Decor on a budget!

Alright... it's been a while... I guess every post is just going to start out this way.

Sadly, I actually have like 4 blog posts written up and ready to go but I have been awfullll about getting all of the pictures set for them! I have a HUGE before an after coming but for now, I'll just do a little post on a few things we did over the weekend!

Let me start by saying, decor in my house has been kind of an uphill battle. I have a fiance who hates all things that aren't "useful" while i just want to buy Pier 1 and put it in my living room. This faces us with a challenge, but not one I am willing to give up on! This weekend we really tackled our front entryway which was previously an empty space and is now warm, inviting, and even has some use!

Well this view doesn't show much...

The first thing we did was get a couple pieces of furnature. I really wanted a bench that we could sit an put our shoes on, be somewhere to put his briefcase and my purse when we get home, and had some storage. I am allllll about anything that can double up for storage. Even if we can't fill it up right now, it's great to have for the future and it could be dubbed as "useful" by the Mr. I also wanted a small console table, preferably one with a drawer or two to stick winter items and the dog leashes in. I didn't want to buy super cheap, falling apart furniture but at the same time, neither of these pieces were going to be heavily used and see a lot of wear and tear, so they didn't need to be ridiculously nice either. In came one of my favorite stores of all time... Target!

Image from target.com

"Useful" bench!

I am seriously becoming OBSESSED with Target's new brand, Threshold. I cannot tell you how many various items around our house are of this brand. These are items that look so nice, modern, and elegant and thus way more expensive than they actually are. We ended up with the Windham Entryway Bench in black and the X console table in Expresso. Both of these were 30% off when we purchased them (on two separate occasions). They look great and serve the purpose well.

Image from target.com

"Useful" table!

We them needed a couple items the spruce up the walls. What we found were seriously a steal. We picked up a large decorative wall mirror from Kohls. The retail price was $100, but it was 50% off. I had $40 to spend in Kohls Cash and a 30% off coupon bringing my total for this awesome piece to a whopping $7. Now THAT is awesome.

The second piece we hung is a sentimental one. My late great grandmother whom I was quite close to passed away a few years ago. She was a well accomplished artist who still has paintings all over the world. When she passed, everyone in the family wanted a piece and her more well-known and loved pieces flew out of her house right away. I found this piece tucked away in the corner of her basement. It is unfinished and unsigned, obviously a piece from her very early days. I absolutely love it. I had it framed at Michaels during a 50% + 10% off sale for around $100. Not cheap, but completely worth it. It is proudly hanging for all to see as soon as they walk in our front door. Our entire first floor is full of trees, greenery, and a has general autumnal/nature feel. This fits perfectly.

Awwww, Grandma!

I finished it off with a few pieces of miscellaneous decor. I had a decorative bowl from Pier 1 I had bought on clearance months ago sitting in my living room, serving no purpose and I was constantly moving it around. Now it sits on the table in the entry and serves as a place for Mr. to stick his watch, wallet, and keys as he comes in.

Boring corner in front of stairs...

I found the Eiffel Tower tea light... thing (seriously... what do you call that??) half off at Pier 1. We are hoping to go to Paris for at least part of our honeymoon and I just thought it looked nice. Plus... I am candle obsessed. Another excuse for candles? Okay!

The tall vase is something I picked up at Marshall's years ago and then the branches are again... from Pier 1. The rug is super, super cheap from Ikea.

All in all, I love how this little space came out and how the rest of our house is turning out. Lots of these little budget decor sessions have happened and there are many more to come, I am sure!

Also... can I just throw this in here? How awesome is this glass mosaic piece??? Yet another from Pier 1. I got this for 75% off the ticket price plus a sale! It was originally 180 bucks and we got it for $30! It had a bunch of dings and chips all over it. Mr. and I went out and bought some acrylic paint from Michaels for a whole $4 and mixed it up to match and painted in all of the dings. We can't even tell where they were now. This is now hanging over our couch in the living room. It is HUGE, for the record... you can't really tell in the picture. How cool is that?! :D