My Dream Boho Living Room On a low budget.
So 2020 is my No excuses year!
So I finally said I am going to make my dream living room come true.
And I am making that dream come true. I have a very low low budget but I made it happen. Here is my new living room. Minus my rug...tell you why later. Still tweaking it and curtains need to be hung. I also will share my tips for buying used and on a genuinely tight budget.
Okay you're probably used to people saying it's a budget living room but their budget is way more than mine? Well not me I have pretty much a little to no budget for things like furniture & decor.
So how did I re-decorate my living room? Almost everything you will see is 2nd hand or from a discount store. And I NEVER pay full price. I hit up all the thrift stores, Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army and Deseret Industries, scrolled through Facebook Marketplace and trolled 2nd hand apps, Letgo & Offerup. Oh and discount stores or discount areas of stores. And yes it takes work to find what you want. And yes it's annoying when people don't get back to you. But it is all so worth it. Really most of what I got for my living room was found just this year so less than 2 weeks to find it all.
So let's start with the biggest favorite part. My new to me couch. Got this beauty on Facebook Marketplace for a whopping $135.00. Now this is the most I paid for anything in my living room. It's a two piece velvet gold sectional with a small pullout bed. I mean fantastic deal right?. It definitely needs a good cleaning. But other than that it's great and everyone loves it. This is the picture from the ad on facebook. Funny thing is I found three other ads for what is the exact same couch in town. One was $200, $500 & $680. Wondering if they are all my couch...lol. New anything close to my couch is about $2000.00 plus. So I think I got a great deal.
Now for a tip on finding couches.
Look at the photo carefully, is the surrounding area clean and well kept? Look a little mess here and there we all get. I am super messy but not dirty. You see dirty...pass quick.
Ask questions: Do they smoke? Pets in the home? Kids couch? guest room couch? Formal living room couch? If not in use where is it being stored? Is it sitting outside?
Watch for words like well used but functional (that being said one of the apps only gives this wording for used so ask)
Don't be afraid to negotiate the price.
Now the pillows on my couch.
So this couch needed lots of pillows. I only bought the blue pillow specifically for this couch though. The others were purchased prior for my old couch. Which by the way we loved for over 14 years. and we got that one on ebay for $300 with free local delivery ($3000+ couch was in guest room) So the blue pillow & flower print pillows were actually purchased at Ross. The blue pillows were on clearance for $9.99 each (which by the way if you spot another one let me know) The flower print was $14.99 for two. The yellow velvet & small flower pillows i got from Letgo or Offerup from a woman that had them in her salon. It's was a total of 8 to 10 pillows some not shown for $30. All of these pillows have removable covers and the bigger pillows are all down & feather pillows.
Tips for pillow buying, mostly I buy new or again same questions as above. Look for words like bought and didn't work out. This mean they are pretty new.
Oh next is my fun late night last minute find. My tables.
So found these guys last minute after I just got home from picking up another table.
This one below. I got the one below from Savers for $20.00 Made in the USA burned into the bottom with heavy hinges, very well made. Oh and see my rug under there... so my mom recently had knee surgery (all went well) she is in the rehab facility for her therapy. But when she gets home we need to have tripping hazards out of the way. So no rugs downstairs anywhere for now. Not sure where this table will end up but for now it fits this corner perfectly. Will definately be painting this one though.
But back to the tables that are now nicely in my living room.
These I found on Letgo for $45 talked down to $40 and only 5 minutes from my house.
They are vintage 1930's solid wood with leather & gold inlays. I love how the coffee table has fold down sides with wheels & the side tables are the perfect height with shelves. I am so in love with these tables. Oh that's Miss Lucy Leslie down there...lol
Table tip: look for breaks or major water damage.
Most tables can be painted to the perfect color though & most wobbles can be fixed with screw tightening. So bring a screwdriver or two to check wobbles.
Look for solid wood! Not MDF pressed board stuff. Cracks in real wood can usually be fixed but cracks in fake stuff can't.
So now for the decor & rug.
The rug that was hiding under the table is a simple rag rug from Ross purchased for $16
On the Left:
The lamp here was from the IKEA as is section. $15 Reg $129.50 on amazon right now. I believe this was originally a clearance $60 lamp put in as is because the lampshade was bent a little. Super easy fix just bent it strait again,The little vase was a $1 find at Salvation army. Frame was a $1 find at Goodwill and I printed out the little donkey picture. That frame is super heavy. Last Michaels candle warmer & candle.
On the Right:
The blue vase was a Salvation Army find for $3, the flowers are some I had on hand all bought on clearance at michaels. The Candle was a recent Ikea buy for $6 for 3 scented textured candles. The candle holder was $.50 cent find at Michaels last year. The frame was $3 at TJ max and the peacock was $5 at Ross. It holds a scented sachet.
The picture with All the little knick knacks & pictures in the photo are all clearance, thrift store finds & facebook market place finds. the green shelf i bought off a friend and the lamps I inherited from my mom. Most of the prints are printed myself. And the frames are all under $5 with the exception of the large white & yellow matted picture up top that was a birthday present to myself. It's a photo I took myself of some desert flowers I had printed for about $15. the frame was all clearance pieces from Michaels total about $60 custom framed. This area of the living room needs to be organized and decorated to my liking still. Oh the little ottoman stool thingy was bought from Facebook marketplace for $12.
Tips for pictures, frames & knick knacks. If you love it...just get it. Look for broken parts...don't get it if it is missing noticeable parts with the exception of broken glass on frames, that is easily replaceable but only worth it if it is a quality frame, Michaels sells replacement glass in the custom frame shop. Check your corners on frames make sure they are not broken frames are hard to repair when corners are broken. Buy cool frames & print out pictures you like. Go early to the thrift stores, stuff is put out in the AM. And go back twice a day to see if more has been put out. Ask the store what times of day do they put out merchandise. Negotiate...yes you can negotiate in stores & online. Paint it...don't be afraid to paint something.
As you can see my daughter really loves this couch and all the pillows. She was messing around but quickly fell asleep moments after taking this picture. Oh yeah that large blanket throw is a goodwill find. It's an Opal House for Target super soft & warm blanket, retail $29.99 got it for $6 but wait it was half off! Which brings me to your last tip, wash everything you can. And read your tags!
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