This Reader Transformed Her Cabin on a Budget
Looking to makeover your space?
Decorating can get expensive quickly, but, with a little time and research, it’s possible to do it on a budget. Buying digital art and printing it on a canvas will save you tons. If you don’t believe me, check out how this week’s Happy Friday reader Kay made over her cabin at an unbeatable price!
We purchased a mountain cabin last year as both a vacation home and short-term rental. We inherited everything the previous owners left behind. It was a lot of work to declutter, clean, repair, renovate, furnish, and decorate.
When it was time to decorate, I definitely wanted to stick with a mountain theme that’s both modern and unique without spending a lot of money. I looked at most of the major retail stores (Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Hobby Lobby, etc) and online stores (Amazon, Wayfair, Etsy, etc) to find the perfect artwork for our living room.
After much research and browsing, I ended up buying digital images from Etsy and printing them onto canvas at CVS. Thanks to H2S photo deals, I buy whenever the 16×20 canvas prints at CVS are discounted from $99.99 to $19.99. For our living room, I purchased 3 images from Etsy for $12.63 including tax. Then it cost me $64.02 to print them onto three 16×20 canvases. I love the results!
The rest of the items in the living room were thrifty purchases too. The matching floor and table lamps are from Bed Bath Beyond, reduced to only $15 each. The sofa bed and rug are from Wayfair. The loveseat was FREE from a neighbor on Nextdoor.com. And the accent pillowcases are from Amazon; I didn’t even know they perfectly match the canvases until I put them underneath the canvases.
I had so much fun decorating this mountain cabin! I think the best interior designer is not only one who has style, but also one who can do it on a budget. I was able to materialize my vision for the living room accent wall for less than $77! I highly recommend finding art from Etsy and then printing it onto canvas at CVS or Walgreens.
Kay, that is one beautiful cabin you’ve transformed; talk about an extreme makeover on a budget! We absolutely love taking advantage of the photo deals we post, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled. We’ve gotten tons of prints for free and canvases at unbeatable prices, just like Kay!
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Oh I love how the pictures match the pillowcases!! 💕 Beautiful and great idea on the canvases!
Thanks. My daughter’s name is Lilli too, actually Lillian. Luv the sound of ur names. I was tickled as soon as I noticed that the pillow cases match the canvases (the green trees). I didn’t plan it that way at all. Pure coincidence. They were meant to be together.
Beautiful cabin! Enjoy!
Thanks. We really do enjoy staying there. My workaholic husband gets all giddy n relaxed in the mountains. It’s our haven, and the best part is that many family/friends get to go enjoy it with us. They’d rather visit us there than our full-time home in a small town
I love decorating on the cheap. I brought my furniture from Germany to the states and I always bring back suitcase size items from the flea markets when I visit my mother every year. I change out my decorations in the house and guest house 1-2 times a year. I search the flea markets here too. Love it. Even got my washer and dryer at a flea market. Love reusing vintage items and I also have pieces from the family in the garage. So much fun.
That’s an awesome tradition you have. I luv vintage items too. For our next STR, I want to do a more eclectic theme, including beautiful furniture I often see at our local antique store. These pieces wouldn’t match my home nor be necessary, so I was often sad to miss out. But now I have a business and don’t feel so bad buying more furniture. Where in Germany? I have a penpal in Munich. Been writing to each other for 30 years. Finally visited her a few years ago. One of my fav countries. The Germans r so friendly n sophisticated. I can’t wait to go back with the kids.
Great job Kay! I just wanted to come by and say everything looks beautiful and I love finding prints on etsy too! Enjoy your pretty space and cabin!!
Thank u. I actually just started using Etsy for digital images shortly before you guys posted that Etsy post. I also bought floating shelves for the cabin off Etsy recently. They were made and shipped from Poland. Even so, they were so much more affordable than anything I could find here. And the best part: they were custom made n came out perfectly the coveted live edges my husband wanted. I luv it that I have a go-to Etsy seller for woodwork.
We bought a vacation lake house a few years ago. We completely furnished our house on a budget. Yard sales, thrift stores and facebook marketplace are your friends. We did buy our couches new, kitchen island new, and bunk beds/mattress new. The local buy nothing group also helped with a few items. We built a boat lamp. Artwork was the super easy part it’s cheap and plentiful. I just picked up the neatest fish to hang up on the shed for 3.
We would like to have a lake house STR eventually as well. That’s awesome you got so much for a bargain. Would luv to c ur pics too. I agree….some things do need to b new, like mattresses, especially for STRs.
Kay never ceases to amaze me with her budget artistry! Is there a Kay Budget Saavy 101 class?
I know right? She must teach us her ways, Kaihli!
This is the kind of content I like to see! It’s fun seeing all the pretty furnishings in Collin’s many houses, but these deep discount decorating kind of posts are much more relatable!
Aw, I’m so glad my goals/projects/experiences r relatable to my awesome fellow Hipsters. My people came to the US as political refugees. I learned from my parents to work hard, study hard, save money n pretty much b all-around conservative. My husband provides very well for us, but it’s a lifetime habit for me to b creative with thriftiness. I think my husband is beginning to appreciate that part of me now.