Making an Ugly Duckling into something beautiful

Hi, I'm a mother of three children who have grown up and moved away from our 4 bedroom home.  For the first time ever, my husband and I have the whole house to ourselves, empty nesters I guess they call it.

For the past year my oldest daughter and her family had been living with us, helping us pay the bills, since my husband was an out-of-work carpenter. When they moved in, I had to downsize...alot...and I got rid of truck loads of stuff.

When they moved out a month ago, my home was suddenly clutter free. Great, right?
Yes, and No.  We still had our furniture, and that's about it.  Except for the artwork on the living room walls, my home was devoid of any sense of style.

Some people could live like that. Not me. By nature I am an interior designer.  By trade I am a design consultant.  When I walk into any room, no matter where I am, I start thinking about ways I would make it more beautiful.  I think about furniture placement, color, fabrics, texture, all those things that can make even the smallest room a great place to live in.

Because my husband just went back to work...construction...uhg...
and the fact that we just lost a huge source for paying our bills, I really have no money to go out and start shopping for fabulous items to fill my home.  So, instead, I have to do what I've really always done.
I find things and transform them into pieces that make people say "wow, that's beautiful, where did you get that?"
I keep my eyes open and things appear, on the side of the road, next to dumpsters, and of course at thrift stores.  I spend very little money fixing them up, and then I find the perfect spot to place them, where they can have a new, beautiful life.

This blog is about my design adventure, filling my home with style....taking an "ugly duckling" and, with very little money, making it into a beautiful swan.  I hope I can be an inspiration to others in making their house into a home, on a shoe string budget.