stretching the $

Trying to furnish a house isn't cheap. I've been accumulating furniture pieces over the last few months, trying to buy them when they're on sale, shopping at markets, begging for discounts, etc. I've learned that more places than you think, negotiate on prices. I bought a dresser last week that was already marked down 40% because it was a floor model. I pointed out some surface level scratches and they waved the tax for me. Not a bad deal. A little TLC and it was as good as new. I learned last year (when we were selling our house), that if you rub a walnut into wood scratches, whether floor or furniture, you can barely see them. Our 1950's wood floor looked great after a bag of walnuts. Who would have thought?
Okay, back to my post. So since the bills are piling up and I still have rooms to furnish, I'm looking for every opportunity to cut corners. Here are some projects that have kept me busy the last couple of weeks.

This was Ben's old lamp from college. A little hot glue and flowers and viola, it's now on Addi's dresser. I may paint the base dark pink or off-white..any ideas?

This idea, I stole from Whitney. I found this closet door in Round Top for $5. It was pretty nasty. Ben asked why I was buying other people's junk. I painted it, added a cute door knob from Hobby Lobby and it now shows off Addi's art work.

I found this on Craig's List a few months ago. Who needs PotteryBarn when 3 cans of spray paint will do the trick.
Next on the agenda, some wicker chairs that I bought from a garage sale last week...