One thing I’ve learned about cutting costs when decorating is figuring out how to see things outside of the box. Seeing things in ways they may not typically be used.

Case in point, my dinette!

So I’ve been wanting to recover my cushions from the moment I brought Sadie home, but I am no seamstress and I sure as heck didn’t want to break the bank doing it. I had bought a painter’s drop cloth and had every intention on using that (which would have worked great if I would have made the time to sew lol). However, during one of my frequent trips to Five and Below (due to the obsession my kids have) I noticed something that caught my eye.

Behold, these rugs…

Has that African mudcloth vibe that’s so in right now…..and $5?? Sign me up.

I saw it and thought, “could this actually work?” I bought one to try, rushed home, and wrapped that cushion like a present. Literally…

That thing fit friggin perfectly and I couldn’t be more excited. I went back to that store as fast as I could and bought 5 more lol. I even bought an extra as a throw for my couch in the tiny house.

For now, I pinned those suckers with safety pins (even though push pins are shown in the pic), and it’s gonna stay that way until I maybe one day have the desire to sew lol. Heck, I’m probably gonna leave them pinned so I can easily remove them to wash. They’re hidden from the back anyway and it works, so why fix it?! 😉

So there you have it, recovered cushions for just $20!

Next up, lighting. We have these push tap light things that I have been intimidated to remove and find out how they hook up. I wanted a statement lighting fixture without spending a fortune and without the hassle. During my daily visits to the heavenly Hobby Lobby, I discovered a beautifully beaded wonder of a candle holding lantern. It’s suppose to either be a centerpiece or placed somewhere like a fireplace, etc. To me, it looked like a rustic beaded chandelier so that’s exactly the look I went for. Instead of trying to pretend I’m an electrician and try to attempt to replace the fixture, I simply got the hubs to hang a hook near that tap light to give a mock chadelier look! I think it works! What do you think??

I love the contrast adding a little greenery does, so I stuck an extra sprig I had in there and voila! I’m in love!

The pillows you see pictured and are about to see are also ones I got at a low price! The smaller ones are covers from Hobby Lobby (that were half off), the larger striped one was $9 on the clearance aisle at Home Goods, and the other two large ones I found at Dirt Cheap for $12 each!! I always start at the cheaper stores and clearance aisles and develop a little patience. I price a lot out online to know what they generally run and figure out my style grabbing inspo from Instagram and Pinterest. When I figure out what I’m going for, I price around and quickly realize what I can get around doing for cheaper and what pieces I’ll spend a little more on. It’s a fun game I like to play lol.

With all that said, here’s the end product so far!