For Deneen from Dreaming in Color (and the rest of us!), saving $2,000 is always a great way to start a project. Deneen saved some cash by turning a birdcage she already owned into a chandelier that’s reminiscent of a beauty from Restoration Hardware. Deneen went with a “bright and charming” coral color that’s a perfect fit for her revamped living room and says her favorite part of the birdcage-turned-chandelier is “how it illuminates on the wall at night showing texture and pattern.”

Now I am not ready to say sayonara to summer yet, but the weather in Indy this week has been screaming fall. Cool, breezy day like these can’t help but make you think of apple picking and pumpkins. Living on a Caribbean island, Karah from The Space Between does not have the luxury of having a real pumpkin since they rot before you even leave the grocery store. Instead, Karah turned palm fronds leaves into a natural and unique pumpkin that comes aglow with a strand of Christmas lights.

Heather from Southern State of Mind loves Jonathan Adler’s “chic-meets-cheeky-meets-trendy-meets-vintage” style and was immediately smitten with his signature needlepoint pillows. Instead of dishing out $125 or taking up needlepointing, Heather turned to her old faithful friend paint to make a modern monogrammed pillow. All it cost Heather was 30 minutes of her time since she already had all the materials on hand.

It’s always amazing how a little rope can totally change the look of something and instantly infuse it with a nautical feel. Krista from The Happy Housie took a lamp she had purchased at Wal-mart a couple of years ago, glued a paper roll to the base to thicken it, and then wrapped it with sisal rope attached with some hot glue. It gave the lamp an upgraded nautical look that fits perfectly in her son’s new nautical camp style bedroom.

The crafty ladies over at LollyJane were inspired to liven up a set of plain white bowls using DecoArt’s line of glass paint. The markers made it a cinch to freehand the designs onto the girls’ thrifted Corelle bowls, and the pretty color selection just added to the fun! Kristi says, “Of course it’s not perfect but it sure is more fun displayed in my turquoise hutch than 3 boring white bowls, right?”