Sitting Room Makeover Done on a Budget

I think I suffer from design A.D.D. My design style has evolved from flowery Victorian, to rustic farmhouse country, to French country with a palette of yellow, red, and green and lots of roosters, to an eclectic mix of romantic cottage, English cottage, and now coastal cottage. Problem with me is that I love so many different design styles, I can't commit to just one. I guess you could say I have commitment issues. Sigh. My husband asks me if I would get rid of him when I tire of him like my decor. Lucky for him, I love antiques, so he could stay. :)

Good news is, it's never boring at the Lace and Ivy cottage. Always new paint colors, furniture moving, walls going down, and pictures going up. If I had known that I would be blogging and airing my dirty renovations on Metamorphosis Monday, I would have started taking pictures years ago!

My post will be working double duty with Met Monday hosted by Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch and Today's Thrifty Treasures hosted by Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality.

Welcome to my high traffic sitting room. It was risky taking these pictures, because there's always something cluttering this room off of the kitchen. While I love the warm colors in this room, it was getting a little too warm now that summer is here. So, I decided to cool it off with a coastal theme, just like my tablescape. You can see it here if you'd like. Here are some befores.


The topiaries, urn, toile box and even the sofa table were either thrift store or yard sale finds. The sofa table was $14.99 from GW. I had plans of painting it black, but I got lazy.

These are silk feather filled pillows found at the GW for about $4 each.

The ladder in the background holding magazines was a yard sale find at $2.



The center pillow was also a GW find, still new, at $4. The fabric draped over the sofa is a tablecloth purchased for 25 cents at a yard sale. I really like the colors, but it's too fall.


So, presto change-o, here's the lighter and brighter coastal sitting room.

The wicker picnic baskets are thrift shop finds at around $4 each. The print is a $2 thrift shop find. I have other plans for it, but for now it's here because it goes with the color scheme. The rusty metal stand it's on is actually a garden hose holder! Another thrift shop find. Left over shells and crushed coral from last Tablescape Thursday are inside the apothecary jars.

I placed a small tray table at one end of the sofa. It's seen better days and almost got trashed, but a place mat, books, and accessories extended its life.

I removed the rooster rug and replaced the black table with one from another room.

The teak tea tray table was newly aquired from a favorite thrift shop for just $2.50. The candelabra is from the same shop for $6. The green ottoman, also a GW find for $10.
Even this striped place mat was a steal at 70 cents from Home Goods.




The white matelasse cover is also a thrift shop find at $7. It serves as an alternative to a full sofa cover and is very easy to wash.


Decorating with produce is an inexpensive way to accessorize.


Last, the teak tray is one of a set of three found for $6 and the woven storage ottoman was my most expensive thrift store find at $14. But I think it really lends itself to the coastal look.

There you have it. My sitting room makeover created by thrift shop treasures and simply rearranging furniture and accessories from around the house. As with most projects here at the Lace and Ivy Cottage, it is ever evolving. I'm sure I'll be adding and subtracting to this room in the days ahead.

Till next time,