that's what you call a budget?

A few days ago I read the article Furnishing with style on a budget on sfgate.com by Anh-Mihn Le. Having to be quite budget conscious myself I was excited to read the article, that was until I discovered the budget was $4,500. The story covers Theresa Gonzalez, a woman with a creative professional background who has finally moved on from furnished sublets into her own unfurnished 500 square-foot apartment in Pacific Heights (helps explains how an apartment budget could be $4,500). Being a visual person I was quickly drawn to the photos accompanying the story and away from the fact that my budget falls far below Theresa's and I'm glad that happened.

Along with before and after photos are cost breakdowns for each of the main rooms. Since I was drawn to a few of the pieces she had selected I drawn to reading the breakdowns. I soon discovered that overall she'd done a wonderful job on what actually was a pretty decent budget, having splurged in a few places, specifically on textiles, that anyone else on a tighter budget could easy make changes to. Here are the breakdowns for each of the main rooms as well as some good after photos.

living room budget breakdown

living room after

In the living room the biggest but most worthy splurge was her Roosevelt sofa from Therapy for $1380. I'm all for spending a little more on a quality sofa so you aren't busting your budget by having to replace it within the next 6 to 12 months. The rest of her furnishings were actually quite reasonably priced and she made the wise decision to attempt to recover her $7 Salvation Army armchair herself instead of forking out $900 just for the reupholstering labor. The few spots that someone could really save a bit more on the budget was on the fabrics selected for the window treatments and floor pillows, toss pillows and the Adler lamp. Looking for other options? My suggestions are: a) more affordable fabrics from discount fabric stores, b) keeping your eyes peeled for unique pillows from stores such as IKEA, TJ Maxx or Marshalls, and c) thrift store table lamp with a fresh coat of white spray paint to update it.

bedroom budget breakdown

bedroom after

I think the bedroom was a bit of a budget buster too in terms of textiles as well. Almost half the budget was spent of textiles and bedding. Looking to save some money, don't spend $300 on a duvet cover and Euro shams. Trust me, I'd love a George Nelson saucer lamp, but when you are working on a budget I'm sure you can find something a bit more affordable than $329 that gives a similar feeling. I do love the fact that she customized her IKEA dresser find with some unique knobs from Anthropolgie.

kitchen budget breakdown

kitchen after

Lucky for her, Theresa was allowed to wallpaper a wall in her kitchen and even luckier she already had the Orla Kiely paper laying around from a previous project. She kept it nice and simple with some new cabinet handles, white shelving and cutlery holders, all from IKEA (I love the ASKER series!) . So overall she was able to make a big difference on $51 in her tiny, white kitchen.

bathroom budget breakdown

bathroom after

In her bathroom her biggest budget-friendly impact was made with the wall color. She added visually pleasing storage and shelving (again IKEA... I believe the article is incorrect saying that it is EBKY TONY since that shelf requires a bracket, therefore I believe it is the LACK floating shelf).

Overall, I do think that she created a cozy, cohesive space on what could be a bit more wallet-friendly budget with a few tweaks here and there. What are your favorite spots for budget-mindful find?

all photos courtesy of sfgate.com