Chic for Cheap: Updating Dated Pieces (Photos taken from Design Sponge)

   Hey readers! Now, a lot of you know how much I LOVE all things interior design. It's one of my passions and I could spend all day shopping in various furniture stores, rearranging pieces, and creating centerpieces for my humble dining room table. These photos and pieces are not mine ( I copied them from http://www.designsponge.com because it is a FABULOUS site) but I'd like to take what I know about being on a budget and having a love for beautiful homes and share with you.
   I actually have a few funky musty antique shops on my street, geared towards poor college students and at first, I was totally discouraged when I went to take a look-see for the first time. There are a lot of cheep, cheesy pieces-totally dated (and not in a good way) and kind of thrown around haphazardly. There's something to be said for presentation when you're selling low end products. It makes all the difference! Dusty, dated, and faded products are a tough sell. Luckily, if you train your eye, you can find some great foundation pieces for your house if you're willing to put in a little time and effort.


So: I'm going to focus on painting and stenciling pieces. Stenciling can take a lot of time and patience (and painters tape) but if you take your time, you'll be totally impressed with the transformation.


I love this piece because of how much I HATED the armoire/dresser monstrosity as is. It looks kind of overbearing and overwhelming and while I'm sure it has its place, I wouldn't put it in my home. It definitely looks great for storage though. I really love what this person decided to do with it. Geometric, simple patterns really modernize things and grey-blue colors are totally calming and sophisticated. The pop of yellow on the nobs give it that extra umph and I kind of hate/love them but the pillow to the left really helps tie the punch of color in and make it believable. Overall, definitely a great focal point for any room.

I'm totally into this desk transformation because it's so doable. I see this kind of desk all the time for as little as $40 and they kind of just sit there. That's great news for you if you want a new project and a fun little desk! All you have to do is slap on a fresh coat of paint, get some various sized letter stencils, spray paint them on, paint the handles a more modern color, and boom! You have a rad desk.





















I dig this. I have to say, I don't know that I have a steady enough hand to paint this on a piece of furniture but the basic concept is great. Pick a strong solid color, paint the whole piece, then paint a strong and simple industrial image in the center. Pretty fucking awesome. I want this for my entryway!