Life, as of Late

Organic modern home decor is all the rave, and for good reason. Something about natural textiles and neutral, earthy colors is just so calming and effortlessly beautiful. Achieving said look, however, can be pricey.

Our apartment features a gorgeous 8-foot-long kitchen island that I’ve been meaning to adorn with a focal point. In this case, a beautiful ceramic, pottery-like vase paired with stems. Unfortunately, as a working Mom of three who’s also pursuing her degree online, a $45 vase simply isn’t in the budget. However, I will always try to find a way to achieve my home decor goals within my limitations.

So, I headed to the thrift store. I picked up a ton of great finds, but best of all, I found a decently sized, clear $3 vase. I was more focused on the vase’s shape than anything else, as I planned to paint over it.

My plan was to take paint mixed with baking soda and cover the entirety of the vase to give it the appearance of an authentic ceramic vase.

As far as supplies go, I purchased nothing out of pocket. Using my kid’s acrylic paint (previously purchased from The Dollar Tree) and a few tablespoons of baking soda, I created my baking soda/paint mixture. I would say the ratio of paint to baking soda should be about 2:1.

I didn’t have black paint on hand (which was my desired color), so I combined navy blue and brown, which gave me the perfect charcoal/almost black color. The baking soda adds texture to the vase which ultimately gives it that pottery look.

Because I started with a clear vase, it took several coats of paint (with drying time in between) to completely cover the vase.

I would recommend adding some paint to the interior of the vase – only the uppermost part, where the base of your flowers or stems will be showing for a fully seamless look.

This was the simplest project and came out exactly how I wanted. To top it off, I picked up these stems from WalMart for ~$10, bringing my total to around $13.

I’m so pleased with how this vase turned out and I hope it inspires you to get creative with your decor inspo, even when on a budget. The thrift store and supplies in your very home are your friend 🙂