Creative Shopping Tips For Unique Home Furnishing Finds on a Budget

Everyone wants a home that reflects their own personal style, but can worry that their vision is bigger than their wallet. If you have an idea of what you’re looking for and are willing to go off the beaten path to find it, it might be a lot cheaper than you think.

Flea market. Stock photo.

With a little creativity, you can find almost any kind of household furnishing - at deep discounts - at less mainstream venues such as flea markets, thrift shops, consignment stores, model homes, showcases, and county fairs.

Auctions and antique shows are also something to consider for anyone willing to possibly pay a little more for some rare and unique pieces.

Regardless of the venue you choose, all of these adventure in shopping require a little more thought and preparation than the usual trip to the retail center.

Things To Take With You

First and foremost - as with any good shopping trip - make a list of all the top essential things that you want to buy. If that’s furniture, make sure you have the following items:

• Cash, checkbook, and proper identification.
• Pencil and paper.
• Set of swatches.
• Tape measure.
• Measured floor plan.
• Room photos.
• A tool kit to help take legs off tables for transport, etc.
• A blanket or tarp to cover things tied to the roof of a vehicle.
• Scissors or a knife to cut a rope or heavy twine for use in tying items to the roof of a vehicle.

For smaller purchases, remember to bring a lot of your own extra shopping or tote bags, as well as tissue paper, rags, or small towels to wrap delicate items. It’s also a good idea to bring your own folding shopping cart if you plan to make a lot of small purchases, and don’t want to carry them around all day.

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Self-Expression Made Easy - Creating Your Own Unique Clock

Photo courtesy of Craftstylish.com

The clocks have leaped forward and spring is almost officially here. This time of year always brings out the desire to clean up the clutter and maybe do a little redecorating too!

One of the best and least expensive ways to change the feel of a room - and definitely make it a little more unique - is to create an accent clock.

Besides that, a refurbishing project can be a great weekend family activity where you can get everyone involved, including the kids! A clock making project offers a lot of versatility in both the designs and materials that can be used.

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Saving America Through Sustainable Shopping

Thom Filicia Home Collection at Vanguard Furniture. Photo courtesy of Vanguard Furniture.

America is founded on the idea that people are capable of making responsible choices for the betterment of themselves, their communities, and the world-at-large. One of the best ways to promote social and economic improvements is through the power of shopping.

What we buy shows not only our sense of personal style, but also social our consciousness. A frontrunner in this movement, the Sustainable Furnishings Council has just marked the third anniversary of its founding with the launch of a new consumer education campaign to promote awareness about sustainable designs in the home furnishings industry.

The campaign kicked off with a roundtable featuring three of the most notable icons in the interior design industry, discussing some of their most recent collections.

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Creating an Eco-Nursery: Find Lots of Treasures in Little Time

Frame construction. Courtesy of erikorganic.

Babies are the most beautiful and precious gift that any home can receive. We want both what is most beautiful and healthy for them.

This posting is for everyone that is either expecting a baby or would like to be at some point in the future. I’m in the latter group. Exploring the online world of organic and natural baby nursery furniture and bedding was definitely a challenge.

Most online outlets had just one or two cribs, as well as a few mattress and bedding selections. After some scouring, I did find three sites that are worth looking at for either their large selections of solid wood furniture or their organic bedding items.

It’s becoming my experience as a New Yorkers trying to live a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle that I have to look online if I want a large selection of natural or organic furnishings.

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Healthy Low-Budget Strategies for Giving Your Home a Cool Vacation Feel

Window mirror photo courtesy of Recycled Crafts.

With few exceptions, no matter where you are in the world, summer heat is still raging on, the air conditioner is still humming along, and the windows are closed making indoor air stale.

It’s worse if you have chemical sensitivities and live in a small apartment. There are though some simple and often low budget things that can be done to give any home a naturally more airy and healthier feel.

One of the first and easiest things that can be done is to just strategically place some mirrors to give a more open feel. “Very often, when you are reflecting the outdoors, the space can appear larger and you get that beautiful greenery, ” said Bernadette Upton, founder and president of EcoDécor, a universal design and decorating company using sustainable principles, products, and practices.

Besides reflecting some green from the outside, another strategy for bringing the outdoors in and naturally purifying that stale air, is to have house plants.

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