Journals have been flying off my shelves and right under so many Christmas trees. It’s an incredible experience to build all of these holiday packages for all of you! My work comes with a lot of chaos and noise. There isn’t much silence.

But right now in the early morning? There is silence.

I walk around the perimeter of the hangar. I see evidence of the progress Martin is making with remodeling our future home in the back of the building. I haven’t been much help to him; I am processing journal orders as he’s making all these changes. I’m finalizing Christmas plans and wrapping gifts for the people we love. As a small handmade business owner, I want to give our dollars to other small and handmade businesses. I want to be a link in that chain. This year, I think we did that.

This year, I think we’ve done so much. I think you and I have shared so much.

My parents sold their house last weekend. The house was much too big for two people. It was a very exciting but equally sad time for us all. Saying goodbye to your childhood home is always like that. I think of all the different corners of the house and all the memories I have.

There was the first time Martin called me; I was playing Christmas songs on the piano as my mom and sister sat on the couch behind me. There was the day my brother handed me my new niece last Christmas in the kitchen. And before all of that, there was posing for First Day of School photos when it was so smokey from forest fires that we couldn’t even see the mountains right behind us.

There was packing for summer camp and throwing socks at the living room fan when my sister and I were supposed to be folding laundry. There was learning how do to laundry. There was my dad and me at the table with a plastic blue filing box for organizing and picking which college I wanted to go to, and my mom making me use an electric typewriter to fill out all my scholarship applications. There was learning how to play chess in the basement at 3:00 am on Christmas when my brother and I couldn’t sleep. There was our beloved cat who drank from the Christmas tree stand and liked to sit on the lap of whoever was at the computer.

There was joy.

In so many ways, I feel myself shutting doors to one home while preparing to open the doors of a new, unconventional home. And again, it’s so sad but so exciting.

The incredible thing about home is that it really has nothing to do with the building. It’s all about the people. A home is just the setting for all the stories of our lives. You don’t need a perfect home to have a good life. You just need good people that you love and a passion to live.

One of my greatest goals isn’t for business. It’s for home. I want to create a home that is welcoming for all our friends and family… the way my parents have always done.

The Montana cold is making my toes curl. I finally put my hand on the frozen metal doorknob and open the hangar door. I step into the chaos of remodeling and stomp the snow off my feet. I inhale the warmer air. And I wonder: what are the memories we will be making in this home? What are the moments we will write in our hearts?

I’ll be honest; two months ago, I had no idea how much furniture cost in the US.  I started fearing that Martin and I would be using cardboard file boxes for tables.  Then I saw Jane’s living room…. Jane’s $750 living room.  I just had to know…

Jane, how on earth do you affordably furnish your house with old stuff and make it look so cool?

Hi everyone! I’m Jane from The Borrowed Abode, where I blog about decorating my rental home on a small budget, and starting my own business. One of my favorite ways to decorate thriftily is to work with thrifted, vintage, and sometimes straight-up-free furniture when possible while only welcoming pieces that I truly love into my home.

I’m so flattered that Katie trusted me to share some of my tips on decorating with second-hand furniture. In fact, I bet it’s perfect timing, since she’s working on her exciting airplane hangar-turned-apartment renovation project! (Hmm. I wonder if she’ll find any fun vintage furniture while cleaning out the space?)

To me, the best parts of decorating with vintage and thrifted furniture are the stories that accompany each addition.

My boyfriend and I have been furnishing our home for the last year and a half, and I’m amazed to look around and see that almost everything in our house has a story behind it – and by story I don’t mean “we drove to Macy’s and bought this couch brand new.”

Our furniture stories are more like “Oh, I remember this lamp. We found it in that cute little town in New Hampshire, right after we had that tasty breakfast at the old Mill, and before we went on the hike up that mountain.” Or Ryan would say “Oh, I remember this chair. Jane made me help her carry it home from the neighbor’s garbage pile, and it was 100 degrees out that day.”

I just love the memories that we are bringing into our home – both the serious and silly ones. And chances are, if you’re already a regular reader of Making This Home, then you’re probably interested in saving some money, respecting the environment, and embracing a good story. So let’s see how you can do all that while furnishing your home!

