Thrifty, Practical Decorating

One of my favorite things I’ve made a priority in my home is what I’ve decided to call “practical decorating”. I’ve been doing it for years without really giving it a name, but after thinking it over and looking around my home for something worthy of adorning the pages of this blog, I began to see a theme throughout each room. Everything has a purpose. Everything is useful AND beautiful (to me at least). Here are some of my favorite examples of practical decorating from my own home:

We inherited some beautiful aprons from my husband's grandmother and I really wanted them to be visible as well as accessible because we use them almost daily. So, I hung them right on open hooks in the kitchen. They’re easily accessible, and add a beautiful pop of color to my kitchen! With aprons as vibrant as these, there is simply no reason to stash them away in a drawer or behind a pantry door. 

I actually first saw this idea in the IKEA showroom, but I love how it translates to my kitchen. My cookbooks sit on open shelves on the walls. They serve dual purpose as decor and once again, are easily accessible for every day use. Cookbooks for me, are much more than a practical tool but also sentimental. Gifts given to me by my grandmother and mother, and I love how I'm reminded of these things as I glance around the most common room in the house. 

Here’s another one of my favorites. I found a mail holder at a thrift shop, washed it, and hung it in my kitchen and use it to store produce. It’s once again, super convenient and adds the perfect pop of color! Plus, as a bonus, it frees up counter space since now all my fruit and veggies hang on the wall! 

Another one of my favorite things to display is art work from my very own littles. These are pieces my two oldest did in Preschool and Kindergarten. They each created their own versions of Van Gogh’s “Vase of 15 sunflowers”. I absolutely adore these pieces and they also adorn the walls of my kitchen! I love when the pieces on my wall have a good story to go behind them!

Jumping over to the master bath-I needed a simple storage idea for our wash rags. I found this adorable basket last year, and right away had the idea to hang it on the wall. Practical, and adorable! 

Another option I use a lot, is I decorate with pictures of my family. I have these three photos of my babies, all in mismatched frames, hung at the end of our hallway to our bedrooms. There’s nothing more important to me than my family, so it’s the perfect choice to look at and remember their younger years every time I walk down the hall! I've also never had professional pictures of our family taken. Ever. So, don't be scared off if you feel like you don't have "good enough" pictures to display. Some of the best pictures are those candid's that really express the love between your family! 

Back to the kitchen- I found these old cooking magazines at a garage sale a couple years ago, ripped out a page I found to be nostalgic and complimentary to my kitchen. I framed the magazine page and hung it next to the big windows in my kitchen. This is a super cheap option and so unique! 

When decorating, one of the first things I think about is purpose. I want it to work well with every day life. I also don't want a bunch of items sitting around getting in the way. Simplicity and practicality are probably the best ways to describe my style. Of course with a pop of color here and there! ;) Let me know your favorite ways to decorate with functionality!