FOCAL POINT STYLING: small budget

After a long harsh winter, filled with bitter cold, snow drifts and cabin fever, everyone is just bursting to get outside for Spring to enjoy some outdoor living! One way to kick off the upcoming outdoor living season is by dining alfresco, which can be a beautiful & casual setting for your family's Easter brunch. Although when we lived in Arizona, we didn't have family, the hubs and I still enjoyed heading outside for our Easter dinner. Arizona was a place I started collecting baskets, and one fun basket I came across while thrifting was a tall picnic basket. I may not have used it for picnics, but the basket became a great textured container to create a simple Spring centerpiece, which can be used indoors or out. Here is what I did...

It all started with a picnic basket I scored at the thrift store...

After adding the cylinder risers and daisies, I used the textiles, and a few spare leaves to tuck into the back of the basket, making it appear as if Spring is just bursting to come out! The simple green and white color scheme is just refreshing after seeing a season of winter greys...

Since this home was a rental, we really couldn't do much to the unfinished divider wall, so I used another collected basket for a simple outdoor wall decor...

The green & white gingham table topper was another thrift find, I layered over linen fabric I had used as a table cover. Since we didn't have an outdoor dining set, I used a folding table (the one I'd frequently use inside for 'table for two settings), but to make it larger, I put a 42" MDF framed mirror on top of the 36" folded table - The backside of the mirror was flat, and you'd never know it was there after the table was dressed (simple small space solution!)

The weathered X back chairs were another amazing thrift find I had scored in Phoenix, (you can read about here, but have since sold!) and they worked great to create outdoor seating. If there is one good thing to say about being in a dessert state, it has to be that I was able to set this outdoor setting, without having to worry about rain -- just sun!

No trees either, so having an outdoor umbrella was a must - plus it gave me another place to layer in a shot of green color, to pick up on the centerpiece...

Before & After Spring Spruce-Up in our small (drought tolerant) backyard in Phoenix - you can read in a previous post at: Rental ReStyle: Budget-Friendly Backyard Spring Spruce-Up

And if it's still too cold, or worse, snowing, where you live this Easter, you can still create a Springtime Alfresco setting indoors too, creating the same picnic basket centerpiece, plus layering woven chargers or placematts with gingham, checks, or plaid... and for Easter, don't forget the bunnies! (Remember these? A Florida thrift find & DIY fix, you can read about at: Hoppy Spring Bargain Bunnies)

Although I like to change things up, some holiday decor traditionally makes it's way to the table every year - like these birds nests from HomeGoods, but this year, they were filled with golden chocolate eggs... A great little compliment to the vintage Greek Key border table set I also scored thrifting, but up in Scottsdale... The vintage brass coupes (yes - another Phoenix thrift find!) made an elegant riser for the nests...

I hope you're inspired to create a simple Spring Centerpiece of your own to set on your Easter table, whether you dine inside or out! Afterwards, use this centerpiece on a buffet or entry table if it's still winter by you, for a taste of Spring indoors -- if not, layer it into your front entry or Spring patio decor!

Thanks for stopping by!

A patio crying for HELP got it, and all within a budget of under $500 and a 24hr. weekend timeline... This potentially beautiful covered patio, quietly tucked back off a pond, and overlooking a golf course, was in need of a transformation. So after discussing the list of "needs" and "wants", I set out on a Friday to hunt & gather some new goods to update the space with. First stop: HomeGoods, where I found the simple tufted D shaped outdoor cushions, in a fantastic bright & cheery awning stripe of apple & bisque. From there, the rest of the redesign took off...

hunting and gathering...

Keeping in mind the existing ten-year-old rattan furnishings would be refinished in espresso + ORB, and the tile floor was already dark, pops of white would help to really freshen up the space. Working with a tight budget, I managed to find more treasures at Ross (caged glass lanterns) for only 7.99 ea... and lucked out at Target finding a 5x8 outdoor area rug in a lighter neutral pallet (with a coordinating doormat for back door) at a steal for only $45 for the set! I found a white covered jar for only $3 at TJ Maxx (great for a stash of tea lights), and I even checked out Walmart for plants... which sells succulents for only $2 ea (vs. 3.97 at Lowes, Target, and Home Depot). The huge help in finding savvy style within the small budget came from finding the bright & fun outdoor cushions, white glazed planters, and a few other accents at HomeGoods.

The bakers rack is from an old store display

(anyone recall Claire Burke?) but works great on the patio for visual height plus a place for growing more orchids and plants...

weather worn wicker - lasted 10 years after buying from Pier 1.

The last stop was Home Depot to pick up paint supplies: Rustoleum's Ultra Cover 2x in espresso: ten cans (to be on safe side) for 2 chairs, 1 settee, 1 ottoman, and 1 coffee table. I also picked up Rustoleum's Universal Paint in an Oil Rubbed Bronze finish to redo the bakers rack and all the iron-work detail on the furniture...