First, let’s start with the most important part. Why buy used?

• It saves you money!
• It’s often better for the environment!
• It’s not made with the sketchy and ethically questionable labor situations that run rampant overseas. (FYI, even some of the “fancy” furniture stores sell furniture made overseas.)
• Vintage pieces especially are often sturdier, constructed of solid wood, and just much more durable.

Example: None of the furniture in my living room (below) was bought new – that’s how we managed to create this space for less than $750. While that’s still a lot of money (to me, at least), it was totally doable over the course of a year or two.

Where do you find *good* used furniture, without paying an arm and a leg for an antique?

• Unless you live in a very remote area, Craigslist is your BFF. If I’m looking for a specific item, I usually start here. And if you use the CraigsEasy tool, it’s super easy to view large photos right there in your search results. No extra clicking necessary. :)
• Thrift stores! If the first store or two that you try doesn’t seem to have much furniture, don’t give up! Try a few more, becuase you’ll find that some locations have more furniture, while others are focused primarily on clothes. And don’t just go to the major Goodwill and Salvation Army stores – look on Yelp.com or just plain Google to find the smaller, lesser-known shops. They’re often run as fundraisers for your local humane society, rotary club, or other community organization.
• Yard Sales can provide killer bargains on used furniture, because people are decluttering and don’t want to lug leftovers back into their house after the sale. We found an amazing mid-century modern coffee table for about $10 at one, just by doing an accidental drive-by.
• Consignment furniture stores usually offer up furniture with less wear and tear, and from very high quality makers, but of course you’ll pay the price. However, you will still save a bundle compared to what a high-quality piece would cost new!
• Curbside Trash Picking! Probably the most controversial of all my tips, it’s one of my personal favorites. It can be one of the thriftiest and most fun ways to furnish a room! In our town (and many others around us) it’s common for people to put their unwanted bulk items (furniture, etc) on the curb. Technically, the city comes around with a truck once in a while and picks the trash up – but usually all the good stuff (and stuff with potential to be made good) is picked up by people looking to give the items a new home.

Example: We found this sweet mid-century modern stereo cabinet / storage unit this way, and are planning on refinishing it as a wedding gift for our good friends.

When shopping for thrifted/secondhand/vintage furniture:

1. Take your time. You’ll often find “good deals” on furniture at the venues mentioned above – but if it’s not a piece that you need for your home, or it’s not really your style, don’t get it “just because it’s such a good deal.” If I could go back in time about 10 years and tell myself this, it would really have helped my budget!
2. To avoid making the above mistakes, before you shop – Prioritize! What pieces do you need most in your house? It helps to keep a short list in your purse or wallet, specifying what pieces you are looking for (along with measurements of what will fit your space), or what storage/decorating challenges you need to tackle. This way you can make sure you leave the shop with only what you need!
3. Seek out the lesser known thrift stores – Goodwill and Salvation Army are great, but most places have smaller, independent stores – often run by charities such as the Lyons Club or the local animal welfare organization. These often have lesser-known furniture stashes, and while their selection may be smaller, they often yield top-notch results!
4. Consider what imperfections you can deal with. If you’re a DIYer, then you can fix up just about any item. If you’re not a DIYer then it may take you longer to find just what you need, but it’s still totally feasible.
5. Before you dish out the dough for the furniture, always make sure to inspect its condition. I learned this the hard way, when I failed to inspect the underside of an item until we were loading it into the car. We’d have asked for a lower price if we’d seen the cracks in the base before purchase.
6. Psst: In all of the venues listed above, you can usually negotiate and save even more money.

Example: By taking my time and knowing exactly what I wanted in a living room sofa, I was able to get this $1600 Crate and Barrel sofa used on Craigslist for only $300. Why? Because there’s a hole in the upholstery on one arm. I simply covered it with a cozy throw blanket. Perfect!

I’ve got the used furniture, now what do I do with it?

