mom:

Go to the Salvation Army or a finish it yourself furniture store.
Also buy magazines or go to the libarary and look at shabby chic ideas. This is a great time of year to go the yard sales and flea markets. You will really cool unique things at a fraction of the price you would pay for new. If there is a freecycle community near your home you may find things you need there. freecycle.com

Jenny K:

I have all kinds of idea, because I just redocorated and got beyond PROFESSIONAL results for a fraction of the money and time I would have spent NOT being creative!.

My best results came from investing in some spray paint and spray adhesive:

I got all my mismatched pictures (prints w/ frames & mats) together and took them apart. I spray painted all of the frames a dark brown, took the mats apart & painted over the various mis-matched colors with a white, then spray adhesived burlap over them to add texture. (you can adhere ANY fabric to match your decor or paint them to match) Next, & swapped the prints to a common theme or put palm leaves in the frames (I have a tropical theme) This creates a big impact for pennies!

Next, because I have a loose pillow-back neutral sofa, I took the pillows apart and sewed a palm tree upholstery fabric to the fronts.

I have a large 3 part oak entertainment center. I HATE oak, and it overpowered & darkened the room. I scuffed the surface with sandpaper and painted it the same light tan as my sofa, then ragged a brown glaze lightly over it to antique it, then created my own palm tree stencil, and stenciled 1 palm tree on each door or the unit. It looks AWESOME!

I bought a dark brown spray paint for metal. I scuffed up all the mismatched metal I have, as in a wine rack, lamp bases and such (I have an open floor plan, so everything seems like 1 room) and I spray painted them with a flat dark brown to simulate wrought iron, then when dry, I ragged small amounts of a terracotta paint for a rusted / rustic effect.

For the tops of my kitchen cabinets, I bought pottery from a local swap meet. Some of the pottery was chipped (but you cant see the chips because some of them were in the back or bases- you can’t see them once up on my cabinets) real cheap ( I paid $4.00 ea instead of $25. + ) and filled them with plastic palm greens from the dollar store. (the same greens you get at Michaels for a lolt more$ )

I could go on, but first you MUST pick a style, then you MUST pick your color scheme. From there things just come together! I’d LOVE to help you with ideas of where to start. This is VERY addicting & you’ll be proud to show off to all your visitors! Trust me, it WON’T look cheap. I started with a few bucks I wanted to spend on decor and chose a project from what my budget allowed that week & went from there. You don’t have to be a crafty person to get started, and don’t need to be, but you WILL be when you’re finished! It’s easier & more fun than you think.

E-mail me & I’ll share more design on a dime ideas with you including furniture for cheap!

Oh yeah, storage, as you mentioned, is a snap! I can help you with that (organization is KEY) so I know it’s very important to you. I need to know for what first, ie: dry food storage, appliance storage, table linens etc, and need to know what you’re starting with!

Azz:

wicker furniture is cheap and easy, most places are having their outdoor sales right now. If you can find a good piece at a yard sale and have for time decoupaging a dresser is fantastic. It’s easy and if you go to diy on the net they have some great tips. Store-wise try Tuesday morning or walmart.