So well done - it's so inspirational to find people who can develop their style on a tight budget. Makes me feel like its still possible in this economy for your home to look fabulous. :-) Thanks for sharing!

I'm redoing kitchen cabinets right now, so naturally I automatically noticed that there aren't any handles on the cabinets. Interesting choice. This house looks like a lot of fun to live in :)

It's all just so pretty. Love the blue on the walls. It's just so cheerful, and I love the contrast with the green.

Wonderful job you guys!! The colors are gorgeous and you pulled it together incredibly. Looks bright, cozy, and fun. Hope to see more in a house tour!

Awww... this is so pretty!

beautiful, good job! I especially love your dining room. The things i don't really like are that leather ottoman(too big and burky looking) used as a coffee table and window coverings...and the accessories on top of the mantle.

very nice--there's nothing like seeing great style on a budget. congratulations!

Very cute place - I really like your vintage finds, your living room/dining room and the clever stencils on the kitchen cabinets!

But the family room seems a bit cluttered with furniture - Surely the wing chair can go elsewhere, like a bedroom?

And the tab-tops are all hung too low. They need to be mounted higher so that you're not seeing the edge of the window frame/upper glass between the tabs...
...and those in the dining area want to be either tied back to hooks in the side or uncinched completely.

Looks lovely, bright and cheery. Perfect for a place called Oceanside. I love the glass paned doors in the dining room -- what a great addition!

Me likey. You did a wonderful job. I think everything is just perfect, down to your clutter of chairs and embellished kitchen cabinets.

Love this. And in general, I really enjoy the home tours and house calls when the owners/renters create a beautiful space on a small budget (and in a small space). Just so much more real, more creative, and warmer than the 3,000 square foot homes filled with entire catalogs worth of high-end furniture.

nice job on the kitchen cabinets!

You kids did an awesome job (budget or no budget)!

Wow, I love it. It looks so personal and creative (and colourful!). I bet almost every found piece has a story behind it too. Love it. It really gives me hope for my own space, since my finance and I just moved in and also have little money to spend on decor.

very cute! where is your bedding from?

I agree that the window coverings don't really add anything (but I also get that window coverings are pricey and not the first place you want to spend money when you're on a budget). Also think that there's too much furniture in the family room and taking out that big leather ottoman might help. LOVE the cabinets in the kitchen. Probably my favorite room. Looks very crisp yet whimsical.

Very, very nice. It looks very warm and comfortable, and the kitchen cabinet stencils are awesome.

i love what they have done. just not the style of mirror they used over the mantle.
and now i am putting it out to the universe: I just want to live in/own a California Spanish-style bungalow like the ones I grew up around. Is that so wrong!? :)

Very cute and young and fresh.

I agree that it looks like you could pare down some of the furniture in the living room. It looks a bit cluttered and it takes away from the original instinct you had in there, it seems like. Which is a shame since it looks great otherwise and would just need one or two pieces re-distributed.

My favorite room might be the bedroom, very interesting and vibrant linens. Overall, I really like what you did here.

For some reason I thought the first room was a pre-makeover shot, but judging from the comments I suppose it isn't. It doesn't look nearly as cohesively styled as the other rooms. That being said, lovely home! I agree with other posters who've said that for some reason a home well-designed with limited funds is more satisfying than looking at big-budget, professionally designed digs. I really love the original tile in the kitchen and the white on white color scheme with the appliances, counter-tops and cabinets all white, although I'm not a fan of the stencils, personally. They look great and were executed well, I just would have gone with something more subtle, like ceramic flower drawer pulls, to infuse the room with the same feminine energy. PS: Gorgeous living room and dining combo. I usually hate the combination of the two but this looks great.

Would love to see more pics of this home - I am in Oceanside, too, in a tract home trying to make the best of it :o)

I guess I'm the only one here who thinks this home is much too cluttered and crowded with furniture. How do people even walk around in this place?

Turquoise again, seriously? Does anyone NOT decorate with it? It's been done to death and is reminiscent of avocado green from the 1970's. It took decades for people to forgive avocado green because they were so sick of it.

I really dig that couch. Can anyone possibly fill me in on where it was purchased?

I did something similar when I was starting out- I grabbed everything I could from the curb, friends, my parents & thrift. You've collected a great amount of of promising pieces, now you can get snobby & let some go! That's a great feeling. You've got style- now get editing.

Good job!

