Our $50 Decorating Challenge at Home Sense

We decided to do the “blogger thing”and try a $50 decorating challenge. Our mission: change up a small, but annoyingly dull, space in our home with $50 (or less). We shopped together and searched the shelves at Home Goods and Home Sense. (Oddly both stores are next to each other in the same shopping center!) One of us was successful in finding some cute and functional pieces to contain the clutter on her coffee table. The other one had more of a challenge with this “decorating challenge” and went over budget! (Plus, she had to make an extra trip to the store to decorate the buffet in her dining room.)

Here’s how it went…

Megan’s $50 Decorating Challenge

After the holidays my family room coffee table looked blah. When Christa suggested a $50 decorating challenge I knew immediately where I needed to focus. The coffee table is a large square map table, cool and unusual but truthfully at this point it’s well loved. It’s been a dance stage, sharpied, buffet table, game table – you get the picture. My friend Nicole gave me a MacKenzie Childs tray that I’ve had on the table for a while. I knew that would stay. Other than that I had some specific goals in mind: color cohesion, storage (hello clickers!), something fun and something green.

What Megan Purchased for the Decorating Challenge

As I wandered the aisles of Home Sense looking for inspiration I was easily distracted — that was my challenge in this “decorating challenge” (staying focused!). GIANT CLAMSHELL! So cool, but not for my traditional family room. I settled on a blue and white checkered box $19.99 (similar) that set the tone for the color palette. Plus, it solved my storage issue.

Wandering aimlessly for a while longer, I stumbled on a row of faux plants. I love this cute little topiary for $12.99 (similar). It had to be short enough to still see the TV. Once the blue color scheme emerged I knew I had a blue and white pitcher (similar) from a trip Italy that would be fun to mix in. My vision was coming together! But I needed one more thing to complete the vignette. This cool and functional match cloche was the perfect finishing piece – plus I already had it. All in at $32.98 so I stopped at Starbucks on my way home.

Megan’s Finished Look

---

Christa’s $50 Decorating Challenge

My dull space that I wanted to fix up was in my dining room on the buffet. I have two lamps there and that’s it. Boring! I had ordered a huge piece of wall art over the summer to hang there. Unfortunately when it arrived I wasn’t in love with it and didn’t have the heart to put a nail in my wallpaper! But for Christmas, I ordered a tabletop easel from Ballard Designs to display a holiday print. I love the little easel and it’s perfect to display a smaller piece of art year round without committing to a nail in the wall.

What Christa Purchased for the Decorating Challenge

My first trip with Megan was unsuccessful and I left empty handed. This truly was a “decorating challenge” for me! Maybe I was overthinking this? Maybe my vision for the space was too specific? My immediate response was to just purchase what I needed online. (That is where I buy EVERYTHING!) But I am happy to report that, after a second trip to Home Sense at the end of the week, things were clicking for me. I found exactly what I was looking for (but I did not stay under my $50 budget!). I came pretty close with what I found…and I spent A LOT less than I would have online. So glad I gave Home Sense one more try. (They must have restocked for the weekend shoppers.)

My vision was pretty simple:

• a tray (something decorative but functional) to hold our favorite wine/wine glasses/candle
• a new piece of art (for the standing table top easel I just purchased)
• a topiary or two for added greenery and texture.

I originally found this tray on Ballard designs that I loved for $139, but look at this find from Home Sense for only $29.99! (This tray came in several sizes – I also purchased a larger one for our basement bar.)

I loved this art from Crate and Barrel but the price was $249 and it was a little too big. I was thrilled when I discovered this hiding in the art section at Home Sense for only $39.99:

Christa’s Finished Look

To complete the decorating challenge, I added a preserved boxwood topiary I already had (I love to use these around the house to add a little greenery). This is the finished result. It’s definitely simple, but that’s what I like. So happy to have this space filled year round now! I can easily swap out the contents of the tray for holidays, too. It all feels like me, so I didn’t sacrifice my style when I shopped with a budget.

And…if you are keeping a tally, I spent just under $70 at Home Sense. Not too bad – and I love what I found! If I had gone with my online purchases it would have cost me almost $400. I’d say this one was a win!

Try your own decorating challenge in your home — it’s a great way to spruce up a small space!

For more decorating ideas, check out this post for some easy home projects we did and this page to shop our home decor favorites.

---

Do you have a spot in your house that needs a little refresh? Try a $50 decorating challenge and combine a few new items with treasured pieces you already own. You might be surprised by your results (or realize that you need a bigger budget, and that’s OK too!). Let us know if we can help you with ideas to execute your vision — we’re always happy for an excuse to go to shopping again!