Decorate: Kitchen Whisks Worth Taking

Kitchens serve, in my opinion, as the most versatile room of the house. In our kitchen, friends gather with glasses of wine to chat, celebratory sweets are baked, breakfasts are made, and dinners are both hastily and leisurely crafted. When we bought our first home I knew that the kitchen had to be nothing short of functional and balanced. I spent time mulling over how I would make it even more organized and functional. Also, being a half-link [or something near that] I knew that my tall cabinets were potentially going to be my biggest enemy, more so than the ceiling fan cord. 

While planning a wedding, one of my friends shared that there should be one item that you splurge on and feel guiltless for adding to the big day. For this project I kept the same thing in mind and splurged. I’ll delve, but also give some budget friendly alternatives. So with that, here are my kitchen modifications. 

Let's get the elephant out of the room and address my splurge item, the pantry closet. Before the makeover, the closet wasn't BAD but it really wasn't functional. Did I mention that after setting a box of cereal down one day that the entire shelf came out of the wall? That aside, we visited The Container Store and invested in a custom Elfa configuration for our space. It was EASY. Like A,B,C & 1,2,3; seriously. We measured our space, took the numbers with us to the store and had a designer help us built a closet. If you consider this, MAKE AN APPOINTMENT or you may have wait around a couple of inconvenient hours like we did. I mentioned that this was my splurge, but Elfa has a huge sale at the beginning of the year for 30% off. Naturally we took advantage.. I won't bore you to death with the awesomeness of Elfa, but just know that if you take time to learn about a closet system that is designed to hang on your wall rather than pulling out of it when weight is added, you'll love it too. As far as pantry prep, I bought some basic drywall putty from Home Depot and patched the walls. I repainted them because the putty had to be concealed. For this, I found some ‘oops paint’ as Home Depot calls it. It was a neutral so I was safe using it in such close proximity to our tan kitchen walls. Since, I've found the variation in color is actually quite nice. It took about ¾ of a 1 qt. can to cover the walls of this pantry. All in all, this patch and paint project cost me about $8.

Before

After

Next up, the floor. My honey, sweet as he is, was a little careless when putting in our waterline and managed to use the refrigerator much like a Ditch Witch and dug a trench in our beautiful hardwood floor. To help cover up his mistake and create a little color interest, I went searching for some rugs that had a hint of vintage appeal. I landed at Garden Ridge and paid $5 per rug. Here's a HUGE explanation of the store's offering by Thrifty Decor Chick. Now with rugs, you get what you pay for. I washed one of these little gems and threw it in the dryer after spilling some dinner remnants. It shrank by nearly one-third! I managed to snag one more before the store sold out and replaced the boo-boo. I’ll resort to washing and hang-drying in the future. Here they are preventing more blemishes during the next home project...

Following the rugs were my salt & pepper shakers. I've seen LOTS of pairs floating around antique and thrift stores. My first set was a Bass fish cut in half with a tail for salt and a head for pepper. I then got some quaint little birds from a reward program but they were really meant to be on the table and not for serious seasoning. Recently, my grandparents were cleaning out their breezeway and gifted me a whole box of vintage alcohol in travel sized bottles. Ironically these two glass Cohodas Vineyards old glass dogs once held alcohol, but they’re serving their purpose far better on my stove top. Last weekend I saw the same pair in an antique store for $11 each. Not a bad find and they certainly have a resale value! 

 Last up is this vintage-inspired key holder. Our kitchen, being right next to our garage, not only has lots of cooking utensils and food, but shoes, keys, mail and whatever else is unloaded from the cars. I ended up getting this cake stand from my Grandma last fall but it didn't have a dome lid. So, I use it as a key drop. It’s practical, fancy, accessible, and matches my decor. Be warned that it isn't shatter-proof so if you have a key lanyard, be sure that you don’t move the cake stand with the keys! The cake stand and dome at an antique store or yard sale can be expensive. I've noticed the milky white patterns or clear-colored glass also being more pricey, especially if they’re a reputable brand. If you’re searching you should be able to find one for $10 or less, especially if it doesn't have a lid or a fancy collectible name. For a list of names to avoid [or pursue if you want this to be your splurge item] check out the cake stands on  Ruby Lane.

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock and looking around; do come back!

Cara

Deal or No Deal

Sometimes our wallets need a break. If we paid full price for everything we couldn't sustain livelihood; or maybe we could, we'd just be in lots and lots of debt. Debt becomes more terrifying than the monster under your bed ever was, and you quickly find that looking for deals and scraping around for bargains is as important for survival as hunting buffalo was for settlers of the United States.