Before you bring your sweet scores into your home, take these steps to ensure no “unwanted guests” sneak into your home with the furniture. Go with your gut. If the home or store you found your treasures in seemed clean and well cared-for, then a simple vacuuming or dusting once you bring the furniture home should suffice. But if you found old, grungy, upholstered furniture on the side of the road, here’s what to do before bringing it inside your home (or shortly after):

• Take photos of every angle. This way you’ll have a record of how it looked if / when you (or a professional) want to reupholster it.
• Strip every bit of upholstery off, leaving you with the wood frame (and maybe springs). This way, you ensure you’ve removed any of the materials that may have been harboring pests.
• Wipe it down with a damp rag and maybe some cleaning spray, depending on how dusty and dirty the frame is.

What’s the best type of used furniture to buy?

• Dressers, bookshelves, desks, tables, china cabinets - these are some of the best pieces to buy. And if you need more storage in room (like a living room), dressers or credenzas are the easiest way to add it. Just make it your own (with paint, hardware, or new varnish – see below) and then use it as a TV stand/ entertainment center or pop it behind your sofa as a “sofa table.” The drawers and hidden shelves in dressers and credenzas offer killer hidden storage space!

What should you [probably] avoid buying used?

• Mattresses and box springs: I know some may disagree with me, but for sanitary reasons I’d probably never buy these used. Especially with the bedbug situations these days. (If you’re on a very low budget, 5″ upholstery foam makes a great affordable mattress. I know this because I put the foam over a piece of plywood on cinder-block legs for my bed in my first apartment.)
• Baby cribs: I don’t have kids, but when I do, I’ll spend whatever it takes to get a safe, sturdy new crib and mattress for my baby. So many older cribs have been recalled for safety issues – so I wouldn’t want to take a chance.

How can you make the secondhand furniture work in your house?

• New Hardware: If the wood finish is in good shape, but the hardware makes it look dated, considering switching out the hardware. Changing from old brassy drawer pulls to sleek chrome modern knobs can make a world of difference.
• New Wood Stain: If the wood finish is the wrong color, but the piece is solid wood, you can refinish it to a darker or lighter stain.
• Paint: When all else fails, paint can transform anything! If you like to keep things simple, a white or cream color works wonders. But I am really loving all the brightly colored pieces I’m seeing around the blogosphere right now. I just need to find a good candidate to paint green or orange for my house. ;)

Need inspiration? Searching for “painted furniture” on Pinterest will yield boatloads of inspiration. I’m constantly amazed at how ugly old dressers and desks can be utterly transformed with a fun coat of paint! For tutorials on painting old furniture, Kate at Centsational Girl is my go-to blogger. She’s got a slew of great info and tutorials on her blog. One of my favorite examples is this $40 office credenza that she transformed with a few coats of paint and new hardware.

Kate at Centsational Girl transformed this $40 thrift store piece with new hardware and a few coats of paint!

In the end, furnishing your home with a mix of vintage and thrifted furnishings may take a bit longer and require a bit more elbow grease, but in the end I think it’s absolutely worth it! Not only is older furniture often more sturdy and durable, it will save you a ton of money and provide you with memories that last a lifetime.

Now it’s your turn.  Any awesome old finds at your house?  How about the dream of some?

And a huge thank you to Miss Jane!

Here’s Christine to share her home…

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This story starts with a bed. It’s a big bed, bought to assuage my big ego not long after I got my first grown-up job and thought debt was something everyone lived with. I figured my first grown-up apartment deserved a big bed — I deserved a big bed.

Not too much later, the U.S. economy tanked, my husband and I changed jobs, and we moved to a smaller apartment over an hour away. That’s when we realized the big bed was a huge mistake.

Why? Because we had to lay out our new apartment according to our bed’s needs. The biggest, most well-lit room obviously held our impressive bed. It was front and center, smack dab in the middle of everything (including the walkway through the room). We had a lot of wasted space making sure that bed was well taken care of.

Thank goodness something clicked and we realized that our bed could survive in a small, dark room just as easily as it could in a big, beautiful room. We moved things around so that the big, beautiful bedroom room became our living room and the office became our bedroom; our living space doubled as our bedroom space was cut in half.

