Decorating an old cottage on a budget of near zero…

The central design technique is simple…recycle and reuse as much as you can.

Here, the sitting room was given a wall mirror using broken mirrors that would have otherwise gone to the dump.

Cost: just the price of the tile adhesive and my time.

A painted concrete floor and stencilled wall…stencils cut from card.

The floor stencil was spray-painted using left-over gold Christmas decorative spray.

There is hardly a faster and cheaper way to bring beauty and creativity into your home than by putting together an arrangement of foliage and flowers picked from your own garden.

 Roman Blinds are the cheapest window covering to make as they only require material to cover the window and no more!

I made these for the kitchen windows.

The material was donated to me as an off-cut from a much bigger project!

This mirror was made in the same way as the bathroom one, but the broken tiles were stuck directly onto a sheet of wood…re-cycled wood!

It now decorates the veranda and reflects the light nicely.

The sitting room floor created entirely from waste…these broken tiles were destined for the rubbish heap before I rescued them and put them to good use. 

The sink is recycled and quite old, as is the draining board. As for the dish rack…it doubles up as a cake cooling rack…or is it the other way round?

And the ideas continue, making necessity the true mother of invention!

Green gingham curtains and red geraniums…very Irish cottage!

Painted stones on a window ledge…simplicity at Bealtaine Cottage.

No fitted kitchen…just practical things all pulled together with a little colour.

Donations are always welcome and Blessings returned!

Thank you for supporting the Bealtaine Project