My Budget Friendly Fall Front Porch

Since it’s now October, I thought it was time to take down the Spring décor from the front porch. Somewhere in there I completely skipped over Summer, which is not like me, but hey it’s the year of ‘anything goes’!

I made it to the storage unit and hauled all the Fall bins home, and found quite a few items I had previously forgotten about (my favorite part about decorating for a new season). It’s still randomly hot here in Iowa, so I am holding off on any real pumpkins as my porch faces the west and they just bake in the afternoon sun.

Y’all know I am all about budget friendly decorating, and especially free! I have some decorative grass in the front of my house that we cut down each year about this time, and I saved some of it for my front porch.

I have a large milk can that I stuffed full of the cut down grass, and as it dries out it will look really nice and fall-ish (and even better since its free). In fact, the only portion of this porch project that cost any money, are the fresh mums I picked up from the nearby grocery store. They were only $6 each, so I feel pretty confident that I won’t be devastated if they don’t last too long, due to my inability to keep plants alive. Here’s a closeup of these huge (and cheap) mums!

Everything else was from my stash of things I already had, I mean I collect super inexpensive vintage things all year round for these precise moments! Here is how it turned out!

I hope you enjoyed my budget friendly front porch project! As always, thanks for stopping by the blog, we really appreciate all of the support!

See you soon!

-Rachael

DIY Gas Pipe Kitchen Shelving

Hi friends!

Today I have a fun DIY for the kitchen, gas pipe shelving! I know the open shelving trend has been around for a while now, and personally my kitchen cabinets are not organized enough to have the contents visible, but I do enjoy the open look. Recently, we installed gas pipe shelving for the kitchen at the farmhouse project (which is allllmost done!) and I took a few quick photos to show you the process, in case anyone else has been thinking of tackling this type of project. Y’all know I am a fan of all things budget friendly, and this project falls right in line with that! Let’s get to it….

PREP:

Honestly, the worst part about working with gas pipe, is taking all the stickers and adhesive off. The pipes are greasy, and I swear they use some extra adhesive to stick the purchase labels on them. For this project, we used the 1/2 inch version of pipe that can be found at any hardware store, and picked up the corresponding wall plates and end caps as well.

After prepping all of the materials, it’s time to measure out and mark the wall. Traditional cabinets sit about 22 inches off of the counter top surface, so that is the height we used for the bottom shelf. A stud finder is a must, as these shelves will carry some weight!

For the top shelf, we just spaced it 12 inches higher, as that is the height I thought looked the best with the remaining wall space available. Each shelf gets two support pipes, and placement of each of the wall plates was marked in pencil on the corresponding stud.

INSTALL:

The next step is attaching the wall plates to the studs, and while the plates have four holes for screws to attach them, we have found it is best to use only two at this step since there is usually some amount of adjustment later on. The below picture is an example, as well as a photo of the type of screws that we use.

Once the wall plates are installed, it’s time to attach the gas pipe and end caps. This step is fairly straightforward, except make sure to not over-tighten the pipe to the wall plate.

Now it is time to level up the shelving, so the wood pieces lay flat and dishes don’t lean or fall. For this shelving we used a 6 foot level, but you can use whatever size works for your project. I would say the most tedious part of installing this type of shelving, is making sure they are level. Some wall plates will need to be adjusted by tightening or loosening the screws, or even moving them a quarter of an inch or so. I tend to be very particular for kitchen shelving, and less with shelving for other purposes, but it is up to your personal preference. Either way this step is not difficult, just a bit time consuming.

Once all of the shelves are level, this is the time to add in the additional screws to the wall plates, if that is your preference.

The final step is adding the wood pieces to span the gas pipes, and complete the shelving. Another quick check of the level, and you are all done! Here is a picture of how this project turned out.

We chose open shelving for the kitchen at the farmhouse project mostly due to the fact the kitchen is pretty small, and would look pretty cluttered with full upper and lower cabinets. There is still plenty of enclosed storage, for all those appliances or bulky items.

We have a different style of gas pipe shelving in our personal home, which is used to display my collection of vintage glass bottles. Overall, the process is the same.

Here is a photo of the other style:

I just want to wrap up this post thanking each of you for being here and supporting us! I feel like 2020 has really thrown everyone’s plans for a whirlwind and we just have to learn to keep adapting to the changes and challenges presented to us (sometimes daily).

