The Broke Mom's Guide To Design

I have what my dad likes to refer to as champagne taste on a Kool-Aid budget. I like to look like I'm living it up when really, I'm just barely living. My home is really important to me. Because I'm too broke to venture out, I spend a lot of time riding my couch. Why spend time in a room that's as bare as my wallet? I have a great passion for design, but I don't have the budget to support it, therefore, I've had to create ways to trick myself into thinking I've done a full upgrade without spending any money. I've created what I like to call "The borrowers guide to design".

Step #1: A Design Plan

--Choose two rooms that you'd like to upgrade. Settle on a general design concept and make notes to what you'd like to change.

Step 2: Go "Shopping"

--Take a couple laps around your hoome, locate pieces that you'd like to incorporate into your rooms, and how they'd fit into your new design scheme. Update furniture by using cheap tactics such as spray painting, or re-upholstering for a fresh look.

Step 3: The Execution

--Push it, girl! Swap furniture in and out of rooms to create a new feel. It's the wife swap of interior design!

Wah-la! Two newly decorated rooms! I recently did this with my living room and kitchen. I had a very tall bookcase in my living room that drew the eye right up to the ceiling. I wanted something a little lower to the ground, so I went "shopping" at my parent's house and swiped a bookcase they were no longer using. I moved my tall bookcase into the kitchen and created a pantry. I was able to free up some cupboard space and organize a lot better. My living room now has a much better flow to it by upgrading to my borrowed bookcase. Both rooms now have a new feel to them and I spent $0!

I love the look of the brown bookcase against the white wall and white furniture. I have a rental, so I'm not permitted to paint.. The white bookcase blended in a bit too much for my liking, so this was a welcomed change in my living room. It feels a bit warmer in there now. The kitchen has a completely different feel to it too. It felt so bare before I added in my new pantry. I absolutely love being able to organize! I am a breastfeeding/breast pumping machine. I lacked room for my pump and bottles before. They littered my kitchen counters, which was a bit awkward when guests stopped by. Now, I have a designated place for everything. I can't stop organizing! It makes it a lot easier when meal planning too. I can see exactly what I need. I plan on borrowing more in the future and upgrading again. Be on the look out!