If you've hung out here at the Nest for any amount of time you know that one of the 5 pillars of Nesting is Shopping the House. I used to feel cursed to not be able to go to TJMaxx and buy the latest and greatest adorable accessory.
Now I realize that it's the very fact that I cannot purchase whatever I want that forces me to be creative and come up with useful ideas for what I already have.
I don't see that as a curse but as a challenge.
These mistreatments have been used in pretty much every room of my house. It's worth it to me to take them out of one room and try them in another. If I don't like it, I'll just put them back.
These two frames were in my yard sale pile. I literally pulled off my own masking tape price tag just yesterday in order to paint them.
Lo and behold, if this frame wasn't the perfect size for one of my favorite paintings! I never would have tried it had I not been forced to use what I have.
This does not always happen by any means. More often than not things do not work out. But, I just learn from it and move on. I have more time than money so I don't mind a little trial and error.
I should be arrested for even thinking that this could work. But, I did figure out that this green is the perfect shade to go with the blue and chocolate in our bedroom. Now, all I need to do is find a great way to use it--I don't let it get me down, instead, I get all excited about the possibilities. The secret is to not give up and not to be afraid to make something and have it turn out ugly. You are using what you already have so you don't have to worry that you are wasting money.
Here's another work in progress. If only I had 8 mores squiggly sticks just like that one I'd be good. I'm not afraid to leave it all bare like that for the next 3-8 weeks while I hunt for super cheap sticks at Hobby Lobby or super free sticks in our neighborhood.
I've been meaning to move the sofa and mop the floor.
A good opportunity to try the big rug from my bedroom in a different place. It was a BEAR to move. While I moved it I laughed, I cried, I cursed, I might have had let some unsanitary bodily functions slip...however, I'd rather move it down the stairs to see if it works than not try it and wonder all winter how it would feel to have an 8x11 rug in snug in our family room instead of a 5x8 rug. Totally worth it.
This one actually worked too. Not the perfect color for the room but the size will make the family room so much more inviting on cold winter nights. Phew, I'm glad that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.
Have you shopped your house today? I promise, if you don't like something, the returns are practically hassle free!
31 Days to A Better Dressed Nest :: Day 17~ Shop the House
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Thanks for the new pictures of real work-in-progress! You inspire me to rely on and appreicate the blessings God has already given me, instead of wanting more.
I think I am going to go move some things.
Your photos are great and your ideas are excellent but most of all I love what you say and how you say it. Your blog never fails to make me grin and often makes me chuckle. Your honestly is appreciated and enjoyed.
I had that same exact rug moving experience at my house once! That's why the darn thing remains rolled up and wrapped where it can do no harm. Maybe I'll drag it out...
Please explain how you hung the drapes in your breakfast room. I'm on a very tight budget (i.e. non-existent), and I think this would work in my breakfast room. Thanks for the inspiration.
Ann
Ann, I'll be including those mistreatments and others in an upcoming ebook--I'm still fiddeling with the best way to hang them myself--a little more trial and error and then I'll pass it on to you!
Free returns, I love that. Just yesterday, I took down my canvas drop cloth curtain, cut off a few pieces and stenciled them into artwork for the walls. Now I need a new idea for family room curtains.:) Things are always moving around.
I love shopping the house. I have a lot more time than money and the happy accidents make up for the stuff that doesn't work.
What happened to the bottom half of one of your curtains in the family room pic?
And I keep meaning to ask you - what do you call your style? I think it's so unique it's a style all it's own, so I am just curious what you consider it to be.
Emily, I just had them hiked up so I could mop.
Style? I have no idea.
I should've known that. Someday when I grow up, I'll have curtains and know about such things :)
I'm very impressed you moved that rug by yourself!
I love moving things around. Unless they are on the wall...a lot of my wall colors are dark, and when you pull out nails, you can see the drywall. And I hate patching that. So if it's not attached, I'll gladly try it somewhere else! ;)
(I think this is why it took me 3 years to hang anything in this house..I wanted to be sure I was going to like it..haha)
That unsanitary-bodily-functions-while-moving-the-rug bit cracked me up!
:-)
Layla
You never fail to make me laugh! Love you tongue in cheek writing style. Hope that Oprah will "discover" you one day!
Nester,
Two things.....I cannot believe you did not show us the RUG IN PLACE...still shaking my head at that...and dying to know what it looks like now.
and number 2....your style is called...are you ready?
NESTERIFFIC!! :)
Suzanne
"Unsanitary bodily functions" made me laugh. Once again..love this piece of advice! I'm always shopping around my own house. It's the only way to stay sane when our budget doesn't allow me to shop outside of it!
There are so many things that I've parted with over the years, that had I known the power of some paint would've been perfect. Lesson learned!