Despite the lack of space, the bedroom is cozy and feels like a cottage — like I’m on vacation when I’m in there. I now use it as an actual space to hang out and relax, instead of just a room that I sleep in. We keep it cleaner than we might have otherwise (well, in theory), simply because we like that cottagey feeling. We play cards in there at night, snuggle the puppy, have tickle fights.

The neatest revelation of all is that since the bedroom is so small, I get sick of it easily. Yes, I really am in love with not being in love with my bedroom. I’m more likely to get outside because the bedroom is tiny and I can’t spend all of my time there. Now I get my space and sunlight from the outdoors instead of from my house. It’s funny how small spaces make you do that.

Since learning to live in a small bedroom, Mr. Savvy and I have figured out that we can live in a small apartment.

We’re looking forward to moving someplace smaller, saving some money on rent, and downsizing our lives. All this from a bed!

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Huge thanks to Christine.  Don’t you just love her honesty about accepting that she is not in love with her space… and that makes her happier?!  Soo inspiring.

Is there something in your home that you thought you had to have?  And has the discovery that you don’t have to have it changed your perspective on home?

Catch more readers’ small and simple space tours, and I hope to hear from you next to share your love for a simpler space.

Mike Reynolds, the man who designed tire house living (like our own tire house) is helping Haiti rebuild their country.  He’s the gray-haired man in the center of the photo above.

The earthships in Haiti are made from old tires, cardboard, bottles, Styrofoam, and all sorts of other “junk”.  Isn’t that just perfect?  In a land so badly destroyed, they’re salvaging the scraps.  Reynolds and his crew aren’t just surveying the area and drawing up plans.  They’re rolling up their sleeves and HELPING.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal that my dad discovered, Reynolds said that before he went to Haiti earlier this month, “There was nothing but tents, nothing but cleanup.”

Local people are teaming up to construct these crazy, awesome homes.  Following the earthship mission, the houses will be self-sustaining, generating their own energy and collecting rainwater.  The one above is made from 120 tires – and get this:  it’s just 120 square feet big.  I know how small that is by our standards.  But imagine how beautiful it must be to have a home when yours was lost.

The plan is to build a small village of earthships.

How do you give your talents to the world?  Do you volunteer locally or try to send relief to places like Haiti?  Every little bit helps, because after all if you help a man build good things, he can turn around and build more goodness.

(Photo & info from The WSJ)

Our home for the summer is made out of old, discarded tires.  And in case there is any confusion about this fact when guests come to visit, here’s the front door:

Tire houses are officially called Earthships.  They are designed with natural materials from the area (such as stones from the valley) and hundreds of recycled tires.  You don’t know how many tread patterns there are on tires until they make up your walls!

The tires on the inside of the house are covered with stucco.  Shall we walk in and take a peek?

There’s one of our interior walls right there.  See the tire trim on the bottom?  That cracks me up every day!  The reason the whole house doesn’t have four complete walls in each room is to take advantage of passive solar heat.  The fourth wall is a canvas curtain.  The roof angles just right so that the house gets all the sun in the world in the winter.  The stucco walls absorb the warm sunlight, so then at night, the house retains a lot of the warmth.  The high summer sun barely enters the house.

Here’s the view if we turn to the left a little.

Tire houses are meant to be self-sufficient.  That’s why there’s this huge strip of garden along the whole house.  Right now, the garden is only a huge, thick row of aloe… which came in pretty handy as our skin adjusted to the sunny Rocky Mountains after a winter in Germany with no sun to speak of.

We’re learning a lot about country life out here, and we really find ourselves thinking a lot about sustainability and the things that matter to us.  There’s no going out to eat around here.  Just getting to the mailbox is a mini journey.  It’s hard to remember that we were just calling a city of 3.5 million people our home – where you could hear and see people at every moment you stepped outside.  Here when you see someone – anyone – you always wave or tip your hat.

The house doesn’t have a lot of windows that open, which is a very good thing since the house is built into the ground.  Mice literally just hop into the house if you leave the window open.  Martin’s in front of the only window (besides skylights in every room).  Instead the house uses air exchangers that swap outside air with inside air via an underground pipe.  That underground pipe either helps cool the air or warm it naturally depending on the time of year.