Also, I have been really itching to get back into the DIY’s lately (I feel we got away from them a bit over the last year) so feel free to shoot me a message or comment if you have something specific you have been looking for. I hope everyone is doing well, and I will chat with you again soon!

Cheers!

Rachael

Simple Spring Dining Room

It’s beginning to warm up here, and that means it’s time to bust out the spring decor! I am trying to follow a more simple style this year (less to dust!) and I am really enjoying it.

Speaking of things I am really enjoying, I found a small tray with little glass bottles on Target’s website lately, for a very affordable price (around $23) and I see it is still available online. I decided to add it to my dining room table, here is how I styled it….

As for the greenery that I used, I have a bin of random floral that I have collected over the years and I just cut some of that up and put it into the glass bottles. I tend to like the looks of faux greenery that isn’t ‘shiny’ or plastic looking, and of course that is always the type that costs the most, so buying off season/clearance and keeping them in a tub is a way to offset the price.

Another really good deal that I found at Target in their spring floral area, are their small faux eucalyptus plants. They are surprisingly ‘dense’ and nice looking for the amazing low price of $5. My target still has them available, and I will be snatching up a few more and putting them all over my house!

Here is a photo of how I used these plants on my table (they come in a nice white planter, and I just set them inside a larger white pot that I already had).

Now for a shot of the whole table, so you can see it all together…

And there you have it, my simple and festive dining room! I hope this post brought you some inspiration for your own home, and as always thank you for stopping by the blog today! We really appreciate it! We will chat again soon!

Cheers!

-Rachael

Sawhorse Table Refresh

Well hello friends!

It’s been a little while since I posted a decor refresh, and there’s no time like the present! February is when I normally dig out some of the faux greenery, mostly just to remind myself that spring is almost here. The temperatures have been steady in the 30’s lately, which might not sound warm depending on where you are located but trust me it’s pretty darn good for winter in Iowa!

The table I am sharing today is in my entryway, it’s a sawhorse table that my husband Adam built several years ago. Here’s a few photos of what I did with it recently.

These magnolia stems were considered holiday decor at Target, so I snagged them at the end of December for 70% off (y’all know I love a bargain!).

Recently, a friend generously gave me this stack of old books and I stacked them in an old birdcage with some wooden beads. Simple! I also wanted to mention that little green plant in the background, they are currently at target for $5! They are quite nice quality for the price!

Here are a couple photos of the whole table put together…

This table came together nicely, minus the crooked frame on the wall but hey, we can’t have it all together ALL the time :)

That’s all I have for you today, thank you for stopping by the blog today and be sure to check back soon for my dining room refresh that I have in the works!

Stay warm out there!

-Rachael

DIY: Budget Friendly Pantry Organizing!

Hi friends! I’m writing to you from frigid Iowa, where it’s a whopping 1 degree today, but hey we are over halfway through January so this won’t last a whole lot longer! I haven’t posted a DIY for a while, so I wanted to share with you what I recently did with my pantry.

I normally take everything out of my pantry once or twice a year just to make sure nothing is expired or forgotten about, and as I was getting ready to do that again recently I did a few searches on Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration on how to make the space a bit more visually appealing.

There were hundreds of gorgeous photos to choose from, but as I started researching the actual bins and containers for everything it became apparent that this was an EXPENSIVE task. I mean, $14 for a clear plastic tray to put on a shelf?! $25 for a set of 4 glass canisters?! There was just no way I was going to spend that kind of money or organize this space.

Starting Point

Our pantry is a walk-in space, that has a knack for collecting random items due to it’s proximity to the kitchen. The problem with this catch-all space, is that it only has a half door, so all of the random items are on display for every visitor to see. Let me show you what I mean…

From this angle, you can’t see the mess inside!

The mess!!!

Ok, now you know what I was up against! I knew there had to be a more budget friendly way to spruce this up, so I put my thinking cap on.

First up, I needed some glass containers. A lot of them. I didn’t really care if they all matched, and I wasn’t going to buy a dozen from Amazon at $5 a piece, so I went down to my local thrift store for some vintage jars and canisters.

Next up, I needed some labels for these jars and Amazon seemed to have quite the selection. I ordered a set of labels that was around $14 for 50+ stickers from a shop on Amazon called ‘The Talented Kitchen’.

