Last week we posted a Questions box in Instagram stories, and one of the questions was “what do we splurge/save on?”. When I went to answer the question, it was so winded, that I thought it would be a fun blogpost! If anything, hopefully it gives you a fresh perspective on ways you can splurge/save to make your home a reflection of you!

First, let’s talk about what we splurge on…

Splurge

• Handmade Items
• Ceramics/Pottery
• One-of-a-Kind Pieces
• Found/Vintage Items
• Quality/Durable Furniture
• Quality Bedding & Textiles
• Original Art

When I look around at the pieces that fill our home, I would say the majority of the items we have splurged on were either vintage, one-of-a-kind/handmade items, pottery, our dining table and chairs, bedding… Now, this can be a bit of a subjective topic, splurge to us, might not be a splurge to you, and vise versa.

For example, the lamp above was around $600, and while I normally would never spend that amount of money on a table lamp, this was a one-of-a-kind piece made by one of my favorite ceramicists who I have supported for years and I aspired to own one of her lighting pieces ever since she launched her lighting collection. I will say, this lamp brings me immense joy every day when we turn it on.

Now, could you achieve that similar look for a lot less? Yes! But, the quality, craftsmanship, and uniqueness won’t be the same. But, if you would want to achieve that similar look, skip down to the SAVE category where I am sharing a budget-friendly option!

Another example of Splurge & Save is our dining room– we found our dining table on clearance and refinished it to the color we wanted. The chairs were a Splurge for us, even though there are many other options, like these, that are similar but almost twice as much. Our previous dining chairs haven’t help up with our two boys and we know the quality and durability of these will hold up!

And our console table was a Save, since it was a DIY!

Quality linen bedding and textiles like pillows I would consider another Splurge. We have tried linen bedding from here, which is a great budget-friendly option, but not as soft and doesn’t hold up as well after subsequent washes. We love our linen bedding sheets and bedding from here.

Pillows, I would consider another Splurge… again, also subjective since some of you may consider them a Save! There are many beautiful one-of-a-kind and vintage pillows from here, and here that I dream about, but can’t justify spending the money on. There are however, specific shops I do like to purchase beautiful quality pillows from like here, here, here, and foundation layering pillows here.

While we don’t yet own an original piece of art, we do support artist’s work by purchasing their original reproductions like we did from this artist and this artist. We aspire to soon own an original piece of art from this artist, and this artist. Original art is a timeless piece that will only enhance any design.

Save

• New Furniture like Beds or Sofas
• Accent Furniture – Shop Vintage
• Lamps
• Rugs
• Throws
• Artwork
• Mirrors

Remember the lamp I shared above that was a Splurge? Here is the Save option…

You could purchase this turned lamp, and this pleated lamp shade. (Keep in mind, as mentioned in this post, we spray painted the lamp neck/tube gold) OR you could purchase this gathered fabric lampshade for a custom English cottage look, like we plan on doing 😉

Another big Save?! Our Sofa… which we purchased from IKEA and is a bit more traditional than we like now with it’s rolled arms, BUT we are planning to purchase this sofa soon, except this time, we will purchase an upgraded linen slipcover from here for a high-end look.

Our bed was also a Save, since it is a DIY. It is one of the most asked about pieces in our home… we built the headboard, and then boxed in our box springs with four pieces of lumber… doesn’t get any easier than that!

Rugs are another Save… we love a good vintage rug as much as anyone, but paying hundreds instead of thousands just sounds better, right?! And this new rug collection is all the heart eyes- it has a vintage-inspired print and texture with distressing and a worn aesthetic to resemble the real thing! AND a 9×12 is less than $300!

Digital Art is another Save. Did you know we curated our own collection of art that you can shop here? One of our favorite pieces from the collection is below. We love framing art in vintage frames, you can find more about printing your art in this post.

Mirrors are also a Save. Almost all of our mirrors are vintage frames that we found locally and had a custom size mirror made at our local glass shop to fill the frame usually costing around $100 total for large mirrors.

Our Media Cabinet was another Save. Basically, if you haven’t noticed, we tend to Save on the larger furniture items (unless they are vintage), and then layer and style with quality or Splurge pieces for a high-end custom look reflective of our aesthetic.

Ok, this post could easily keep going and going, so if you have any questions, leave us a comment below! We hope this gave you a little bit of inspiration on how to Save vs Splurge in your own home! Happy Friday, friends!