My Super Frugal House Makeover- Part 1

My pinterest board with my dream living room

My friend, Sarah, recently put up some pictures of her new living room, and it made me wonder how people decide what they want their living room to look like, what pictures they want to hang on their wall, etc. Because I, quite frankly, had no idea what I liked. But what I did know is that I certainly don't like how my house looks now.
If you'd walk into my house now, you'd have this idea in your head of what my "Style" is based on how my house looks. And that bugs me. Because none of what is in my house is actually my style. It's well lived in, yes. It's a home, yes. But it isn't something I'm particularly proud of, or that I particularly enjoy. My house currently is a mishmash of whatever things we got free or cheap, and functional. Basically the mantra we've lived by has been "If it's free/super cheap, and we can use it, why not?" without giving thought as to whether or not we'd like how it looks. Function and cost came first.
But it bugs me. I don't want my house to be haphazardly thrown together. I want it to be a house that I'm proud of, a house that makes me happy, and a house whose style speaks to me.
But it doesn't.

This has made me do a lot of thinking, because I can't just say that my house doesn't look like I want it to look like, if I have no idea what I actually do like. I know what styles I don't like. I'm very not into maroons or pastels. Of course, that's the colors of our couch covers now, since that's what we've gotten free, and beggars can't be choosers. But still. I've been to houses that the decor made me feel blah. So I know that those styles aren't for me.

I decided that I need to figure out what I do like, somehow, so I made myself a pinterest board. I looked on pinterest for living room designs, and when I liked what I saw, when a certain picture made me feel good, I pinned it to my dream home decor board.



To give me ideas of what I liked, and a direction to even begin looking in for ideas, I started looking around my house, trying to decide if there actually is anything in my house that I do like, that does make me feel happy, and I was thinking about how this picture actually makes me feel both happy and serene at the same time, and then was thinking about how its the color that does it for me. I love orange. Orange makes me happy and feel full of life and energy. So many things that I love are orange, whether it is fire (I love nothing more than a good bonfire) or orange gerbera daisies or autumn leaves. Then it hit me- I need my home decor to have more orange in it.
I also was thinking about whether I like home styles more antiquated, or retro, or country-ish, or modern and sleek, and modern and sleek wins completely. I don't like old fashioned, country, rustic, or farm house style much as my lifestyle may make it seem that way. I like sleek and modern, specifically with blacks, whites, and greys.

So then I was able to narrow down my pinterest searches to look for modern designs with orange, and saw that orange was paired often with grey, which appealed to me, because as much as I like orange, too much of it certainly is garish.

I also realized that I also really like blue, that when I think of colors that make me happy, its the colors of Arizona- bright blue sky and orangey reds, so I figured, why not also blue in my decor scheme?

After a lot of time on pinterest, I found pics that showed my "ideal living room", which managed to combine greys, oranges and blues into a work of art.

Another living room I really like

Finally I discovered, not just what I don't like, but what I want my place to look like, but I wasn't sure how to translate that into my current home, especially without buying new furniture, painting the walls, or spending a lot of money.

I asked for advice from some friends, and they recommended that I switch out the large swatches of color that I dislike (our table and couch covers) with colors that I do like- grey mainly, and then add accents and decorations in colors that I do like, like oranges and blues.

But then I realized that I can't just add things, because a big part of what I dislike is clutter. My house is clutter central, and I like sleek, clean, uncluttered looks. That's the biggest thing, actually, that bugs me about my house. Because it is so small and our storage areas are so small, the slightest things give it a cluttered look, and there's more than just a little bit of clutter.
And so, right now, my main mission is to declutter big time.

Over the past few days I've gotten rid of so many things that were taking up room in my house and not being used. Out went the stationary we ordered for our wedding with monograms on it, out went the clothing that none of us wear, out went the backpacks that aren't being used, out went the booster seat that Rose refuses to use. I've decluttered enough so far to fill a small Uhaul, at the very least, and I've just touched the tip of the iceberg.

I did a lot of window shopping on Aliexpress, found colors and shades that I thought would look good together, and then today I went out to the store and bought fabric and other odds and ends to decorate in that color scheme, and then I have to get to work and actually sew it- hopefully tomorrow...

When it's all finished, I'll show before and after pics. But already I am feeling happier with what I got, and excited about the changes we'll be making in our house. And best thing about it- everything I bought is stuff that will also work in our new house- and the colors that I chose for tiles and kitchens in that house actually work very well with the color scheme I chose!

I'm really psyched right now, and ready for this new chapter of my life, with a home that I can feel more confident in, that suits my personality and tastes!

If you like this, you'll like my other home makeover posts as well:

• My Super Frugal Home Makeover- End Results
• Teaching My 8 Year Old To Sew Decorative Pillows
• Making Super Frugal Tab Top Curtains From Imperfect Fabric and Scraps
• Making My Own Homemade Fancy Tablecloth

What is your favorite style of home decor? Do you have a pinterest board with your dream home decor ideas? (Would you share it?)
What colors do you like for decoration?
Is your house actually to your taste, or, for frugality reasons, does your house have a more thrown together look like mine currently does?
What are your best tips for giving a home a makeover on a budget?