FIRST TIME HOMEOWNERS...ON A LIMITED BUDGET...Part 2 DECORATING

Way back in February I wrote a post about my eldest daughter Michelle and her fiance, Jordan who were moving into their newly constructed condo. I mentioned that they are saving for their wedding and needed to decorate on a very... I mean very tight budget. I promised to reveal to you how they accomplished this.

As you can see, 606 sq ft does not allow for large, bulky furniture. In fact, we switched the designated living and dining areas by moving the table to the window and utilising the remaining living space more effectively.

Benjamin Moore hemp seed CC-578

Benjamin Moore turret CC-604

Benjamin Moore  athabaska CC-816

Previous to moving day, the ugly off-white walls had a face lift courtesy of Jordan and his Grandpa. Most of the walls were painted in hemp seed one of my favourite neutrals. The Sofa wall and the bathroom were punched up with turret and the bedroom was painted athabaska. I carefully chose these colours to coordinate with the existing finishes, also knowing what Michelle and Jordan had chosen in the way of window treatments.

aren't these beauts...but I must say....I've had some awesome naps thanks to these sofas

Michelle and Jordan were coveting a leather sectional for their new living room. It became very apparent that they could not afford that luxury. Instead, they used two FREE matching sofas which came from our finished basement/playroom. Michelle had taken them when we downsized 3 years ago for the apartment she shared with her friends. She was SO hoping that they would not take up permanent residence in her lovely new condo. C'est la vie. They are about 15 yrs. old and desperately needed an inexpensive facelift. The large coffee table which she also brought with her from her shared apartment had to go. It simply took up waaaaaayy too much space.

The only cost effective way to improve the look of the two sofas was to cover them in store bought matching slip-covers. Inexpensive and washable.  The window treatments Michelle and Jordan picked out together were the inspiration for the other colour choices in this open area. The two small lamps and two matching end tables from IKEA moved with Michelle from her previous apartment. The FREE floor lamp was gathering dust in my over-crowded office. We sourced the lidded bench/coffee table, scored a deal AND badly needed extra storage. The large print from Homesense was my house warming gift to the condo. The brown pillows were previously owned and the blue ones were super inexpensive.

This table resided in our porch before we downsized and again Michelle had used it in her previous apartment. They were keen to reuse the FREE table, as it looks pretty great. (It has already hosted a dinner party for 7 here).  They bought 4 chocolate brown 'leather' Parsons chairs, on sale, conscious of also being able to use them as extra comfortable seating when needed. 

Every stick of furniture in the bedroom is from IKEA and came from Michelle's and Jordan's previous apartments. The only items they bought, are the window treatments, room darkening roller blind and the white coverlet and shams. I have to confess that I bought the two prints, that I was going to sell at our garage sale, instead Michelle snagged them for FREE. Oh ya and the polka dot pillow on the bed and the two on the sofas....I made for this apartment...I had to, I couldn't help myself....and of course they have a punch of red in them.

This is the wall across from the sofa and coffee table...it's screaming for help...right?....Well my 'going to be son-in-law', drew this on scrap paper and is going to make .....

.....a custom wall unit with shelves, drawers, with a dedicated space for the TV.....in his spare time....in his Grandpa's basement....when they have saved up the money to buy the wood. AWESOME...so proud!!!!

Yes, there are a few areas in the condo that could still be tweaked. They still need to outfit the two closets with organizers. The bathroom needs a long narrow, colourful print as does the kitchen.  But what fun is there in getting it all at once.  Sometimes the fun is in the hunt....especially when you are decorating on a limited budget.

All photos shown in this post taken by Maureen Coates