The Window Seat Project

Seating, one key thing dorm rooms lack. These last two years in the dorms have taught us to create seating wherever possible. We both loved the idea of a cute window seat in our new living room. There are many pins on Pinterest showing easy, DIY window seats. There were many good ideas, from turning a bookshelf on its side to cider blocks with wood planks, we considered them all. But the easy, even cheaper, answer came to us one evening in Walmart.

Our beautiful thrifty window seat.

The ''bench'' is actually a $25 TV stand. It is the perfect height and we wouldn't want it any longer. The best part about this bench is that we actually got it for $15. The store was out of this bench so we were able to purchase the display, and therefore haggle on price a little bit. There is a small screw chip on the back but for ten bucks we don't care! After that the other pieces really fell into place.

This little chip saved us $10! Worth it? We think so!!

The adorable green basket was $4 at Goodwill. I wasn't lying about cheap, cute baskets, they're out there. All of the small pillows we sewed ourselves. Small squares of fabric can be bought at fabric stores, or in our case Walmart, for a dollar. Also a big bag of stuffing is $8 and lasted for several small pillows like these. In the dorms it was easy to recruit sewing helpers, everyone loves a fun project! Making pillows is much cheaper than buying the store ones. They are also very easy and fast to make. Trust us, make your throw pillows, you'll love them. We also added some fun extras to some like buttons and burlap strips. If you're like us, you will surprise yourself with your own creativity. Lastly the cushion, you can't have a window seat without a nice, comfy cushion. 

Reuse and repurpose anything possible!

We found an old twin mattress cushion at a thrift store for $6. We cut it up and were able to stack four layers of padding out or the one twin mattress pad. Then we sewed the shower curtain we used as a curtain our freshman year to the mattress pad. Shower curtains are not just for the shower. They have many great decorating uses, you just have to be creative. We love the pattern and we didn't have to purchase any fabric this way. Plus there is a ton left over for matching pillows! So the final thrifty run down for our window seat, $15 bench, $4 basket, roughly $8 in pillows, $6 in padding, and finally a free cover. So our final price for our beautiful combo...... $33!! Beat that Pinterest suggestions!

Favorite Hotspots

After thoroughly scoping out our local shops, we have developed our list of favorite places for deals, steals, and splurges. Target. What college girl doesn't love Target? Not only is it a good place for some cheap, cute clothes but decorating items too! Our motto on Target, never buy anything without the red discount sticker. If you wait long enough one is bound to appear on your sought after item, and if not a similar thing will come along soon enough. We have already returned everything we've purchased for full price. Sales are a necessity on a student budget.

Another store we frequent is Hobby Lobby. We both went there for the first time after signing our lease, not knowing exactly what to expect. The store was life changing. A couple of splurges have been purchased here. Every isle seems to have something absolutely adorable and therefore absolutely necessary. Most of the time now we walk around with our purses closed tight and looking for inspiration. A lot of the items here can be done yourself for much cheaper. Keeping that in mind it is easier to keep control of the number of purchases. Our Hobby Lobby tip: Never buy something that isn't 50% off. There is always multiple half off aisles and they simply rotate them. If there is an item that you just have to have, wait for that aisle to go on sale, it will. Also don't forget to check out our favorite 90% off aisle. It really exists and there are some amazing steals that live there. 

Don't forget to check you local Salvation Army, Goodwill, and other thrift stores. We find amazing things at these. Cool glass bottles, pretty mirrors, old scarves (which make great throw pillows--but more on that later), and really cheap baskets. The beauty of a thrift store is that you never know what you are going to find. Don't just look at something as what it is, but what you can make it to be. A little paint, burlap, or DIY coffee stain can go a long way! Never be afraid to completely re-purpose something, that old $6 crate could make a great shelf. 

Dollar stores, it's a love hate relationship. There are two kinds of dollar stores in this world. The real, true dollar stores, where everything is actually a dollar. These are a beautiful thing. Many good steals can be found at the dollar store. The other kind of dollar store, the liar store, is where there are more kinds of items but things are all priced differently. Don't neglect these stores, there are still good deals, but make sure you are never paying more than you have to. This brings me to our dollar store tip, be aware of the scams! There are many things at the dollar store that can be bought cheaper elsewhere. Just because its a dollar does not mean it is actually the best deal. Many things can be cheaper at Walmart. Especially be aware of this at the liar dollar stores. We only want steals not scams. 

Find your local antique stores, there will be the crazy over priced ones and then there will be the ones with fun, cute things us college kids can actually afford. Have a plan for your purchases. Odds are, if you find the right antique store, there is going to be a lot of things you like and want. Know what you can do with it before you buy it. Small college apartments have no room for excess. Some amazing antique stores have been the sight of several splurges for us. 

Other basic tips we've learned:

Never pay too much for a mirror. There are beautiful old mirrors at antique stores for cheap! New mirrors are crazy overpriced in comparison.

Baskets. Do not buy baskets at Target, Walmart, etc. Even if they are on sale they are not on sale compared to thrift stores or antique stores. Huge nice baskets can be $4 at these places, not $30. There are always cheap baskets to be found. 

And finally our best thrifty shopping tip..... Always wait out the sale! Never pay full price in the store, and even if it is on sale, it can always go on a bigger sale. Target marks down the sale items all the time. Wait for the crazy low price. If they are all gone before it gets there then that's money you don't have to spend. A better deal will come along. And its all about the deals right?!  

Project 1: The First of Many

We started small for our first project, which we admit to doing the night before we signed our lease, by trying to copy a key holder found on Pinterest. Once we signed our lease and got our keys we needed a cute place to hang them.

The Inspiration Pin

So we set off to Target! We purchased a discount frame, $6.00, and a pack of plain white screw hooks, $2.99, and created our masterpiece. With just some left over fabric, scissors, and a ruler this was the result.

Since we have used that one pack of white screw hooks in many of our projects the total for this one was just over six dollars. First Pinterest project done and we completely nailed it!

A Blank Canvas

We got the keys to our first two bedroom apartment and immediately turned to Pinterest for decorating inspiration. The main issue in our decorating is our tight college student budgets. We spend a lot of time in dollar stores, thrift shops, and antique stores trying to copy and upstage our Pinterest inspiration.

Always on the hunt for a good deal, and with the occasional splurge, our blank white apartment is starting to take on an adorable, and thrifty, shabby chic style.