And, yard sale pile? Us local gals want to know when said sale happens! ;)
I LOVE that you posted a photo of one that didn't work out! :) I was sitting here wondering if you ever wind up with stuff that's just like "nuh uh." Thanks for your honesty. :)
I find myself shopping the house more and more. I used a yard sale, made-over pedestal to hold some pumpkins and leaves...had forgotten it was in my sideboard. :)
Ahh, you made me laugh...out loud..with this one. You make me laugh and inspire me at the same time. You're like a Nesting Jedi or something :).
So glad I'm not the only who could relate with unsanitary body functions while decorating-and yet, now, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit it!
I shop the house all the time. I think one of the best things for creating my own unique look and style in decorating my home is that I have no money to spend. It forces me to take my time and come up with something totally unique-and that always seems so much better to me than picking up something new. And it's totally fine to have something undone in the process-kind of like life, isn't it?
Maybe in a few years I can shop the house. Right now I'm limited to shopping the front entry table/cabinet. Or the space under the bed. It's all good! Gussy is having fun learning from The Nester :)
Your "shop the house" posts are some of my favorites. It always put that song in my head... "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one your with." We buy whatever we have for SOME reason, other than it just being cheap. Remembering why we loved it in the first place is not always easy, but it sure is cheaper than buying something new every day!
Thanks for your cute blog - so many inspiring ideas. Speaking of using what you have - we just moved and in my old master bedroom I had drapes for one window - they are the waverly with huge grommets in them that you put the rod through. In our new home we have a bay window with blinds. I still would love the splash of color - any ideas on hanging the drapes in just the corners of the bay for show? If they were just fabric I would do a mistreatment but they have the grommets. I would love your take on that one!
what a fabulous post!!! i love you nester ;-) will you be my friend, i mean, do a post on how to do those arrangements you always do? i love all the sticks and feathers and stuff, but i don't have any clue how to get going! xoxo
We're in total agreement on this one in our house. It's just another way to stretch those hard earned dollars.
I'm glad the rug worked for you after all the hard work to put it in place. Way to go!!!
Thanks for another great post.
Peace.
what a fabulous post!!! i love you nester ;-) will you do a post on how to do those arrangements you always do? i love all the sticks and feathers and stuff, but i don't have any clue how to get going! xoxo
So, so true! I'm constantly moving things around my house and am typically happy when I do. (And sometimes things "slip out" when moving heavy objects for me too---like "bowling words" and well...you know. ;)
Blessings,
Beth
I've been trying to do just this as I redecorate my home lately. I finally figured out that I have a bunch of stuff I already like, so why not just play around with it. I've gotta say - I can just imagine the rug moving adventure. One time I made my daughter help me move a very big chest of drawers down 2 flights. Thankfully, we both lived without any injuries - just some temper issues.
Mary Lou
How True, It is amazing what you can sometimes find under your own roof!
Janell
How did you hang those curtains in your dining room! I love that and want to do it in mine do you have a tutorial on that specific way?
Thank you for your resourceful ideas! This can actually be a fun challenge!
What an adverturous woman ... I have boxes of stuff in my basement from the move from a large house to a small one. I keep promising to get down there and organize so I will know what I have. Your post has me one step closer to actually doing it. I know there are treasures awaiting me ...
I agree with Suzanne...we were expecting a picture of the living room put back together!
Love your ideas...please keep sharing with us!
I LOVE this post!!! just may be my favorite!!! such a sweet reminder...and I am so glad "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!"
Thank you!!!
Blessings!
Jill
i can totally understand the letting loose of bodily functions while moving a rug of that size. whew! you are a strong woman!
I LOVE shopping the house. I find it helpful, too, to have a friend come help me shop the house. I get so used to things being where they are that I don't notice when something really should be in a new spot.
Also, you have inspired me to go ahead and wrestle the dining room rug into the study to see how it looks there.
Hi, my name is Amy and I'm addicted to coffee and The Nester. I knew there had to be a group therapy meeting for Nester addictions out there somewhere. Thank you.
I'm still working on our apartment and "shopping our storage unit".
Exceptional post today, Nester! Loved it. As always, you've given me more ideas to work with. I love your sticks in an urn. I actually did something like that in our old house a couple of years ago. We had plenty of evergreen trees, so I used clippings from them, sticks from the fallen maple tree and seed pods from our sedum to fill in my outdoor pots. I finished by wrapping a raffia tie around the pots, and, viola...I had my most favorite winter decorations ever! I hadn't actually thought to do an arrangement like that for indoors, though. I'm now having one of those 'like, du-uh' moments! Anyways, thanks for always inspiring me to think outside of the box.
XO,
Pam
Thanks for reminding me. I did just that today and I will be linking to you to show my result.