I partially agree with zazzu that there is clutter going on here, but I think some of the furnishings (except for those barely presentable sofas) were well-chosen ... I would start with the fireplace mantel: Get rid of the clock and the blue candle in the center, and hang that ornament on the left side somewhere else. Then, I would remove those feminine pillows on the lovely green chairs. In fact, I would replace every cushion except the nice simple pillows in the bedroom; pale pink and red floral pillows have absolutely NO BUSINESS HERE. Did Grandma make them? They might work well with a daughter's frilly canopy bed, but not with mid century modern. I love the stencil design on the kitchen cupboards, and the blue walls, but I would get rid of most of the junk on the counters, and especially everything from the back of the stove! Actually, that round metal wall ornament hanging next to the TV would look great above the stove, and I would hang the ornament on the left side of the fireplace mantel in its place next to the TV. These days, even WalMart carries coffee makers with a visually retro vibe which could easily replace that black monstrosity currently haunting the kitchen corner ... The bedside tables are also overburdened with stuff. I would clear everything except the lamps, and replace the cluttery photos with stacks of books. The photos are crying out to be reframed in colorfully painted frames and incorporated into a nice modern wall arrangement in another place where they can be even more appreciated. If you must fall asleep while gazing at family photos, perhaps an album next to the bed?

Coarsetalk, meet paragraph. Paragraph, meet coarsetalk.

Lovely home. I am in love with the green chair on the left!

those two green chairs ROCK!

patrick (the other one) FUNNY!

patrick (the other one) - you made me do my snort-laugh.

Then my work here is done.

;)

Are those decals on your kitchen cabinets from Blik? If not, where oh where did you get them from??

what colors and type of paint did you use for the walls? I think they are both just heavenly.

Very cute!

And, brightq, I have that chair in yellow, only with a smooth rather than tufted back. If only you lived nearby, I could give it to you as I'm planning to redecorate...

My partner and I are also young (we moved in together at 21 and are 25 now) and we can relate to working with a miniscule budget. I think it's forced us to be extremely creative! Because we have such limited funds for our home, the items we purchase are so thoughtfully chosen that we really love everything in our house. I think you have the same. I especially like the bedroom.

Besides the first room being a bit cluttered- I think you guys did an awesome job. A home is supposed to reflect ones personality----I actually LOVE all of the random pillows and turqoise.

I don't think this home is cluttered. Clutter is in the eye of the beholder. Some people like sparse surfaces and walls...but I think this looks fine. Maybe it's just not everybody's style.

Hey guys! Thanks for the nice things you all said! The space is cluttered, but it makes me happy, and we definitely use every piece of furniture in this home! I also agree that Blue is SOO over-done. When we first bought our house, the only color I wanted no part of, was light blue... turns out, it's now my favorite! I just couldn't stay away!

As for the details some of you asked about:
Cabinet Stencils - from Michael's
Blue Room Paint - Beach Sparkle, by Valspar I think
Living/Dining Room Paint - Cookie Crumb by Glidden
Bedspread - from Anthropologie 3 years ago

Thanks again!

NO color is a wrong color if used in the proper context.

Lovely digs.

get rid of: Leather ottoman and mantle adornments, word art and stencils, and the lacey thing behind the bed.

I love the green chairs (and mirror frame) against those turquoise walls! This is more evidence that sometimes paint is your best (and least expensive!) decorating tool.

I don't mind clutter as long as a place is clean. And the clutter of this home looks like it's well cared for and clean. So well done. And I wish I had even a bit of home design style at 23! Good job, your home looks like it's filled with things you love.

oh don't listen to the anti-clutterists

if you have the space might as well fill it with something wonderful that you love instead of nothing

It is beautiful and personal as it is. The lacy thing is fine and original. The place is charming.

Oh my GOD this place is not cluttered. Not by any definition.

I think you guys did an awesome job with what you had to work with.....go green recycle, repurpose,repaint, recover....my best finds are found on the side of the road...if you love it, that's all that matters.

Jeez, rlmesq, heaven forbid someone enjoy something they love in their own apartment.

Very cute! I love those blue walls w/ the green chairs-its perfect. Love it!

Except for the painted walls, this place is really mediocre.

Picky picky picky commenters. Except Patrick (TOO), who just makes me laugh.

I love it, and love that you did it on a super tight budget. And I especially love that you made the same couch I have, which I had been reading as "sigh, I wish I could replace..." look chic and hip! You just saved me hundreds of dollars.

Great job :) I wish I could get my apartment even close to this...

oooh that bed!

To have such a well put together space at 23 is an accomplishment! At 23, my living room had a second-hand sleeper sofa, a wobbly IKEA table and a horrendous faux-oak entertainment center. So good job guys!

i think you guys did an awesome job!

i'm still amazed @ the people who sit here and pick
apart the way others have decorated their homes ...
move this here, get rid of that, those look cheap -
good god. is there really enough time in your day?
because i'll tell you right now, there's not in mine.

do what works for you, take the compliments, and
to hell with the rest. for what it's worth, i *love*
that two newlywed 23-yr olds can buy a house and
make it so adorable on such a tight budget ...
and extra kudos for being wise and not racking up
credit card bills so that you could decorate differently,
which *many* 23-yr olds might have! you should
be extremely proud of the home you saved up
to buy and decorated with taste. congrats!!

missy

Digging it. I like the decals on the kitchen cabinets. Patrick (the other one)...you are very witty.