Low-Cost Living Room/Home Office

So often, I see decorating shows or articles which say they are low-cost, but then I see that they have spent thousands of dollars on one ROOM! One night, just for fun, as I sat in my cozy living room, I thought about where our living room furniture came from and how much each piece cost. You might find the origin (and price) of the furniture interesting:

• Ikea birch veneer-style computer desk ($30 at the Salvation Army. We had a truck and took it home ourselves, saving delivery costs)
• Upholstered office chair (probably one of the more expensive items at $90 on sale at Office Depot, floor sample)
• Wing chair ($30 - thrift shop)

• Reclining chair: ($35 - Goodwill)

• 40's/50's solid wood side drawer tables (junk store - $15)

• 50's beach solid wood table (junky thrift store - $15)

• Office lamp with green glass shade (thrift store $5)

• Ikea-type printer stand (found on side of road - $0)

• Tall office bookcase (found on the side of the freeway - $0)

• Pine shelves (found on street, refinished - $0)

• Shelf (Ikea scratch-n-dent section - $20)

• wooden bookshelves (Inherited - $0)

• 2 metal CD stands ($5 each)

• Large ceramic lamp (thrift shop - $30) + shade (found - $0)

• Standing lamp (yard sale - $10) + shade (thriftshop - $7)

• Corner shelf (rescued from trash - $0)

• Oriental bin (rescued from trash - $0)

• Oak TV unit (found on street - $0)

• 1990's TV set (won - $0)

• Fax machine (community swap - $0)

• Rattan shelving (estate sale - $15)

• Wood shelving ($15)

• Period ceramic lamp with shade (thrift shop - $7)

• Large wooden office trash can (thrift shop - $7)

• 2 fake oriental rugs (bargain store - $25 and $15)

• sheer white curtains (Anna's Linens bargain store - $20)

• 2 magenta pillows (rescued from fresh trash - $0)

• 2 lighthouse pillow covers on old pillows (99 Cent Store - $1.98)

• 2 cylindrical pillows ($1 each)

• Hassock ($15)

• Mirror (thrift shop - $10)

• Solid wood occasional table (thrift shop - $16)

I won't go into the knickknacks - but I do have a 1930's lithograph commercial print which I snapped up for $80 (probably worth $400?) Other art includes: 4 period lithographs (thrift shop - $10 each = $40), marine oil sketch (swap meet - $7), oil painting (thrift shop - $15), seascape (gift - $0)

Shall we add it all up? If my calculations are right, it's about $600! The two upholstered chairs would have costs that much new! These pieces were all accumulated over time - much easier on the pocketbook. These are NICE pieces of furniture, which are not to be ashamed of. Food for thought.

By Pam from Los Angeles, CA