I'd like to welcome Anna Hicks who has written a post especially for DIYbyDesign.
On a Budget Designs: The Rustic Look
When my husband and I re-designed our entire house, we couldn't agree on a
single thing, other than wanting our beautiful cabin home to have a more rustic
looking interior that matches the beautiful wood-finished exterior. Outside of
those general concepts, we debated everything from colors, to budget and it
seemed that our much-needed re-design was going nowhere fast. Luckily, we were
able to pull it together, and we ended up with a look that we were both happy
with as well as staying on budget, and remaining happily married throughout the
entire process (not an easy process - ask anyone who has done a big project
with their spouse).
Here are some of the ways we were able to get that done:
Utilize Craigslist for Used or Rustic-looking Items
Craigslist turned out to be the unsung hero of our entire remodel. Between
the variety of the goods offered, as well as the great prices for used
merchandise, Craigslist proved to be a godsend. We found most of our items just
browsing through sections like "furniture" or "household
goods" but the handy search feature allowed us to use keywords such as
"rustic"
or "antique" in our searches.
Craigslist is a mixed bag for some people, and there are stories of scammers
and just generally scummy people out there, so I'd advise everyone to meet in a
public place if possible, or to bring a friend or family member with you in
order to reduce your possibility of anything bad happening. That said, for as
many transactions that happen on Craigslist, in my experience it's very safe,
and most people aren't out to scam or rip you off. Use your best judgement
here.
Seek Out the Niche Online or Brick and Mortar Retailers for Hard-to-Find
Items
Some things are just hard to find. For example, our lighting fixtures were
nearly impossible to find on Craigslist or any retailer in our area. We wanted
rusting barn lighting, but we also wanted it to be energy efficient, so we
chose to use LED lighting. We ended up finding some great deals on
barn lighting fixtures with a
plethora of color options.
Do It Yourself
Pinterest is a wealth of information for any number of DIY (do it yourself)
projects across a wide variety of styles. Searching for "rustic DIY"
or "home remodeling projects" showed us an amazing number of results
for some really cool projects that we were able to tackle in mere minutes, or
just a few days. Don't overlook the value and the custom appeal of doing things
yourself in a remodel project. For those of you that haven't used Pinterest,
you can even create boards that allow you to organize or bookmark projects that
look interesting to you so that you have them easily accessible at a later
time.
In addition to Pinterest, sites such as
This Old House, and major hardware
retailers such as Lowe's and Home Depot have amazing tutorials on their
websites.
In addition, I'd urge each of you to check out yard sales, garage sales,
auctions, and estate sales to find some great one-of-a-kind pieces to add to
your remodel. Remodeling a house is hard work, but for that rustic appeal, your
options are numerous once you know where to look.
