Hand-Me-Downs

Ya'll have probably noticed my decorating page and are wondering why on Earth I have it if I never post anything there. So, the time has come! You can read on the top of that page how decorating became an interest of mine, and soon I'll post pictures of my home and some of our projects. Until then, here is a little "behind the scenes" look on our shoe string decorating hobby.

Eric and I got married straight out of college which meant we basically had a futon, a bed, a couch and some coffee tables to start our home. Of course we were new in our careers and couldn't afford to buy the a lot furniture. So we made the best of our situation by hitting up thrift stores, yard sells, and even dumpsters. Plus, we took just about everything that was offered to us from our parents.

We have invested lots of time in refinishing furniture and have now decorated our entire home with hand-me-downs. In fact, the only "new" piece of furniture in our house is the couch Eric's mom and dad bought us last year for Christmas.

Guests often comment on our home, which is a nice thing, but what makes me proud is being able to say, "oh someone threw that out and we refinished it."

We have transformed secondhand items, yard sell steals, thrift store rejects, and even dumpster finds into one-of-a kind pieces and I LOVE the results. There are still lots of changes I want to make to my home, and I don't think I'll ever get to the place where I am "finished" decorating. But here is a look at how we've used our big ideas and small budget to make our house a home!

To start this off, I would like to show you our very first "home" aka ghetto apartment!


Here you are looking at our first major furniture redo. It was a pie safe from the basement of the house I grew up in. It had been in the same spot for more than 60 years. When we got it, there were tar stains, a rats nest and countless cobwebs. It took us a few weeks, but we got it polished and back in use as an entertainment center. Since moving, it has now taken up residency in kitchen.
This is a view of our kitchen in the apartment. The hutch and table were bought at Habitat For Humanity's Restore in Lexington. The hutch has a major whole in it, but some clever decorating has disguised it. It's now in dining room at home and is next on the "redo" list to be painted and re-stained. Most of the accessories were hand-me-downs or discount store finds. You'll also notice the "desk" beside the hutch. It was redone by my dad when I was in high school to be used as a vanity. We removed the mirror and used it as a desk in the apartment. It is now in the Master Bath at our house and is used as a vanity again!


This is a picture of our tiny , tiny family room at the apartment. The curtains were made from some cheapo material I got at Wal-Mart and were hung from the ceiling using thumbtacks. The coffee table was part of a yard sale set and most of the accessories were hand-me-downs.


This is a picture of Eli's bed which was given to us from one of Eric's coworkers BEFORE we even got married. We weren't planning on having babies at the time, but we couldn't turn it down. . . good thing!! Not pictured here are the second hand rocker, changing table and entertainment center. All of which are still in use.

I show you these pictures because our new home was inspired in large part, not from design or decorating preference but rather from what was available and affordable to us. But, it all works!

I'll soon show you our new home room by room and how hand-me-downs have made our house a home.