Erika, Shannon, and Betsy's Budget Friendly Fresh Start

Moving to a new place with cheaper rent will definitely cut back on expenses in the long run--but the upfront costs of moving (security deposit, moving truck, etc) can still take a chunk out of your bank account. AT reader Erika and her roommate Shannon found a new flat and another roommate to ease their financial burdens; however, they needed a few cost-effective things to fix up their new pad...

First thing's first: Painting the apartment. Erika chose a soft grey-blue to paint the wall above the wainscoting (Ralph Lauren's Polaris).
Total cost: $80 for paint and other supplies (she dug out some old trays and roller handles); total time: One Weekend.

Instead of buying new furniture for their communal area, they decided to buy all their furniture off of Craigslist...cue Mastercard commercial music (and try reading the descriptions in the announcer's voice):

Entry bench with baskets to hold shoes and dog accessories: $50

Microfiber sofa: $75

Pair of vintage velvet armchairs, recently steam-cleaned: $36 for the pair.

Doing the extra legwork to find these deals is indeed priceless. What was the best deal you ever found?

Comments (12)

Love those red chairs.

posted by teeze on March 5th 2009 at 12:18pm
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red chairs are fantastic..

posted by New York Muhtari on March 5th 2009 at 12:22pm
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My best recent find was a gorgeous crystal chandelier dripping in strands of cut crystal beads with one broken arm, on craigslist for $10. I took it to my lamp shop guy who ordered and installed a new arm for a total of $42. He was stunned by what I paid for the chandelier on craigslist, and told me that three of the beads are worth $10!!! :o)

posted by youngbloop on March 5th 2009 at 12:30pm
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Wow, bloop, that is a great story, I wish I had a fantastic find like that.

posted by labchick on March 5th 2009 at 12:43pm
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LA craigslist is so expensive! I just can't believe that pair of red chairs was $36

posted by SydneyBristow on March 5th 2009 at 12:56pm
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wow. you girls did great!

posted by abigailbelle on March 5th 2009 at 1:12pm
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love the paint color! actually, my living room now is a similar color but, of course, i can't remember the name of it and now i am moving and want my color back! maybe i'll try the polaris instead!

posted by lizziepeony on March 5th 2009 at 1:15pm
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what a cute apartment in LA! i didn't know they could look like that out here... I'm used to wall to wall carpet and floor to ceiling window blinds.

posted by snowinla on March 5th 2009 at 1:19pm
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I love everything about this before/after! The paint color is perfection and going the Craigslist rout is brilliant. When I relocated last year I got all my new furniture from CL as well and spent moving day taking the U-Haul picking up the new/used furniture. The best deal was an ABC Carpet & Home farm table for 50% off retail.

posted by SandraDee on March 5th 2009 at 1:43pm
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Wow is this really LA? It looks like SF! Great place/neighborhood.

posted by kosha on March 5th 2009 at 2:07pm
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seriously where is that apt in LA - i've never seen anything nearly as charming...

posted by Bridget212323 on March 5th 2009 at 7:26pm
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This apartment is definitely in SF. I lived in a victorian very similar, if not the same build, as the one shown here in the SOMA neighborhood. If you look out the window of one of the pics you can see that the street neighborhood can easily be Hayes Valley, Haight or maybe even the Mission district.

This is in San Francisco.

posted by melissamango on November 12th 2009 at 10:45am
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