I started the tedious process of emptying boxes and containers into the jars (after washing them of course!) and tossing all the expired items. I even found out what a very rotten avocado looks like, yikes! Here are a couple close up photos of the jars with labels…

These turned out really nice, and I was able to toss all the half packages of items! Bonus feature of the clear glass jars is the ability to see the amount readily available, making that grocery list a breeze!

Last up, I needed some clear bins for random things, and Amazon had some outrageous prices on clear storage containers so I went with what my local Target had instead. I included a couple pictures of the bins below, the larger one was $4 and the smaller one was $1.

All Finished!

Here are a couple photos of the finished project, I am not entirely certain that I have everything in the exact place that I want it, but it works for now.

I am really excited how this turned out, as it is no longer an eyesore to anyone walking by the area. Also, I was pretty impressed that I accomplished this project for significantly less cost than originally thought. Next up, I need to repeat this process for the spice cabinet as I currently cannot find anything in there!

That is all I have for you today, thanks so much for stopping by the blog and I would love to see some of your own pantry transformations, feel free to tag me on your photos on Instagram (@aps_design) or Facebook (apsdesignblog).

Cheers!!

Rachael

My Farmhouse Christmas Front Porch

I FINALLY finished my front porch this weekend, and it’s a good thing I did because today it’s snowing along with 35mph winds…gross. Iowa always keeps us on our toes! There’s an old saying that if you don’t like the weather here to wait a day and it will change. Well, yesterday it was 50 degrees…

Enough on that, let’s get to the fun stuff.

My front porch came together rather late this year, as you can see, and that was mainly due to me waiting on these two trees I purchased online from Target during their black Friday weekend sales. Personally, I think they were worth the wait! I had my eyes on this pair last year but never ended up getting them, something about the trees being ‘less full’ caught my eye. You can see them below!

These trees came in their own wooden stands, which I did keep, however for this project I wanted them to have more of a vintage vibe so I put them in an old crock and a wooden box. They are pre-lit which made it easy to decide to place them next to the outlet.

For the rest of the items, I simply shopped my house/garage. You might wonder what kind of hoarding situation I have going on if I can simply rummage through my house and find all these things for the porch…well I do have a lot of things, but I use them mostly year round in different capacities each season. I am blessed with a lot of storage options at this house, so I always keep my eyes open for a good deal and constantly add to my collection…y’all know I love a bargain!

For example, this wash tub on the right, it was originally purchased at a flea market several years ago. For this season, I simply snagged it from my front flower bed where it had been on display this fall with a water pump. During summer months I will fill it with flowers or twigs/branches. Currently, it’s holding some over-sized metal ornaments originally from my wedding, over 4 years ago. Reusing decor in different ways drastically reduces the cost of changing things up each season!

Here is a photo after dark, to show the lit trees. I don’t often talk about or recommend products, there are plenty of bloggers out there that do that. I do, however, give my non-sponsored opinion from time to time about certain things that I really like or enjoy, and these trees fall into that category.

Here is another front view of the porch! I posted this image on Instagram today and someone asked if the front of our house had tile on it, which is a good question! It is actually cast stone that is smooth and made to look like tile…each one weighs 130 pounds! We chose this stone for the front door area to give a contrast to the cobblestone look of the rest of the stone on our house.

And while we are on the topic of the front door, this was not our door we had in mind and I cannot wait until we replace it with the permanent door. Until then, white metal door it is!

Hopefully this post has provided you some inspiration to decorate your own house, and as always I love seeing what you come up with so make sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook or whatever platform you share your pictures.

And if you have made it this far, thank you so much for stopping by the blog today! I can see when y’all visit this little corner of the internet that I call home, and it means the world to both me and Adam knowing that you are sharing this space with us.

That’s all for now, make sure to check back soon for more farmhouse renovation updates coming up, or feel free to subscribe to our mailing list if you want them sent directly to your inbox.

Cheers!!

-Rachael

It's a Farmhouse Christmas!

I cannot believe it’s already December, and here we are just a few short weeks from Christmas. Maybe it was the wonky weather, or the fact Thanksgiving was so late this year, but either way I found myself quite unprepared for December’s arrival! I did (finally!) finish getting my house decorated and photographed, minus the front porch, and I am here today to share these with you!

If you are feeling behind in decorating and want some quick inspiration, this post is for you!

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Here’s a quick dining room tour!

I love all things budget friendly, and Christmas is no exception! While I do purchase a couple things each year, they are always marked down or on clearance. I mostly just use the decor from previous years in new ways or in new places, and that always makes it seem like a fresh new look. For example, this garland on the table is tucked into my re-purposed chicken feeder that I frequently have on display here, and I added a couple candles and pine cones that I had on hand. Ta-Da!