Oh my...how I love you and all your "keepin it realness"...bodily functions and all! You rawk sister friend.
~Amanda
p.s. I found some links for making the rope spiderwebs. I just posted them, if you still want to try some!
We just moved two weeks ago and I packed all of the decorating stuff and pictures sort of thinking of those boxes as my "store". Now that I have most of our stuff unpacked and basically functional next week I plan to "shop" out of my boxes to decorate...can't wait :o)
This is my mostest favoritest Nester tip!!
I like the stick thing that you are making. Pretty, pretty:)
We just moved into a new home. Your pictures inspire me to do so mm to do so much. I can't wait to start.
You made me laugh out loud at the comment about being arrested for thinking the green mistreatment would work. I was looking at the picture and thought..."Oh...well, um...okay..." and then read what you said underneath. Too funny.
I've been thinking about this one all day long! I want to incorporate more turquoise-blue and pink into our home decor. I sat there thinking and thinking "but I have nothing turquoise-blue or hot pink" until I looked BEHIND a box and found these blue electrical insulators (my husband collects glass insulators and is an electrical engineer) and a bunch of pink frames I got from the dollar section of Michaels. Hmmmm... :)
I'm pretty sure my hubby would be THRILLED to be able to see his insulators :)
Shopping the house is the best! You are so good for keeping the series up even on the weekend. I'll let you know if I see a special on Depends, lol! :)
LOL-I never thought of it that way, but you're so right-when you shop the house, you haven't spent money to find out that it doesn't work! You put it back where it was and try something else, right? Heck, you're not even out gas money!
Legacy Lady-the first thought that comes to mind is put clips on the hem and hang them upside down-that way the grommets are a decorative hem treatment. Everyone will be doing it next year, you watch! LOL!
Have to say that the curtains you have in your dinning room are the same as my fabric, (only I have the black version..) and they look so lovely in the yellow!They are just beautiful in that dinning room..(they make me want to get something com probable!) You inspire me everyday and I just love reading what you have to say....Still looking for Tobacco Road..Its got to be somewhere here in Oregon!
oh, how I wish I could do that!! New house with very little stuff.... I have to buy everything.... I'm tired of buying!
Girl, you are singing my song. Shopping your home is a must !
I recently purchased a new cream rug for our family room. But before I put the old dark olive colored one on Craigslist I dragged it upstairs and tried it under our master bed. It worked perfectly and now frames the space nicely.
Your tips are always brilliant !
Hi Just came across your blog. I am doing the same thing. Times are hard, but I want to redecorate, so I am finding things in my home to redo and put into other rooms.
Willow
I love it! I am always moving things from one room to another. Drives my kids insane, but then I hear "Wow! That looks really good in there!" And where on earth are you people finding the HUGE initials? I have looked and looked and can't find them anyway. The joke in our house is that I want a "Great big S" (Say it fast), but I do! For the kitchen. And I can't find one!
Anyone want to come take a peek? http://theshadesofpink.blogspot.com/2009/10/room-month-bedroom-conundrum.html
Legacy Lady--can you turn them upside down? the grommets won't be noticable at the bottom.
Or fold them fan like so the grommets line up and put a nail in the wall hang the grommets on it and then put a big knob over the nail. they'll be skinnyish but that could be something if you play with it?
I am learning to do this, but also like to get "cheap" things for a dollar or two at thrift stores and auctions as I've never really had/collected/bought any thing. But now I have a few things and am learning to use them for fall. Then hopefully, I do the same as I feel a need for a change! Thanks for your ideas!
You have shared a good set of photographs over here. Its good to dress your nest in 31 days, but its a uphill task but if you are determined then definitely you shall achieve it.
Moving around over the years I have always done this, but I called it 'moving things around until I found the right place for it'. Sometimes when a big change was made in a room I would move something from a place I loved into another place where it worked even better. Same thing, but different name. And it works.
Hmmm. You give new meaning to "shop the house." I've heard that expression so many times, but I like the idea of taking something that I'm actually USING one place and trying it in another place. There's considerably more scope for imagination in doing this than just looking at the stash of stuff I'm not currently using.
I just love it when you make me think.
I shopped my house yesterday - took my old curtains and made the most fabulous bedskirt! For free!
http://sheblogsar.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-bedskirt-out-of-old-curtains.html
That would have been awesome if that corner window swag thing had worked out--a breakthrough in mistreatments!
And who couldn't let a bodily function slip while moving a ginormous rug! I just love you for admitting that to the entire blogosphere.
I think the BEST, original, creative, most-complimented stuff is the ideas you have to come up with to make something work without spending money. Anyone can just BUY something...but it's desperation that makes thing original and thoughtful. Great post!
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