am I an animal or something? ;)  I asked my husband about it the other night and he says, "well I guess we should do it soon--maybe you can go with her and pick out fun bedding..." All I heard was "blah blah blah maybe you can decorate her entire room with Disney characters" and I started to hyperventilate   I figured I better get some cute bedding fast before daddy intervenes.  So of course I started researching.  

I should give you a tiny bit of background--I initially figured I'd skip the toddler bed phase.  Why spend the money on something she's only going to use a short time?  A twin bed close to the ground would be fine.  I then found this adorable twin bed on craigslist.  But then Nadia happened.  I had zero time to paint her twin bed while designing Nadia's nursery.  At the same time, my mother-in-law's co-worker gave her a barely used toddler bed that would work just fine.  It's not nearly as pretty as the curvy number but it's white, real wood, and has nice clean lines.  I may even be able to get away with painting it (still contemplating that one).  And the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be really great to have more floor space for playing.  I'm definitely hanging onto that bed (is it wrong to assume our next house will have bigger bedrooms or a playroom?) but for now, the toddler bed reigns supreme.


Back to that bedding.  I'm looking for something yellow (or a vibrant pink) and modern.  Is that so difficult to ask?  I LOVE the Michael Miller zoology print in yellow (my inspiration room used this fabric) but alas it is sold out everywhere.  And I can't find anything close to it that I like.  However, here are a few sets I did find. Not all of them go with my color scheme but they are all cute and modern and might help someone else out. These are all either girly or gender neutral by the way.

Giraffe Neutral Toddler Bedding 5 pc Set by JoJO Designs. I love that you can create an animal themed room in a cool modern way (just please don't buy the wall hangings that go with this set). ;)

Gray and White Diamond Toddler Bedding 5pc Set by JoJO Designs. SO modern and cool! This one would look great in a boy's room!