I made this ‘Merry Christmas’ printable last year and took it to a copy and print shop to have it enlarged and printed on cardstock (for $1). If you would like the file for a quick download, shoot me a message!

Linking our personalized book sets here.

This corner of the dining room is new this year, since I picked up this vintage sewing table super cheap on marketplace. I also grabbed these mint bells from the Target dollar section this year, can’t go wrong with over-sized bells!

On to the kitchen!

I did a whole post on the kitchen that I will link here, but if you just want a couple quick ideas here are some photos from that post!

Next up is the entryway table, and if you have been following along for a while you might remember that I have a terrible time decorating this long table. I strive to keep it uncluttered, but it seems to just collect things on its own!

I am really feeling the ‘woodsy’/tree farm/greens and whites vibe this year, and that is new for me from previous years. I am not entirely sure why I gravitated toward this style this year, but I embraced the challenge to incorporate what I had on hand and decorate this table.

And, the tree

let’s just ignore the un-decorated shelves on the flag wall in the background. This pencil tree was new to us last year (hello Michael’s clearance!) and this nook in the railing is about the only location we can put it at the moment, as we have to tether it with twine to secure it won’t fall over. Our 2 year old has never tried to pull the tree over, but i am sure the moment I didn’t have it secured she would give it a try. Kids just know when you are taking a shortcut!

As you can see, I have a bit of a Starbucks ornament collection going, and soon I will need my own tree just for them. For now, I will just hang them out of reach of little hands.

Also, our tree skirt is just a burlap sack from our local farm store, Theisen’s. They sell them for roughly $1, and while they do shed a bit I like the rustic look they bring to the tree.

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Well, that’s all I have for inside decor this year. I have yet to finish my front porch, as I am waiting on something to be delivered that I bought the day after Thanksgiving. Hopefully I will have that post ready sometime before Christmas!

In the mean time, I hope I was able to bring you some decorating inspiration and as always, thank you for stopping by the blog today! All of your support really means a lot to us! I’m going to sign off for now and get back to the farmhouse remodel, big changes happening this week so stay tuned for that!

Cheers!

Rachael

Repurposing : The #1 Budget Friendly Decorating Hack

I often get asked about decorating in general, and the cost associated with it. It’s no secret I am an epic bargain hunter, and I think that’s why repurposing old items is my favorite budget friendly decorating hack. The possibilities are only limited by your search terms on Pinterest!

Don’t like an old cabinet or buffet taking up space in your garage? Add some new paint and hardware and turn it into a decor display cabinet or changing table in a nursery. Looking for inexpensive ‘new to you’ furniture? Check out your local thrift store or salvage yard, and then spruce it up a bit.

Today I have a few examples of repurposed items currently on display in my home, and I will share the cost of the items and the updates that I did to them. Feel free to pin any images for later reference!

First up, my medicine cabinet turned decor cabinet! I found this beauty at a local thrift store, and I believe the price was only $10 (it was even on sale!). I completely updated it for only $5, and it now sits as a permanent fixture on my entryway wall, and I simply change out the decor for different seasons. For details on how I updated the cabinet, click here.

Total cost: $15

Medicine Cabinet, original condition

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Next, I have an old shutter style hinge door on my front porch that I simply use hooks to hang different decor on depending on the season. This item was FREE, on a local facebook marketplace group. All I did was clean it up and bit and do a small amount of sanding. Here are a couple examples of how I have used it so far, and the photo on the left is how it looks currently.

Total cost: $0

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I’m not afraid to get a little dirty and bust out the chalk paint when necessary, and this comes in handy when an item needs a fresh look. A perfect example is a set of 3 spindles I picked up at a salvage store, and I was determined to make them look like candlesticks. I had Adam cut them at different heights, for a total of 5 candlesticks made from the 3 spindles. At $2 a piece, my cost was $6 total. A little chalk paint and sanding later, I have 5 pretty versatile pieces of decor and you will see them in my home during every season. For the full tutorial, click here.

Total cost: $6

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Lastly, I have a deep love for decorating with old farm items. These might look like junk to the untrained eye, but the history in each piece is what calls my heart to them. For example, this chicken feeder from a local flea market sits on my dining room table almost year round, filled with various seasonal decor. I sometimes find myself wondering how many chickens ate from this trough over the years and what other stories this item holds, not to mention it makes a great centerpiece because it doesn’t obstruct views of people sitting at the table!

