brannikj's Profile

Great job for a first place. I think it's easy for people to forget how much it costs to completely furnish an apartment/condo/whatever from scratch -- especially when you're young, fresh out of school and, if you're like many of us, loaded with loan debt and not raking in the big bucks just yet.

Thanks to everyone who offered budget-friendly suggestions. (this is the question-poster, btw). As someone who's just out of undergrad and up to her - and husband's - ears in student/car loan debt, it's tough to design on a dime. It's even tougher when living in one of those massive corporate-built communities with 100-200 apartments per property and about 10 times more rules! For pete's sake, we can't even move the TV because we can't relocate the cable drop.

That's why we appreciate AT's creative community. Love the idea of spraypainting the chairs and we've already lowered and leveled the artwork and centered the dinette set a bit more. We're also thinking of maybe looking into some wall-mounted tapers or hurricane sconces to add depth on either side of the canvases since we can't do anything about the overhead lights. A chandelier is a far-off dream for the home we hope to one day own...

In the meantime, we like the PB tapers/sconces(http://www.potterybarn.com/shop/accessories-decor/vases-candlelight/candleholders/index.cfm?cm%5Ftype=lnav) but it looks like they're pretty pricey for us and most are on backorder.

Great suggestion on painting the chairs. What kind/brand would you recommend?