This post is part of a 31 day series – “31 days to decorate your home on a budget.” You can read all the posts in this series here.
And if you don’t want to miss a post you can subscribe by email, join me on facebook, or follow this blog in your reader. Thanks for reading along!
One way to save money on décor is to figure out what you really want or like in décor so that when you do spend money, you will be spending money on something that you know you will love.
Do you know what your “decorating style” is? Traditional, contemporary, country, rustic, cottage chic, modern, farmhouse, vintage?
For fun, try taking some of these online decorating style quizzes
- What’s your signature from Ethan Allen (mine was “vintage”)
- sproost.com (mine was “Nantucket/beach”)
- Or this one from Homegoods (mine was “country casual”)
- this one from Better Homes & Gardens (mine was “cottage”)
When I first got married, I had no idea what my “decorating style” was! Our home was a hodge-podge of free stuff, passed down furniture, and a few nice wedding gifts and I had no idea how to bring it all together. More recently, I have finally felt like I found my style. It is mix of vintage and traditional (and I guess maybe a little country/cottage according to those quizzes?) with a little modern thrown in for my hubby.
How did I find my style? I read magazines, took note of things I liked in other people’s homes, looked at lots of pictures and blogs online, and took mental notes of what I loved! Now when I am out shopping at yard sales or Goodwill, I have a good idea of the “style” of what I am looking for and things I would love in our home.
So here are some resources to help you find your style!
1. Sign up for free store magazines
…and enjoy browsing the pages for ideas for décor. Here are some of my favorites.
2. Follow some good home/décor blogs
Here is a quick list of some of my faves:
- Thrifty Décor Chick
- Young House Love
- Beneath My Heart
- My Blessed Life
- Centsational Girl
- Home Stories A to Z
- Southern Hospitality
3. Sign up for Pinterest!
(But not if you are not ready to be instantly addicted and wonder how you ever lived without it! )
As soon as I stop dreaming, eating, and sleeping 31 days posts 🙂 I promise to do a post all about Pinterest, how to use it, why I love it, etc.
In short, Pinterest is an online pin board or bulletin board for all your ideas. Recipes, crafts, DIY projects, wedding planning, home décor, whatever you want!. If you are browsing online and want to remember a recipe or that craft for later, what do you do? Print it out and then have a stack of “recipes/crafts I want to make one day.” I had links and copied pictures saved in drafts of blog posts, MS word, everywhere – and I had no idea how to find them later.
But Pinterest is not just the perfect place for YOU to store everything you like, it is the perfect place to see what everyone else is “pinning” and get even more inspiration! It has literally become my search engine when I am looking for a recipe, craft, “how-to”, home décor, and more.
It is free to join and simple to use! You need an invitation to join so leave your email address in the comment section and I will send you an invite. (If you have any questions once you get in, let me know, and I will answer them as best as I can.)
So enjoy finding your style and finding inspiration! I would love to know if you took any of the above quizzes and if you thought they were accurate – leave your style in the comments.
What inspires you most – magazines, blogs, Pinterest, other people’s homes?
{cj}
Kim says
I would love an invite. daisymomto3@yahoo.com
Thanks! 🙂
Christina says
invite sent, Kim!
Renee @ Living, Laughing, & Loving says
Ha ha! My style has DEFINITELY evolved since our early married days! My mom would always shake her head at girls {like I did} getting tons of color specific gifts at their bridal shower when they sometimes didn’t even know where they were going to be living and even when they did usually you don’t stay forever or very long in your first house! I still have some forest green towels that speak to that. 🙂
My home decor has definitely gotten better since I started following TDC!!
Christina says
oh yeah, mine too! Décor blogs are amazing!! I wish I had taken pictures of our house when we first got moved in and I had “decorated” – agh, I would cringe! 🙂 My style and our house has definitely improved over the years. Like in TDC’s post in her top 10 tools – her first picture of her living room was horrible – I was like, no way Sarah lived in that room! 🙂 So there is hope for us! 🙂
Sheila says
I LOVE Pinterest & blogs – they inspire me to do what I can now with my house rather than waiting until I get more $$ or it all figured out. Small progress is better than no progress!
Viola says
Love your blog, Christina! It is very inspiring. I took the IKEA quiz and got the same result as you did. Maybe that is why I love your blog. 😉
Christina says
awww – thanks, Viola!
too funny that we got the same results 🙂
Kristyn says
I recently found pinterest thanks to your blog and I love it! I’ve been waiting weeks for an invite! Please send me an invitation to kristynd23@yahoo.com. I love your blog and try to read everything I’ve missed a little each day. Thank you!
Christina says
sent you an invite! 🙂
Mary Dagel says
Please send me an invite. Thanks.
Christina says
no invite needed anymore! Just got to Pinterest.com to create a login 🙂
Donnita says
Hello my name is Donnita and I am a Pinaholic!!!!! Oh my if you haven’t heard of Pinterest – get ready to have your time monopolized by the site!!! I love your blog and all your ideas….btw I found you on Pinterest!!!! Keep the cool easy ideas flowing……much appreciated.
Christina says
Hi Donnita, meet another pinaholic 😉 thanks for popping over!