2 Bills 2 Blow - the domestic wannabe

Hey there all you Nikki's Nacs readers!  I'm Ashley, aka the domestic wannabe.  When Nikki contacted me about participating in this little series, my first thought was "I need way more than $200."  But, I suppose that would defeat the purpose of the series, and it is a good little exercise to see how much of a difference I could make with $200.

I have this love hate relationship with my house.  We've put quite a bit of work into it, but because of the neighborhood were in I can't upgrade everything like I'd like to, and we aren't always the handiest of people, so DIYing everything is a bit out of the question.  The one room that tends to make my head spin the most, is my family room.

I love the room because it is big and open.  The window seat is quaint and makes me smile.  We spend lots and lots of time in there.  But that is also the source of one of our major problems.  The room has to serve lots and lots of functions.  It is the playroom, the man cave, my office and our main entertaining area all in one.

Another major problem?  Bad lighting.  During the day, assuming it is sunny, the windows let in plenty of light.  No big deal.  But if it is cloudy, or heaven forbid, nighttime, the light is pathetic.  Which makes our bordering on too dark green walls look incredibly dingy.  I could spend money on paint, but quite frankly, I'm not sure what color I would go with in here if I did.  The majority of the house is a good neutral, so I wanted color, but nothing crazy since it was a big room.  So we ended up with that green.

Last month I picked up those pillows at Pier One and I feel like they did a lot for brightening up the room.  So instead of solving our many storage issues with the $200, I opted to find some more accessories to bring in pops of color (practical?  no, but this is an imaginary $200, I can do what I want, right?).

First, an easy peasy little switch.  I think grabbing one of these aqua knobs from Anthropologie would liven up our Target console table.  I could probably find a cheaper knob at Hobby Lobby, and use a coupon, but um, I'm on my computer, this is what I'm working with :o).

Zinnia Knob, Anthropologie, $8

Next, that lamp over there in the corner needs a new shade.  The yellow is too dull (and not what I'm going for anymore) to look good.  I have a shade that I bought at a yard sale for $1, so I'm hoping I could recover it.  I can't decide on a fabric right now (would love an opinion!), but here are some that I would consider thus far:

Fabrics by Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry, and Premier Prints, $9-$10 for a yard

We all knows curtains can make some major impact.  My curtains right now?  They are just adding to the dullness.  They match great, and I like the fabric, but they aren't really doing anything for the room.  Not to mention my style preference has changed a bit since putting them up a couple years ago.  I can't seem to find anything I'm in love with in the stores right now, so making a pair would most likely be the only option.  I think maybe I just might be game for attempting painted curtains similar to the ones below (I'm aware the second set isn't painted, but I like the look ok?  :o).  I'm thinking a turquoise or teal stripe, just not exactly sure how that would look in the room.

via pinterest via reckless glamour

via pinterest via lillie's blog

cost wise?  four panels @ $20 each plus paint, $100?

We are definitely lacking in wall decor department.  I feel like I need something on the other side of the fire place to balance out the windows.  I found a couple of prints on art.com that could work, but I'm not in love with them.  It would take a lot more looking to track down 'the one'.  But for now, we'll go with these.

find them here and here, $25 each

Frames for those prints would definitely eat up the rest of my budget, so I guess I'll stop there.  Now I just need to scrounge up $200 so I can actually make this happen!  Thanks for reading, feel free to come visit me over at the domestic wannabe!