We bake our own bread.  Neighbors kindly give us some fresh produce, and when we do drive into town, we always make sure it’s during the farmer’s market.  We are on a well here, so we think it’s super important to avoid spraying weeds and we use eco-products like dish soap and laundry soap.  (Right now, we’re loving soap nuts.)

Those of you who have been joining us on Making This Home for a while might recall the Earthship Tour I gave of this house last summer.  That post contains a lot more Tire House facts and history.  We rented the home then, too.  Ever since, the tire jokes just seem to roll right out of everyone’s mouths!

The absolute best thing about living in a house made out of recycled tires?  Well that’s easy:

The views, the neighbors, and the big hearts.  These two arrived just in time for dinner.  Apparently they like farmer’s market spinach, too!

What do you love about where you live?  Any tire house takers out there?

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Two months after Drew and I got married we moved to Aix-en-Provence, France. We were there for a year- I was there to study and Drew had found a job teaching English in a local elementary school. As moving abroad has its challenges, it definitely wasn’t the yearlong “honeymoon fairytale” that we had dreamt it would be, but it was surely memorable!

One of the most memorable parts of our year in France was the little (about 400 sq ft) loft apartment that we called home. We found the apartment online before our arrival in France. After a brief email exchange with the landlord, who supplied us with photos of the place, we signed a one-year contract and crossed our fingers that everything would turn out OK.

As if that wasn’t pushing our boundaries enough, we took things a step further… In order to save ourselves a ton of foreign wire fees with our bank, and as we were able to negotiate a nice discount in the rent by doing so, we ended up paying for the entire year’s worth of rent up front. Sight unseen.

It was a huge leap of faith. (And, in hindsight, probably not the best decision- but we were young and on a tight budget and it seemed like a good idea at the time.)

For the most part, the apartment met and exceeded all of our expectations- it was in a great location, had huge shutters (that really worked!), and it was decorated in a very charming Provençal style. The perfect little home for a newlywed couple.

There was one thing, however, that turned out to be a huge, not-so-perfect, surprise for us… the height of the ceilings. My husband Drew is tall- 6’4” to be exact, and I’m not too short myself, measuring in at 5’9”. So when we walked into the apartment for the first time and realized that the ceilings in the majority the place (basically in every room but the living room) were shorter than either of us stood, we were presented with a unique challenge.

I won’t lie- it was frustrating at first- heads were bumped many times and tears were shed. But instead of pouting, sulking and letting it ruin our home, we learned to adapt and to laugh about it.

We bought a plastic stool for our bathroom so we could sit as we showered, made good use of a rolling chair to get around the office / bedroom loft area, and, we discovered a new way of cooking by sitting on a stool as we mixed, sautéed and grilled.

After a while we got so used to the various ceiling heights that we forgot about the fact that we were constantly ducking and swatting as we went from room to room. It almost became a little dance. Squat-Duck-Sit-Stand-Squat-Duck-Sit.

In the end it was a unique experience that we still look back at it with fond memories and a few giggles. We learned a lot from living there and grew a lot as people from the things we learned.

I’ll leave you by sharing a few of the life lessons our apartment in France taught us…

Takes Chances –You are stronger than you realize- don’t be afraid to push your own boundaries and expand your comfort zone.

Make Mistakes. Embrace new experiences and all the challenges that come with them. When things go wrong (remember our low ceilings?) take a moment to acknowledge it and be upset; then, find the laugher in the situation, pick yourself up, and move on.

Enjoy the Moment. Over analyzing the past, or worrying too much about the future can cause you to miss out on the present. Focus on taking things one step at a time.

Be Yourself. (This one’s a biggie!) Comparing yourself or your home to others is dangerous. Everyone’s journey is unique. Learn to love the life you live (and the home you live in).

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Isn’t that crazy?!  Do you think you could manage like Lisa and Drew did?  I think they picked up some amazing lessons, and I’m so thankful for Lisa, giving us peek into their old place.  You too?

Let’s just hope their ceilings are a bit more comfortable when they arrive in Germany.  As a tall couple ourselves, Martin and I have some great news for the adventurers : German beds are wonderfully longer than American beds.  No feet hanging off the end!