Upper right ottoman pic: no bronze

lower left pic: with bronze

My car (a black VW Jetta) was all packed up Friday night.... adding to the goods a white bamboo painted thrift table, unused boxes of green glass tealights, and some white tab-top twill panels I no longer use..... Saturday I headed down to Kendall to unload the goods, and get the furniture cleaned and painted - mind you - it was overcast, so we prayed for the rain to hold-out... and thankfully, at least for Saturday it did... but can I tell you how unusually WINDY it was? Needless to say, although it wasn't sunny, the espresso over spray gave me a tan :)

The apple and bisque cushions from HomeGoods really POP on the refinished wicker furniture!

Although the Rustoleum Universal COLOR was great, the nozzle isn't: it clogged so quickly, and the trigger isn't as user friendly as it appears to be. I prefer the old style nozzle, with a spray handle attachment I use for easy and even application...

I sprayed the underside and back first

to ensure even coverage of the wicker weave...

I got to use my dad's OLD drop cloth (I think my mom has had since we lived in Jersey... she 'kinda' gets emotionally attached to things (NOT in a hoarding way, but is learning to let go of some non-functional items (FINALLY). I had held onto some items from her living room edit, to reuse on patio, and they came in handy to cut expenses (metal round table, scroll-like lanterns, elephant planter my father made (back in the 70's) and even some faux plants helped to fill the space, and have minimal maintenance for mom...

I reused candle holders from inside (previously gold) as plant stands for her philodendrons outside...

The new white + pink spaths filled up the new white planters from HomeGoods and will grow great in this space. One of 3 of the planters I turned upside down, to use as a plant riser in the cluster.The Boston ferns add more green life to the patio, and since they're hanging, help to draw your eye up... Up to the fantastic cedar ceiling...

The faux spaths (previously inside) helped add height and fill the space perimeter...

The fence will be repaired, rebuilt and repainted over this weekend, and will have white planter boxes on it, facing the patio, to add more color, and dimension to the space...

Sunday, I came back, untagged, cleaned, and placed everything (yippy!! the real fun - making a space pretty for mom!) I repositioned the bakers rack to give a FOCAL POINT at the end of the patio. I also re-arranged the originally furniture placement: I positioned one chair with the ottoman adjacent to the bakers rack, plus added the white thrift table, with the green tin under it, to hold reading materials for a new reading nook... (I wanted to add a lamp, but there was no receptacle).

Maintained clay pots in their natural state to relate back to floor tiles

New outdoor living new reading nook on the patio...

Thrifted table find - perfect to create a collected mix vs. a patio 'set'...

I hung the tab-top panels in a pair at two of the covered patio posts (4 panels total), and tied them together with twine (leftover from the from seagrass packaging). I kept the hanging simple, casual and functional: I just utilized some of the 100 nails my dad had in storage (in the Ball Mason jars) in the laundry room. Hanging tabs from nails makes it easy for my mom to remove to clean or for the infamous Florida hurricanes. Since the panels were only 84", the plants placed in front of them help camouflage their shortness...

I created a conversation area with the settee, chair and two tables, just under the scroll bars at the kitchen window. Since electrical expenses weren't in the budget, I camouflaged the existing single wall mounted light fixture with hanging ferns on either side of the sette... and gave added dimension + detail (in the triangle) on the ceder beamed ceiling by hanging the two caged glass lanterns over the coffee table.

As for the ever popular Spanish scroll security bars on windows, my

mom's not ready to remove yet, so I made use of them to hang some metal ladle candle holders I picked up while thrifting...

To help protect the furnishings, accessories, rug and plants, I set most of the pieces up closer to the townhome's exterior wall. Sometimes, when the heavy Florida rains come in the Summer, the lake overflows, and can back up onto the patio...

I went digging into closets and found some more decorative pillows not in use, and added them for pattern mixing. I also brought out some galvanized tins (i had gotten at holiday), plus some authentic Ball Mason jars (from my great-grandmother), and added shells she's collected to them. The wind chime in the corner I gave my mom MANY years ago, but she's had it collecting dust FOR YEARS hanging in the laundry room.

For pattern mixing, I used both outdoor & indoor pillows, since the patio is covered...

I tucked the shell wind chime in the back right corner...

I discussed painting the panels in between the ceder beams in white,

to accentuate the architectural detail and lighten up the space - but she passed on doing this...

She's thrilled to be able to sit outside, enjoy her new space, and all her orchids and hint of the shore (without being too themed 'beach')... It's what she wanted and more... She's already had neighbors over, and a girlfriend over for dinner... and an old friend from Jersey planning to come down in May, which now she wants her room and the guest room revamped too.... Not a problem, and looking forward to it... especially since I already had gotten her ALL the stuff for her room (as a B-Day gift a while ago), she just takes a while to digest "change" (I guess it's the Republican in her... and I'm all about CHANGE...)