Make it do

There's a great old saying:
Wear it out, use it up
Make it do or do without.

I needed a new coffee table. I pulled one out of the garbage months ago and used it as a TV stand, but now I want it as a coffee table. It's the wrong color. It's a blond oak and I have all dark and mahogany furniture. For a while it made do as a TV Stand and now all I will do is stain it with a mahogany polyshade to turn it into a coffee table. You don't always need to buy something new, sometimes a look around the basement or garage reveals a piece that can be repurposed with only minor changes. Make it do. Sure it would be great to be able to just go out and buy anything, but it's also fun to take an old piece and bring it back to life. There are people who make a business of this sort of thing. I just do it for fun. I sanded my coffee table, bought some stain at a yard sale for $1 and will spend $2 on new chrome knobs for the drawers. Voila! New hardware is also a good way to update the kitchen. We essentailly update our kitchen for under $2000. We stained the cabinets and tricjed out the hardware. A new vinyl floor and new appliances completed our renovation job. It was quick easy and looks more expensive than it cost. An old friend once told me,"Bad taste costs as much per square foot as good taste." I've been in a lot of homes where you could tell the big moneywas spent, but the decor was nevertheless tacky. Spending big money doesn't mean great value.