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Buy or DIY (episode 1)

One of my favorite things about decorating, is being able to get an expensive look, for way less.  I also love online browsing and shopping.  I thought it would be fun to marry the two and start a series. Buy or DIY.  For this first one, EPISODE 1 (so fancy), I had my friend Lindsay, find an image she liked so that I could recreate it. In each episode, I will give store bought options (trying to be budget sensitive) and DIY ideas for the main elements of the room. This will be fun! 



Ok, lets get started. Here’s Lindsay’s room choice:

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The Rug

Buy– I’m not even going to attempt to find a less expensive version of this rug.. Almost EVERY rug in my house is from Rugs USA.  The ones that aren’t, were bought before I discovered their greatness. I recommend them to everyone that will listen. They always have big sales, their rugs always ship free and I’ve NEVER been anything but in love with what I’ve picked out from there. I’ve vouched for you for years, I will gladly be your spokeswoman, RugsUSA. **let it be known that I am not YET a spokeswomen for Rugs USA though i would NOT pass up an offer** and I’m in love with this rug….

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 The Pouf
BUY– This pouf seems to be an exact match from the picture. It was, by far, the best price I found online but that’s not to say that there isn’t one waiting patiently for you at TJMaxx, Homegoods or Tuesday Morning..
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DIY– I found this tutorial on Thoughts from Alice and it seems pretty doable with a little sewing and some stuffing. Her images are very pretty and the tutorial is great. I would consider trying this sometime.

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DIY– If you’re awesome and talented, you can buy a pattern here and knit your own

MidKnits (via)

I might give the sweater tutorial a go–no promises that it would turn out as nice as the one that Thoughts from Alice did. If I was actually creating this room in real life, I might have the top one waiting in my amazon cart just in case..

The Lamp
Buy– This one is from Target, its not the exact shape as the one in the picture but its a great option for $35 and I love the linen shade.
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Buy– The base of this lamp is spot on. Its very pretty, the shade is silver, grey so this lamp gives off a cooler vibe as opposed to the warmth the linen shade above. The inspiration pic has a white shade, but you could easily swap either of these shades, out for a white one.
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DIY– You can spray paint an already owned lamp or a thrifted one using this technique from Tatertots & Jello. (I’ve been reading this blog for a long time. Good stuff.) 
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In this category, I would totally DIY. Lamps are a dime a
dozen (not literally but almost) at the thrift store. They’re just begging to be
refinished. If I try this tutorial any time soon ever, I’ll be sure to post
about it.
 The Table

Buy– I’m pretty confident this is the exact table from the RugsUSA room. It has great reviews and if you’re in love and don’t care that its $145, then go for it.
 Buy–Here is a more affordable option. Completely different style but still the pop of color.
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DIY– Being a lover of furniture painting, I would totally DIY this table. I like to buy the sample sizes of paint from Sherwinn-Williams. They have 30% off coupons almost all the time and sometimes I even call ahead to order so that its ready when I get there.  On their website, you can browse their colors, to match the table in the inspiration pic, I’d choose Porch Ceiling.
The Chair
 Buy– I had a hard time finding anything as beautiful as the inspiration chair.. It’s a hard one to match. So I decided to look for a neutral chair with a similar shape.  This way, if you had this room, it would be easier to change accent colors at any time.. There are tons of great colors in the rug, and using a neutral chair keeps your options open for the future. You could also bring in the lilac color by using a throw pillow, which would be much easier than committing to a whole chair. I found this beauty on ETSY
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Buy– I liked this chair for the wood accents around the edges (just like in the inspiration chair)
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DIY– if you’d like to recover a chair, go for it.. Its hard core. I have lots of respect for people that can do it well.. I did one with a friends help, many years back and now I know why its so expensive to have something reupholstered.  



I think that’s a wrap for this room. Lindsay, I hope it meets your very high expectations ; ). That was fun! And time consuming. But mostly fun.  What about you? When you decorate, do you like to pull things together from your own vision or do you like to use an inspiration pic? Or a little of both.  


**oh, this post contains some affiliate links.*

Thanks for reading, friends. 

Sharing at:
Weekend Retreat Link Party
The Handmade Hangout 
Moonlight and Mason Jars Link Party  
The DIY Collective Party 
The Creative Collection Link Party 
Inspiration Monday 
Talk of the Town Link Party 
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