Inexpensive Ideas

Just a few ideas on using found objects to decorate your rooms on a budget:

On this large wall, I had a dinky little picture hanging there but it just looked lost.  I needed something to fill up the space, but large canvasses, prints, and frames are really expensive.  I had these two old doors (one I found in an old out-building in the woods behind our house, the other my dad bought at a yard sale and just had it stored behind the garage) and decided to paint a scene on them and use them like canvasses.  I used leftover paint that I had lying around to paint the picture and kept it simple, so it only took a few hours.  You could also use decals or stencils if you don't like to paint free-hand.  

For this mixed media piece, I used pressed leaves that we had picked up on a trip to the mountains one fall. I took a maple leaf and traced it onto a piece of paper and then cut it out to make a DIY stencil, and painted several in different shades of red to make all the maple leaves.  Then, I took some of the real pressed leaves and decoupaged them onto the painting.  This was a pretty quick-fix for a big, blank wall in my living room.

These were super easy.  I picked up some pretty fall leaves and pressed them under a heavy book, put them in their frames (which I bought at the $1 Spot at Target) and voila!  Instant artwork!

I should have a heading called: "Objects found in the woods", because I always go hunting there first when I need some decorating inspiration.  One of my favorite things to decorate with: STICKS!  They give you height and volume when you have a bare spot, they're free, and you can find them everywhere.  For our non-working fireplace/mantle in the living room: the mirror was from an old dresser set that my mom had tucked away in the attic; the glass vases I bought at T J Maxx and filled with pinecones (found in the woods) and tree branches; more sticks/branches in the pottery vases on the floor, and then I put a weathered cedar root ball in front for visual interest (at least, I think it looks interesting...)  Can you tell I have a tree theme going on in my living room? :o)

Our kitchen had a weird layout and one large, empty wall, which I can't stand, so I just had to fill it up!  I found all these baskets at a flea market in our hometown for $1.00 apiece and the table legs I found in the woods behind our house.  

This is our old church sign.  My Grandpa saved it when it was replaced with a new one, and I found it in his wood shop.  I love the patina of old signs and this was even better because it had special meaning for us... and it was free!