And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Thank you for coming alongside my blogging journey! As you know, one of my goals for making my house a home is to decorate using budget friendly tips and tricks. For me, it’s fun to create spaces that reflect the current season and/or holiday. As you all know, this can become quite expensive. Disclaimer…I typically do not decorate very much for Valentine’s Day. However, I decided to embrace this holiday by finding inexpensive and practical ways to make small changes that ultimately create a BIG impact. Let’s start on the front porch!
Front Porch
My first tip is to think outside the box when decorating for a particular season or holiday. For example, rather than buy holiday décor, shop your own home for the colors you want to be up front and center. Because Valentine’s Day falls shortly after Christmas, instead of packing away all the decorations you used to “deck the halls” think through what you can recycle. I chose to reuse the lantern and buffalo check blanket for Valentine’s Day. The blanket’s sweet red stitching along the edge and the addition of heart picks to the lantern from the floral department help to transition the front porch by holding onto those pops of red from the Christmas season. Adding a stack of red books, a few extra pillows, and a small wooden sign completes the space.
The other side of the porch was not left out. Adding more pops of red with a cozy throw, a small wooden heart sign, and finally, the addition of a new pillow (which I found on clearance) was the finishing touch I was looking for.
Living Room
For the living room, my main focus was to decorate the fireplace mantle. To do so without spending very much money, I gathered together items I already had to create a cute Valentine’s Day banner. Again, I shopped my craft supplies by pulling together all the pinks, reds, and whites I could find. This was a fun DIY project and I love how it turned out.
This was such a fun space to decorate. I did buy the wooden “love” sign which I attached to the existing wreath. It was less than $10.00 so I considered that a win! I also added the little Valentine’s Day flash cards. I ordered them online and they came in a set of 20 (I think). I used them throughout my house…as you will see in my pictures. They are so cute and I think they added just the right touch to the DIY banner.
Entryway
To bring a Valentine’s Day vibe into my entryway, I continued the strategy of adding pops of red. I found the vintage valentine cards at one of my favorite antique stores. They were super inexpensive…(five for a dollar) and look so sweet clipped to the chalkboard. I also found the heart shaped cookie cutter for a dollar. Lucky for me, the lamps were already red. Woohoo!
Adding some greenery, a candle, a few of those vintage looking flashcards, and a “be mine” pillow, helped to create the look I was after.
Master Bedroom
The bedroom was an easy transformation. I LOVE pillows and textiles, so I added a few red toile pillows (I already had) along with some black and white buffalo check and…voila! This was a simple and fun way to freshen up the room without having to spend any money. And yes, that little valentine pillow made its way throughout the house…in case you haven’t already noticed. Let’s just say, I got my money’s worth.
Master Bathroom
To bring some Valentine’s Day love to the bathroom, I bought a colorful towel, added a few fresh flowers, lit a candle, and sprinkled some candy hearts on the bathtub tray. I also placed a few faux flowers here and there and added the pink floral picture on the shelf. I picked it up from Dollar General for less than $5.00. It was fun to brighten up this space because it’s usually pretty neutral. The simple additions and varying shades of pink helped to create a romantic look for the holiday.
Bench
This bench is one of my favorite pieces of furniture. It wasn’t always this color but I decided to paint it recently to give it a fresh and updated look. Paint is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to make a big impact in a room.
Adding some florals and greenery along with a sweet blush pillow (on clearance at Kirklands) was all this bench needed to achieve the look I was after. I “love” how it turned out.
Kitchen
If you’ve browsed Pinterest or Instagram, you have seen the tiered trays so many people are decorating for each holiday. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a tiered tray, but I had something similar. I decided to try my hand at creating a beautiful Valentine’s Day display for my kitchen island and was tickled with how it turned out!
For this sweet display, I collected all the pinks, whites, and reds, from my kitchen. As you can see, I ended up with a variety of dishes including plates, bowls, a sugar bowl, creamer, cake stand, napkins, rolling pins, cookbooks, etc.
I discovered the trick to creating a display like this is to vary the heights of items within the tiered tray AND to have fillers like greenery picks and pots to tuck into the “holes”. I also used some Christmas décor and a tiny strand of lights (which is hard to see). However, at night, when I turn the decorative lights on, it looks so pretty!
You might have also noticed these gorgeous cookies. Trust me, they weren’t made just for the photo! We have eaten our fair share of these yummy cookies over the last few weeks. If you are wanting a to make a simple dessert for the ones you love, be sure to give this recipe a try!
Dining Room
I have had the most fun creating different tablescapes over the last several weeks in my dining room. The following pictures were all taken at various times but they have one thing in common…fresh flowers AND faux flowers. I have been amazed at how long the fresh flowers have been lasting. I bought a bouquet of flowers at Walmart for just $5.00 and they have honestly lasted 2-3 weeks. Maybe it’s the variety…but I have certainly gotten my money’s worth. The napkin rings were from Pier1 and were a little over a dollar each. I bought eight and have used them all over my house! They are so beautiful and easy to tuck into shelves, baskets, etc. whenever a pop of color was needed.
Spare Bedroom
This room is special to me. I really didn’t decorate it for Valentine’s Day, but the colors and the memories sure make me “feel the love” so to speak. This bedroom is rarely used, but there was a day when these twin beds were slept in every night. I picked these beds up at a garage sale years ago for my little boys. Through the years, these beds have been used for sleeping, dreaming, reading, story telling, snuggling, sharing secrets, laughing, and a fair amount of jumping. Even though these beds are now being used in a spare bedroom, I’m so glad I’ve held onto them. I’m also glad I’ve kept the old bedding. These quilts have definitely seen better days. They have stains and tears which are in need of mending, and while imperfect to most, they’re absolutely perfect to me…
I hope this home tour has inspired you in some way. As always, thank you for coming alongside me. Keep in mind, many of the ideas I share can be carried into any seasonal and/or holiday décor. I’ll be packing the reds and pinks away this weekend and will be on the hunt for items that remind me of spring.
But, until then…Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tina
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