Buy what you love.

My trick in decorating on a budget is too save where you can as we have discussed in the previous 4 posts; but buy what you love.

Buy a few things each year that you really love.

Buy timeless items that won’t go out of style.

Spend money on things you know you will love forever.

Don’t buy things that will outdate themselves in one or two years.

If you are going to spend the money make sure you really love it, it’s good quality, and you know it will last.

Sometimes that means spending a little more money.

Which is fine, if you have saved everywhere else.

For example:

I have always wanted fresh garland.  I didn’t do my research this year and I bought a Cyprus garland at Costco.  It seemed reasonable in price so I picked it up.  It died in about 7 days; which is typical for Cyprus. Yes, it sits on my banister all hard and crispy.  It’s coming down already.  BOO HOO!!  I still love the idea of fresh; I will just do my research before I buy next time.

I already took that pretty thing off my mantle.  It was leaving a mess.

I did purchase some great finds this year:

I bought this adorable white tree.  I loved it, and I knew that because it was white I could put it anywhere; any year.

I also bought these glass trees next to it this year as well.  I love how classic they are.

I also got these new stocking from my sister. 

These little beauties:

were a must have that I picked up in Houston.  Yes, I recently got back from visiting my BFF(more on that later.)  We had so much fun shopping that I had to send a box on the plane home.

When I saw these houses in the store I new I wanted them.  I love how simple and beautiful they are, and they light up.  When I bought them, I knew just where I wanted to put them.  Which is another great tip when buying items; know what you are going to do with them.

I love them on my glass coffee table. Oh, and guess what? When I got home I found ornaments to match them at a local store.  Yes, they light up too.  They are the ornaments I will give my kids this year.  They represent being “home.”

When I was shopping the other day at IKEA, I stumbled on these lights.

I knew I wanted them and I knew they were worth the money, and actually fairly inexpensive.

 

They could be used for parties and the holidays.  I love that I could use them for something other then Christmas.

I love how they look on my porch.

 

When buying things, you should always buy in odd numbers.  I bought three lights, and I also bought three of the above houses.  You will also notice that I bought three trees.

Remember when you buy new things for your holiday collection, to take it slow.  You don’t have to buy it all at once.

You can even  buy what you love after Christmas when it goes on clearance; I have done this many times.  In fact, the big ornaments hanging from my porch were bought after Christmas at 90% off.

Add to your collection over the years.  The things you spend the money on should be the things you intend to keep for a long time.

The simple things that we talked about earlier that were picked up at thrift stores and dollar stores are the things that you wouldn’t feel bad about changing. 

I hope you have enjoyed a few of my tips and tricks for decorating.

I would love to see some of your decorating; send pictures my way.

Love, Andrea

If you missed any of my previous tips you can find them here.