Decorating on a budget!

But, let's be honest...I'd DIY even if I wasn't on a budget...! And I actually saw it as a super fun challenge to purchase some of these IKEA basics knowing that I'd get to get my crafty little hands on them....

First up, our little reading/coffee nook. The first thing I did was spray paint the legs on the chairs. They were originally a dark graphite color, so as an easy under $5 project, I spray painted them an antique gold. Not a major change, but now they match the decor/style throughout the room perfectly. Easy Peasy.

I also knew I wanted to embellish the mirror and side table. A trip to the hardware store which -if you follow me on instragam know- was pretty hilarious. I'm not really the power tools type of crafter, I'm more of the hot glue gun and party banner sort...so navigating any hardware store is a challenge -- particularly if all of the signs are in German and you can barely tell the difference between screws & nails in English. [I'm only sort of kidding...] But I survived, completed all projects and am really happy with how they turned out.

Here you see the table & mirror before embellishment. I added a roll of perforated metal to the table & L shaped metal brackets to the corners of the mirror. This project was so beyond easy. I spray painted the perforated metal with the leftover gold paint from the chairs above. While that was drying I got to work on the mirror.

I thought I'd need to spray paint the brackets, but they actually came in kind of a tarnished gold! Lucky me! So, first I measured where I wanted the brackets placed. I ended up attaching them about 2 inches from the top of the mirror with the corner of the brace sitting squarely in line with the corner of the mirror. I marked where the screws should go, drilled a hole deep enough to fit the screw, then screwed it on in. Seriously, thats it -- times 2 screws per bracket and I could check the mirror off my DIY list.

The process for the table was basically the same. I used a cloth tape measure to measure the circumference of the table and then using metal cutters, cut the same length of the painted perforated metal. Again, measured out where the screws would go, drilled and screwed. That simple! Coffee nook...done & done!

Ikea Hack. Living room decor. Black & Gold.

OK one last quick & easy one for ya! The console that we really wanted had pretty glass doors, but it wasn't available [wah wah] so we decided to keep the doors off this one and use the interior shelves as display shelves instead. Then we changed out the basic black knobs for these pretty pretty agate stone knobs that I found on Etsy. Changing out knobs is such an easy way to add character and you can always switch them out in the future if your taste or room decor change. So, Console project...CHECK!