What "Thrifty" Can Look Like

I just wanted to post some photos of some thrifty finds and uses of stuff I was given from family.

A few years ago, my husband's aunt and uncle remodeled their kitchen. Their old cabinets were taken down, and given to us to use! It transformed our home. Finally, the living room, the room we spend all our time in, is usable!

Doesn't this look better than the first photo? I love that all that "stuff" is hidden behind these great cabinets. The small above-refrigerator-cabinet completes the computer desk alcove AND makes a neat place to display some decorative sail boats the kids have made. These boats even fit within the nautical theme of the room.

By thinking outside the box, we were able to add lots of storage from recycled items. To have built this new would have cost us $Thousand$ of dollars! Our cash outlay was $50 for a new piece of maple plywood that serves as the top of the lower cabinets. I already had the polyurethane to finish it and Voila! We cut it to size, laid it over the cabinets, and started moving the stuff in!

The first photo shows just what we are able to store in these solid maple beauties! We've got all the cookbooks, children's books, Cd's, and kitchen overflow items in the upper cabinets with the computer desktop, printer, and further computer paraphernalia in the lower cabinet, that at one time served as a sink cabinet. My husband's aunt and uncle didn't even recognize them!

Even the desk and chairs are thrift finds. The desk was given to us by my husband's workplace when they moved offices. The office chair was a $10 find at an auction. The lamp? One of a pair at a thrift store.

So, what do you think? I think thrifty is good.