1. The white cabinet (blogged about in the last post) has been in my mother's family for four generations now. I recently revamped it after sloooooowly working it on it over the last four years. Here's the breakdown: paint from another project, knobs $.75 per pair at BB&B clearance, paper 15 cents each at Hobby Lobby - 12 pieces, left over spray paint for hinges - free. Total = $4.80
2. The plate wall is another recent change in the room. The most any of these plates cost was $1.00 each. I painted the one in the middle with chalkboard paint. (And gave my sis a matching one.) The hangers were more than the plates themselves. Total = $ 16.50
3. My window
"mistreaments" are not my favorite, but they will do for now. I tried a variation on a theme of the ones I created for the living room. You can read about those
mistreaments in
this old post. They are made of
placemats,
grosgrain ribbon, witch stitchery and hot glue magic. They serve their purpose well covering the u-g-l-y
miniblinds that stay raised most of the time. The
placemats were $4.99 for 4 (I only used three),
grosgrain ribbon $1.99, witch stitch stuff $1.99 ( I ran out on the last set) for a
total of $9.00 with leftovers.
4. These black chairs were a necessary purchased that later turned to love. A few years ago I accepted a position doing contract work for a graphic design/communications specialist. I needed to set up a workspace for days I would be working from home (I was living with my dad and stepmom at the time.) I used my sofa table I had in my apartment as the desk and was on the look out for chairs at Target. I was thrilled when I found one black chair on clearance for $15.38. I hauled that box home in flash only to find out I had purchased TWO chairs. Shut your face! So, good deals. They are pretty good chairs and will hang around for awhile I guess.
5. The Big Deal purchase of the room is the table. It was a huge splurge and it was all hubby's idea. I had knots in my stomach even after we brought it home. It is the Harvest table from Pottery Barn. We got it at the outlet for $499 a couple of months ago. It still retails in the catalog for $999 at least. It has another leaf that can be inserted to make it ginormous. It has no scratches or dents that weren't originally burned into the table. (One thing I love about it - it's rustic charm.) And it is SOLID. I know it will last us forever and that makes me feel better. I did not like the thought of getting rid of my parents table even though it was unfinished and I had to keep a table pad and cloth on it always.
6. Accessories on the left of the room - Total $28
Glass Urn thingys - family heirloom
Black spindles - about $15 at Hobby Lobby for both, had them in my apartment
Cream Urn - $6 something years ago Target clearance
Moravian Star - Christmas present from stepmom
Laugh sign - $7 at Hobby Lobby, was half price
Decanter - family heirloom, was my grandfather's
Crystal vase - a Mother's Day present I gave my mom when I was a teenager
Stuff in the cabinet - various wedding presents and family heirlooms
7.
Accessories on Right side of the room,
Total roughly $5 out of my pocketMilkcan - mother's family
Plant - from dad's funeral
Wooden shelf - dad bought at Hobby Lobby for $15 but never put up in his house
Gold H - $5 at Hobby Lobby, half price sale
Votives - left over from our wedding
Sliverware Shadowbox - great-grandmother's silver, old shadowbox I gave hubby
8. These upholstered chairs were hand-me-downs and were given to my parents for a wedding present along with their old dining table. They used to be covered with this great seventies style green vinyl. Stylin'! You can see some great old pics of the chairs in my previous post. I am in the process of recovering them. Here's the redo breakdown: drop cloth $20, stain $9.00, upholstery tacks $5, foam and batting $19. Total $53 for 4 chairs. Nice! The other two chairs you see there are yard sale find, one was $3 and the other was $2. They are just hanging out here until get all of the other chairs covered. Total for side chairs $58.
That brings our Grand Total for the Dining Room to about $635......oops, I forgot the paint I got on sale for $16.52 at Lowes and then used my $5 rebate. So the total is really about $648.
After looking at some other rooms, I do not feel like that is all that bad. Most of it besides the table has been spent over time too which eases the blow. I know we have spent more than some people would to decorate their homes. I feel like if we do it now while we can, then I will always have pieces to work with later. I love that our pieces are unique and not like anyone else's. I love that they have a story and that they add character to our home. It's what makes our little house such a reflection of our little life that we love.
Head over to
The Nesting Place to check out some other rooms and what they cost. It is really interesting to see what other people pay for decor and just the story behind the various rooms.
Item #3: Grand Ruby's Cabinet
I believe we got this cabinet after my grandfather (mother's father) passed away in 1991. It originally belonged to his mother, my great-grandmother, whom we called Grand Ruby. I have had it since about 2003 when dad moved to Georgia for a short stint.
