studio citro: Decorating on budget

The one thing I have realised is that one of things that makes me truly happy is creating. While I was working all my creativity went into my job, leaving me drained and exhausted at nights and weekends. After half a year of being home with my baby boy I feel like my creative energy is refuelled again and I am all charged up to go.

Because of the 'woody' feel in our house (and because Neil and I can agree on pretty much only one style and the man definitely has his opinions on these things!) rustic is the word on my mind for the last 2 days. And why not, I have decided to charge ahead and play up the wood and the natural elements here.

Living on one salary doesn't leave much budget for decorations but that has not stopped me and I think I'm doing pretty well (in fact the challenge makes it more interesting).

My main places of shopping? Ebay and Gumtree (equivalent of Craigslist). So far I have found an awesome rug for the living room that new cost $190 and I got for $50 (in a really good condition), and a floor lamp that originally costs $140 for $60 and various other little bits and pieces. Of course that I'd love to go to the expensive designer shops and buy the latest designs but I also love the idea of buying used but in good condition as the "disposable" culture sometimes seems a bit wasteful.

Also, I have found an awesome website that I have started to love almost as much as Pinterest (gasp!) - Houzz where I have sifted through thousands of images (pinned on my Pinterest board) for ideas on rustic decorating and the wheels are spinning!