Happy Friday Favorites!

We hope you all didn’t miss our favorites post too much last week and were enjoying a nice 4th of July weekend! We were busy getting stuff done around the house and waiting for the sunshine! It feels like it has rained for a month straight around Knoxville. In fact, we’ve had more rainfall so far this year than Seattle! Sure makes it difficult for a new homeowner to get any yard work done, but we’ve managed to stay busy inside.

Because we’ve been so focused on house projects, DIY, decorating and furnishing our new home lately, this post focuses on some of our favorite places, stores, blogs, etc that have helped us do those things on a budget!

1. HomeGoods (and TJMaxx). I. Love. This. Store. I browse there practically once a week because the items they stock change so quickly. Good pieces get snatched up within a day, so you’ve always got to have a watchful eye in order to snag them.

2. Fig and Company. This is a boutique local to Knoxville. I use the word “boutique” lightly here because that often implies expensive and while some of their stuff is pricey (well, for me), they carry a lot that is really affordable, especially for what you are getting, which is quality. It is owned by an interior decorator with a great eye. He carries e dry thing from furniture to lighting to artwork and accessories. A lot of it is custom made or refinished. He’ll find old solid wood pieces and turn it into a beautiful, unique item you won’t see anywhere else. They also do custom work like turning old wooden doors into head boards.

3. Missy’s Treasures. Another local gem found in Powell, TN just past Thress’ nursery. Missy sources unique furniture and repaints most of it with chalk paint, some of it she distresses and some of it she doesn’t. What I love about her store? She has GREAT prices because she moves what she gets so quickly out of her small space and she posts pictures of most things she gets in on her Facebook page. I love that aspect because I cannot regularly make it out to Powell. Here are the pieces I’ve bought from her so far:

4. Pinterest. I know, I know, everybody knows about Pinterest already. But I have found it invaluable for pinning diy ideas from websites and bloggers so that I can come back to them later when I’m ready to tackle. It is also great for finding paint colors without just staring at the wall of paint swatches for hours.

5. Young House Love. I only discovered the Petersik’s blog a few months ago, but I am hooked, line and sinker. They are a young couple, about our age, with a daughter and a dog named Burger, and they write about fighting tackling their way through life one DIY project at a time. With instructions, experiences, experiments, failures and successes to boot (Oh and big fat smiles on their faces). I am always in awe of how quickly they can turn drab into fab. I am also in awe of how they’ve managed to both quit their “day jobs” to be at home blogging full-time. Kudos, kudos.

6. Joss and Main. While they don’t always have the best prices on everything, they do occasionally have events with just what you are looking for at a way better price than you’ve found anywhere else. How it works is that they have shopping events for a type of decor, a designer, a brand, etc that last for a set number of days. If you order one item, then you get free shipping for the next 30 days.

7. Home Decorators Collection. Owned by Home Depot, they will surprise you with the items they carry and the prices. They’ll have similar stuff to Pier 1 or Restoration Hardware, but usually less expensive. They frequently offer free shipping and discounts. We snagged this file cabinet on sale (20% off) and free shipping! We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and sturdiness of it too.

8. Houzz. Just because I like to browse stare at the pretty pictures and fantasize about my house looking like that one day. 🙂

Where do you like to shop for home goods? Do you have tips for a newbie diyer? We would love to hear from you!