I like to think that the deals I find aren't by coincidence - they're instinctual. Knowing what days are best for sales and staying out of stores on those other days is critical. NEVER have I EVER paid full price for anything and today you're going to find that you won't have to either. Let's start with my favorite bargain spots and what I get there.

• Kohl's carries home decor and an array of clothing and accessory options. I love the LC Lauren Conrad line as well as Vera Wang, but sometimes the prices are a bit steep. Of course you can spend $50 and get $10 in Kohl's cash, but there are BETTER ways to save, people. Swallow your pride and hit the 60-80% off rack. Start there and you won't get into as much trouble. Now, once you've fallen in love with a few things, open the Coupon Sherpa app [referenced below] and find a coupon. I know Kohl's pitches these credit cards in store and I vowed never to succumb to getting one. Instead, I signed up for the Kohl's rewards program and get lots of great coupons through email.
• Dollar Tree [Yes, that place where all kinds of poor people go to get whatever poor people get]. Get over yourself - the Dollar Tree has lots of good finds for a fraction of the price of wholesale giants AND you can shop online. My favorite items include: holiday decorations, cards, wrapping + gift bags [their selection is awesome!], basic cleaning products [sponges, rags, knock-off Swiffer wipes], cheap cups/plates/bowls for everyday use, scented closet hangers and water beads, and of course craft supplies! Be aware however that since everything is $1 you get charged sales tax on that dollar. If the item is less than $1 at another store, don't get it here.
• Thrift Shops - Seriously, these hole-in-the-wall places often have vintage articles, neat decorating pieces, and unique items. It's also my go-to place for Halloween costume materials since I make all of mine. Wise up, Goodwill isn't as cheap as you'd think. Look for the Salvation Army and small Mom & Pop shops to get the good stuff for garage sale prices.

This costume came together from Goodwill, garage sales, and with the help of a little elbow grease.

I thrifted for these costume pieces and made the Bubba Gump Shrimp hat .

• Garage Sales -  Not only have I found a 1980 Schwinn bicycle for $20, but I've also picked-up new riding boots, Christmas decorations, furniture, and plenty of good books. On the flip side, I enjoy having garage sales and using my earnings to find new pieces for my closet and decor.

Going at the end of the day to garage sales is wise. This bike was priced at $50 earlier in the day!

Before going into a store to purchase a groceries, gifts, or goods I do three things:

1. I open the Coupon Sherpa app on my iPhone to see if there are any deals at stores I'll be visiting.

2. Get online and print coupons for big ticket items

3. Collect any coupons I have handy from the newspaper to use at the grocery. 

I'm not a "super couponer" but the small savings of 10%-20% help too. 

Other ways to save cash?

• AAA discounts save you 10% off of regular priced items at lots of places; including Target and Shoe Carnival!
• Carry your college ID - some places love giving alumni or students a break.
• Know days you can save - Goodwill for instance has different 'color' deals every day on their product tags.
• Understand markdowns and final sale. Final sale items cannot be returned, but often times you can negotiate the price even lower if it's damaged. I bought a $50 collar necklace that was marked to $10 but talked it down to $2 since it was broken in two places. I came home and used a pair of pliers to tighten the loosened links and fixed it good as new!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock and looking around; do come back! 

Cara

DIY Edition Off the Wall

In my last post, Finding DIY Inspiration, I blogged about other uses for "wall decals that also work on a trillion other things." Here are some odds and ends that I have used wall decals to decorate.

FURNITURE
Slapping those wordy wall decals on a piece of furniture is a great way to spice up a boring piece. I haven't done this one yet, but I came across a great example. The wall decal is just layered latex paint that you mush onto a surface. By placing the decal and scratching with a flat object (I use a pan scraping tool, myself) it'll be stuck on in a few seconds.

DOORS
Here's one I did at my house. I bought a simple "Welcome" sign and put it right on my front door. It's visible from the road and matches the trim on the outside of our house. I love the little bit of coziness that it brings to our curb appeal.

WALLS [of course]
Obviously these decals were designed for walls and they do well there. I have found that they can leave a residue upon removal, but it's nothing that the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser can't handle. [I promise I don't get sponsor money for talking about Mr. Clean all the time...] I had this Clint Eastwood decal in my first apartment for a couple of years. I was sad when I moved out to not take it with me, but I could have put it on a glass frame and done just that.

GLASS
This is one of my favorite uses for the wall decals. Here's my rendition of sticking the decal on glass. The glass is still washable and the decal can be removed with heat. If washing in hot water do not attempt to dry by hand. Do NOT put these items in the dishwasher. Here is an example of how I would use these decals on glass.

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Thanks for stopping by the HumbleHammock and looking around; do come back!

Cara