Keeping this in mind I went to work on my favorite room in the house, the dining room. It is light, bright, and full of charm & character; it was definatly LOVE at first sight.

It seemed impossible at first when I realized I had $1000 to complete this room. But little by little this challenge seemed to almost be a blessing because it forced me to think outside the box and stretch my creativity.

I had my dining chairs slipcovered, painted my existing bench, reused my table, found cane chairs in the trash that I recovered with a $5.00 drop cloth, painted curtain rods that were on clearance and collected most of my accessories from thrift stores, tag & estate sales and of course Home Goods. The bigger spends were the built-ins, which I had made with my brother-in-law, linen drapes and the petite buffet.

I mixed old with new, combined styles and textures & brought balance to the space by repeating the creams & whites. I now have a space that no one wants to leave & I did it, all on a budget of $1000. ...»