Transforming an old house with very little funds.

• katetacchi7

Hello everyone! I don’t think I’ve shared some redecorating we done recently. Everything was free and found on Craigslist, except this mirror and that was purchased on sale at HomeDepot. I believe one of you gave me this idea to put a mirror over the sink and the transformation is fantastic!

I’ve been searching on Craigslist for lumber and bricks so Bali can finish his outdoor projects. We are hunting and pecking about having both agreed to not spend any money outside mortgage, utilities, gas for the car and groceries. I haven’t found lumber yet but one day I found a shelving unit and thought it perfect for the boys room that is becoming a mess of piles here and there. Shelves are brilliant for creating a place for everything and tidying up the house.

We drove to a lovely, large house in the country and when we arrived the family had the garage open and filled with furnishings they wanted to be rid of. Turns out they were moving out of state and doing some decluttering.

Here is the after of the mirror over the sink.

Now here are the before and afters of the house after we hauled home all the new to us furniture. I donated my old furniture for free on Craigslist.

This was the living room way before. I have since removed the couch cover since it didn’t fit and left red fluff everywhere. I covered the chair with a new blue cover.
Here we received the furniture but had to get rid of the chest of drawers, take the bench out and do some organizing.
The living room has more space now that I have places to put plants and things.

This was when the boys room was tidy but soon the boys had no where to put things.
This is much cozier, still needs to be organized but they have shelves for their books and art, Godzilla’s and dinosaurs. They got a free Christmas tree as well.
A much needed desk.
I gave away the table, downsized and simplified this room.
This was just adding a leaf to our table. We live at the table so I made it bigger for schoolwork, playing board games, feast, and I do my writing here as well or use it as an extra counter space. Big tables can serve so many purposes when in the kitchen.

I love playing with this house. I love rearranging furniture, finding new pieces for free and giving away old pieces that are too chunky and heavy for this house. Shelves are great because all the items that were piled on various peices of furniture are now up and displayed nicely and I don’t need all the furniture.

I find that cleaning is much easier now with less furnishings and lighter pieces. The boys room has more furnishings but they need that desk and all those shelves so we don’t just pile books and art and toys everywhere or stuff in baskets to be forgotten.

I love my big table. I chop and knead dough, working on it often as I moved my island to the laundry room were it serves a good purpose. We live at that table.

I’m finding so much on Craigslist right now as everyone seems to be moving out of California and wants to downsize. So, I get to do my shopping but for free and I’m recycling their stuff and giving my stuff away for a second or third or fourth life. Nothing is wasted nor being added to the landfills. Now that is sustainable home decor!

18 thoughts on “Transforming an old house with very little funds.”

  1. The house looks very nice! Really well thought out, cozy and a place to nurture the whole family. I like seeing how you change things around to make good use of every room. The mirror over the sink adds so much light and color. Great idea!

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  2. Looks so nice. FREE is my favorite F word!!!! LOL
    I love having a mirror over my sink – it just helps spread the light around – perfect if you don’t have a window over the sink.

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  5. It was a nice treat to read from you today. It’s great to find free stuff and it is good you can freely let go of things. A lot is available here on Freecycle and probably Craigslist too for free or small price but as for furnishings I don’t have movers or a truck so I haven’t been taking anything on offer. I did recently order some shelving on wheels for my kitchen which has very limited storage space. It will be delivered to my door and give me a place to store canned goods and most of my small appliances. I can’t wait for it to get here next week. I’m still in decluttering mode here and trying not to bring many new things in until I have gotten to a certain point of letting things go. Then I can see more clearly where I need thinks. Like you, I mainly need surfaces on which to put items so they are off the floor and countertops. all the best as you continue rearranging your cosy home.

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    1. *things not thinks, lol. BTW, I like the mirror above the sink and I’ll keep that in mind as I go forward. Relatively recently I put a crewel embroidered piece above my sink as I got tired of looking at the wall.

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  7. The mirror really brightens the kitchen. We had a weird bank of row of cabinets over our island. We knocked those out. Zero spend that opened the space. Pallets are a game changer in creating a free source of wood.

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  8. I love the way your house is decorated now! Especially, Molly in the big cozy chair. You might keep your eyes open for construction sites. Sometimes they will give away leftover materials if you just ask. My husband said that builders would rather not have to pay to have items hauled off. You really have made huge progress.

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