Total Cost $10

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I hope today I could show you that having a vast assortment of decor and/or decorating your home for each season doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, I get such enjoyment searching for that bargain and then bringing new life to old items. How do you decorate with repurposed items in your home? I would love to hear all about it!

I hope October is treating you well, wherever you are!

Laundry Room Makeover

I am always looking for inexpensive ways to update and/or decorate our home, and my laundry room was recently at the top of my list of spaces that needed serious help. I had seen several designers recently posting about using wallpaper to update a space, and my first reaction was not a positive one. I mean, wallpaper?!? Who has time for that??

Well as it turns out, I had time for it, and so do you! Wallpaper has come SUCH a long way from the days where I remembered my grandparents mixing paste and matching patterns, only to have it dry and shrink just enough that it no longer lined up perfectly. I was curious how this “new” version worked, so I ordered a roll from Target’s website, which has dozens of options.

Today’s version of wallpaper has no mess, simply peel and stick. Make a mistake and need to remove it? Just peel it off the wall, no damage to the paint/wall, and you can re-use the piece! This feature in particular makes a wallpaper project budget friendly, I did this entire laundry room makeover with only one roll, which was $30. Don’t worry about matching patterns either, the print I chose has a tiny pattern line on it so you can easily tell where the next piece should line up.

So I went for it and ordered the wallpaper….

Before I show you how it turned out, let’s take a look at some ‘before’ photos!

This laundry room functioned just fine how it originally was, but I wanted a space that was more inviting and had a ‘fresh’ look. I first shopped the garage for some shelving materials, then picked up a vintage window for the space above the sink, and finally picked out the wallpaper that would tie it all together Somehow, I roped Adam into helping me.

Neither one of us had ever worked with wallpaper, and thus we had no idea how to install it. I envisioned unrolling it and sticking it to the wall (why make it more difficult than it needs to be, am i right?), however Adam had other ideas.

He approached the situation as thought it were flooring, and found the center of the wall and the center of the wallpaper pattern and started there. As a result, the first piece took about 45 min to place, but the rest of it went much faster.

After the wallpaper was applied, we placed a small white trim around the top edges to give it more of a polished look. Then all that was left was to mount the shelf and hang the window, and suddenly the laundry room had been transformed! Here are a couple photos…

This budget friendly update has made quite a difference, and I am really happy how it turned out. This was a learning experience, but it really was quite easy, so if you are looking to freshen up a space consider using wallpaper!

That’s all I have for today, I am headed back outside to enjoy this second Summer that Iowa has given us this week! I will be back soon with our latest outdoor client project, as soon as I load and edit the photos :)

As always, thank you for stopping by the blog today! We really appreciate it!

-Rachael

The Final Summer Porch Refresh!

If you have been following along you might be aware that sweet corn season officially started this week here in Iowa, and I might be just a teeny bit excited about that! In fact, I had to incorporate the first delivery of corn into my final Summer porch refresh of the year. That’s correct, the next time I redo this space it will be with pumpkins!

But for now, I had to take down the 4th of July decor and I wanted to incorporate a few farming pieces to set up for the future harvest season. As a collector of all things random and old, I happened to have everything I needed stored in the garage (which has kind of unintentionally become my decor locker, just don’t tell Adam). This John Deere seed planter from an old tractor is a great example…

The fresh ears of corn in this photo are from our local CSA/farm share program that is delivered weekly throughout the spring and summer. For more information about farm shares, you can see my full post here.

Here are a couple more photos of this newly refreshed space!

For the other side of the door I snagged some of the decorative grass from my front landscaping that is currently out of control, and stuffed it into an old rusty milk can that i picked up at a garage sale a couple years back. The black metal ‘hello’ sign will stay for now, but I might take it down for the winter months, as it gets pretty cold here and I don’t want it damaged or warped in any way.

Here’s a front shot of the whole front porch, which is one of my more favorite area’s to decorate at my home. Now, if only I can light a fire under Adam and have him replace the construction door that’s been there for 4 years next month! It’s the little things….

That’s all I have for you today, thank you for stopping by the blog and I hope I have been able to inspire you on your own decorating adventure! As always, feel free to share your projects and questions either here or over on Instagram.

Happy Summer!

Rachael