Best ways to Inexpensively Furnish your Home

You don’t need to spend a fortune in order to have great furniture. There are loads of ways to furnish your home for less. Here’s how to go about it.

Up-cycle

It’s no longer about just recycling these days, but about taking unwanted items and either enhancing their quality or using them for a different purpose than what they were designed for (e.g. wall-mounting old bicycle handlebars as coat and hat racks). There are so many different things you can come up, you’re really only limited by your imagination. If you like the rustic look and want to introduce some quirky or funky elements to your place, this is a great way to go about it. Up-cycling is a great way to achieve a totally unique look in your home and you won’t have the guilt of adding more rubbish to landfill. For more great interior design ideas, you can always check out display homes from home builders such as Coral Homes.

Shop second-hand

There are unbelievable savings to be made by buying second-hand furniture. Make sure you shop around as some people expect far too much for their items, while others might even offer things for free as they just want them gone. If you’re searching online, see if you can set up and save a search, so that you automatically get email notifications whenever new items matching your description are listed for sale.

Swap your stuff

Swapping is becoming increasingly popular and there are now a bunch of swapping websites dedicated to linking people who want to swap their items with other people. Also, ask around your circle of family and friends and see if anyone is up for exchanging things.

Discount furniture

Affordable furniture doesn’t necessarily mean cheap and nasty. There are a number of discount furniture outlets out there who offer quality furniture at very reasonable prices. This is usually because they can buy in bulk and pass on the savings to you. Online furniture stores often offer items on Sale and Clearance as well. You can choose just one or two pieces of furniture or buy entire dining, bedroom or outdoor suites. This is a great way to save money, especially if you want to direct your money towards owning your own home.

Op shops and markets

This is a great way to pick up some funky vintage and retro pieces to add some flair and originality to your furniture collection. By shopping at second-hand stores and markets, you can often pick up an absolute bargain.

Restore and re-upholster

You can breathe new life into old and damaged pieces by stripping, sanding and either staining or painting them with exciting, modern colours that really make a statement. If you’ve got a tatty old sofa, don’t throw it out. Pay a visit to a restoration company and take a look at some of the stunning colours and patterns now available in upholstery fabrics.

Furnishing your home doesn’t need to cost a small fortune. Just use a bit of creative thinking and employ some of the methods above to make your house feel like home for less.

Do you do any of these? Do you have any hints or tips?

**Guestpost

NEW from Models Own – DIAMOND LUXE – containing real Diamond Dust!

Every now and again, an email pops into my inbox which I immediately want to read, this is one of those. At the minute, I am obsessed with nail polish, particularly as we move from Summer to Autumn and then to winter. Whilst the weather is still undecided about what it wants to do, there is still a chance to wear those lovely bright colours before morning to the Berry and Black shades.

Then I saw these!

With 10 brand-new opulent polishes that are Luxe by name and Luxe by nature, each polish contains real Diamond Dust to deliver a completely unique, multi-dimensional super-sparkly finish and some serious bling appeal!  The shades from left to right are called Princess Pink, Trillion Taupe, Heart Red, Pear Purple, Marquise Maroon, Carat Coral, Asscher Blue, Radiant Pink, Emerald Green, Oval Plum     

The ultra-fine diamond dust glides smoothly onto nails, giving a hint of sophisticated shimmer, coupled with the colourful shades for year-round grown-up glam. They are quick-drying, achieve a long-lasting, ultra-smooth sprinkling of sparkle for the most glamorous manicure.

Price at just £4.99 each, they launch EXCLUSIVELY online at www.modelsownit.com on September 19th in all UK Models Own Bottleshops from September 20th and in Superdrug stores nationwide from September 24th. I will most definietly be looking up these shades and trying them out for myself.

Will you be trying them out?

DermaCo Soothing Revival Balm

I am quite a fan of the DermaCo range and first brought them to my blog HERE and HERE and I have really enjoyed using the Cleanser and Toner so was equally delighted when I was sent the DermaCo Soothing Revival Balm which is the third of four products from within the range.

The first thing you look at when it comes to these products is the rather fancy packaging, it is very much a luxury item.  The perfect cylindrical tubes with the metal top and bottoms just look amazing and feel amazing, the tubes themselves being cool to the touch.

Described as being

"A gentle balm providing immediate relief to all skin types especially sensitive or stressed. With rose and bergamot essential oils and comforting peptides to help relieve irritation and reduce inflammation. With an instant wrinkle smoothing action, the DermaCo Soothing Revival Balm boosts skin radiance and hydration and helps to prevent cellular UV damage. It is light and comfortable, resulting in a naturally fresh, smooth appearance".

What I love about this balm is not only does it smell absolutely wonderful, but as soon as it applied to the skin there is an instant cooling sensation on your face and as you apply to your face and neck and massage upwards the cream itself, which is quite luxurious softens and soothes the skin.

I am one of those people who likes to know what is in a product that I am about to use and apply to my skin, face and so on. This Balm has some lovely ingredients and is no tested on animals, it includes no animal derived ingredients, no chemical sunscreens, no synthetic perfumes or colours not to mention no parabens or petro-chemical derived ingredients! What it does contain is:

- Relaxing Acmella Extract
- Smoothing Polysaccharides
- Protective Plant Flavonoids
- Sodium Hyaluronate
- Vitamin C
- Light Reflecting Pigments

It can be used on all skin types, so whether you have sensitive skin, dry skin, sensitive skin or even like me which is combination skin leaning to the oily side. Using the essential oils of rose and bergamot, this balm helps to relieve irritation, reduce inflammation and leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and it is incredibly soothing. As for the fragrance, for me it is a delicate rose scented balm, if like me, you are a fan of rose scents, you will love this, it isn't too powerful but you know it is there.

A 100ml bottle will cost £44.99 and it lasts a long long time. I have been using this regularly for a good few months now and I am nowhere near, as you can see, halfway through, you only need a small amount because it is a case of a little goes a long long way.

NOTW - Models Own Pink Punch

Friday I headed to Birchbox's Manithon to raise money for breast cancer charity Coppafeel. CoppaFeel! aims to stamp out late detection and misdiagnosis of breast cancer by ensuring that people know that signs and symptoms of breast cancer, know what their boobs look and feel like normally, check their boobs regularly throughout their lifetime and have the confidence to seek medical referral when they detect abnormalities.

Currently 5% of diagnosed cases are already at stage IV with breast cancer being the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 30 in the UK (181 new cases diagnosed and 12 deaths annually). CoppaFeel! strives for a country where no one dies of breast cancer because of late detection or misdiagnosis. The charity receives no government funding and relies solely on voluntary donations.

Taking place in Soho Square, just off Oxford Street, you couldn't help but recognize the Birchbox tent. There was a lot of little stations set up with teams of lovely ladies doing manicures. Models Own were there doing the nails so my manicure this week is courtesy of them.  

I chose Pink Punch as my colour as it is something I would never normally choose and I just couldn't help but notice it standing out amongst the other shades.

After my nails had been filed, buffed, painted and then some lovely oil added to the cuticles, I was then able to go over to the Birchbox shop to select some samples which was quite exciting and a really nice touch.  There was seven different samples to choose from and I was lucky enough to be able to select four from this bunch:

And this is what I chose:

So as you can see I went for my Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream which is amazing, Benefit Porefessional as I have almost run out, Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath and Shower Oil and Lord and Berry Black Kohl Liner.  Plus there was an added extra of this Birchbox themed silk scarf in my little tote bag - how cute!