House Tour #1: What you can REALLY do with garage-sale and clearance-rack buys!

If you have been reading my blog so far, you already know how much I love my house (if you haven’t, then check out the post entitled “Look for the good in your home”).  And you also know how much I love a good bargain! When we moved into our house, we had a lot of rooms to fill…it’s a lot bigger than our old house.  But, filling up rooms with furniture and decorations can get expensive!  We were so lucky to receive “hand-me-downs” from so many wonderful friends and family members…and the rest, you guessed it, I made up for by scouring every garage sale in town, and hitting up the clearance racks!

About 2 months after we moved in, we had nearly every room in our house furnished and decorated, and I really don’t think some people would believe how much (or, I should say, how little!) we spent in doing so. At that point, we were having a birthday party for my son at our home, and we were so proud to take everyone on a tour of our new place. Of course, my mom and I made a point to share all of our greatest bargains, and people were impressed!  In fact, one of my friends even told me I should call the local newspaper and tell them about how we furnished our house almost entirely from garage-sales (that friend, by the way, is the inspiration for this “home tour”….thanks for the idea, Lindsay!).  well, I didn’t call the newspaper, but I am sharing it with you, today!

Our first stop will be the guest room.  The only reason I’m starting there is because it’s the only room that’s always clean and picked up! I really do love this room, it always brings back memories of my time living in Spain.  In fact, some days I tell Matt that I’m going to move over to this room instead of ours!  Let the bargains begin….

Speaking of my time in Spain, these black and white pictures are actually post-cards (about 50 cents each) that I bought while living there.  Every time we went into a little souvenir shop, I would look for a new one to add to my collection. When I got home, I found these red frames on the clearance rack at TJMaxx, for approximately 2 dollars each (it’s been 6 years…I don’t remember down to the penny!)

This montage is above the guest bed.  Starting from the right, the silver piece was a set of four (I used the other three in my sunroom) and cost $2 total, making them a whopping 50 cents.  The two pictures in the middle are also post cards, bought at Ikea for 50 cents each (frames were $1.99).  And the best deal in this part of the room…this picture of the flamenco dancer.  It was in an old, beat-up frame at a garage sale for 25 cents.  A quarter!  I re-framed it with this silver Ikea frame (about $5 I think).

I love how this little desk area turned out.  The red and black square picture frames on the wall were 25 cents each at a garage sale, and the black calendar was a gift.  The red bowl on the desk (which I fill with all of the little hotel-sized shampoo and soaps, for our guests) was also a gift.  The little red lantern-type thing next to the bowl was $1 at a garage sale, and I filled it with vanilla coffee beans. (This is a great way to make a room smell good, and for cheap!  I’ve had the same beans in there forever, and they still smell good. Just shake them up every once in a while, and you’re good to go!)  Red heart box, 25 cents at g-sale.  Silver and red candle-stick, $2 on Hobby Lobby clearance rack.  The red and black lamp (which I love, because the bottom half also lights up!) was $3 at a g-sale.  And the desk….such a great buy!  My mom and I found it at an estate sale for $4.  Yup, four dollars! (the footstool was a gift, purchased at Hobby Lobby with the coordinating piece, seen in the next pic)

This red and white cookie jar was one of our favorite g-sale finds…my mom bought it for me (for $2) but she has told me many times that she’s going to take it back for herself because it’s so cute!  Both frames are from Hobby Lobby clearance rack, a couple dollars a piece.  And that picture of my son Sam making his little “oh” at only two weeks old?  Well, that’s priceless.

This little red and white dress was sewn by my husband’s grandma, while the shoes hanging on the wall were worn by my grandma (yes, she actually wore those! They are seriously about to fall apart!).  And the picture in the middle?  It was a gift bag from my aunt Jean…not only a flamenco dancer, but it says “Sevilla”, which is where I lived!  I cut out the picture from the bag and found a frame to fit.  Love it!

Last but certainly not least…this decorative picture is the first thing you see when you walk down the hall to our guest bedroom.  It was actually in our kitchen in our first apartment when we got married, and then in our kitchen again at our first house.  My mom and I found it at Hobby Lobby for $4!

Okay that’s it, I promise! I’m sure your brain is just bowling over with excitement over our bargains!  We just love to share our bargaining adventure stories!  And if you ask me, it turned out to be a pretty cute guest bedroom! (ps…the bed was a hand-me-down from my husband’s family…it was his great-grandma’s bed!)

For all you fellow bargain-hunters, stay tuned in the coming weeks for a continuation of our house tour. There’s lots more where this came from!