Lindsay Ballard, Author at Makely

As I’ve gone through the process of transforming my home from my previous, more neutral style to my current bright and fun style, my dining room has always been sort of a problem. I have other rooms that need more attention, so I’ve just sort of left it alone, piecing together things here or there to give it some personality. It’s become more or less an after thought. Since I’ve not dedicated my time to fully redoing this room, I’ve never wanted to spend much money in there. Like most people, I’m on a budget.

Since I am on a budget, one of my go-to stores for discount decor has always been Tuesday Morning (remember when I talked about my bedroom?). I think they have really great products for the home at lower prices than I find elsewhere. Today, I’m partnering with them to give you some strategies for refreshing your dining room decor on a budget. And guess what? There is no DIY involved.

Before we get started with the strategies, I thought I’d share before and after shots with you. I think that will make it easier to understand my thought processes. Here is the before:

It looks nice, but it doesn’t coordinate very well. The rug, which was previously in my living room, is too large for the space. The books in the china cabinet was a fun idea that I’ve grown tired of. I also think that the centerpiece on the table is overwhelming.

Now, here are the after shots with all of my budget-wise changes:

I’m so much happier with this look! I think it coordinates better with the rest of my home.

So, how can you do an easy, budget-friendly dining room refresh like this in your own home? Follow along for some simple strategies….

When Tom and I got married, we entered our union with some decorating baggage. I came into the relationship with a 1990s-style overstuffed beige sofa and love seat (Yes! Beige. Me!) that my cat had loved a little too much. Tom came in with black leather and chrome recliners and a stereo system that had no less than 10 components. Hello, Bachelor Pad!

I knew that it would be easy to get rid of his chairs and my sofas once we had enough money to replace them. But, the stereo system was another story. Until we met, it was his baby, so I knew it was going nowhere. He set it up in his light wood and chrome media stand (another pre-Lindsay purchase), and I just lived with looking at it for several years.

Then, Baby Zack came along.

Within days of Zack learning to walk, he moseyed over to the speakers and ripped the covers off of them. Tom realized that having his big stereo system out where our dear baby could destroy it was a bad idea. So, we went out and bought a nice wooden media cabinet with a glass door. I think it may have been the first piece of furniture that we bought together.

That media cabinet ended up being my first foray into a type of decorating now referred to as #Techoration. Basically, #Techoration is the idea that we can design and decorate around our items like televisions, speakers, and gaming systems instead of just living with looking at them all the time.

Since we bought that media cabinet, my thoughts on techorating have evolved past adding furniture pieces directly intended to house media components. You may have seen shots of my kids’ playroom, which was the first spot that I started actively decorating around our technology. I wanted to make this space a place that served more function than just a playroom, so a TV was a necessary evil.

I really don’t mind the look of a black, flat screen TV. I know a lot of people like to frame them or hide them behind cabinet doors, and those are definitely valid things to do in a room. Instead, I prefer to have a good looking piece of technology that blends into my furnishings.

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How to Refresh Your Dining Room Decor on a Budget {and a Tuesday Morning Giveaway}

Techorate your Space