There is no lack of old world charm here in Italy =)  Cobble stone streets, porticoes, Roman columns, wrought iron gates, villas on rolling hills…..so it was no surprise that I wanted to replicate a piece of it in my living\dining room =) But how could I do that on a budget? Well, below is what I came up with…..and if you are looking for some old world charm with a small budget, look no further….you will be surprised at what you can come up with! (In the description, I’ve also included the cost….converting euro to dollar when applicable =)

 

100_4893

Here’s what I did:

On the walls:

-I added a rod and scarf (both bought from Walmart when I was in California!) to resemble a tapestry.  I then added a grape vine I found at a local store here in Sicily.Total cost: $20

-For the picture, I ordered it on line ($12) glued silk grape leaves I had (from my craft stash) around the edges to give the picture  a “real” look and then placed the picture in a wood frame ($15) I bought from a local hardware store. Total cost: $27

The table:

-I really wanted a beautiful old world style table, but the prices were too expensive. And I wanted wrought iron too! Hmmmm…..So I decided to buy a garden table made with cement and broken rock pieces, having wrought iron legs!! ($150)  Never under-estimate the beauty of a garden table! Not only is it pretty, but so original!

Table decor:

I added a piece of fabric I had, two bottles of wine from our wedding, two olive themed candles from our wedding, two candle sticks ($1.50 for the both), a wooden fruit basket ($7.00) and artificial fruit ($9.00) Total cost: about $18.00

Chairs:

I found these garden wrought iron chairs that were for an outdoor bistro set. But I really liked the chairs and so I ordered 6 chairs ($35 each) to accompany my table. Total cost: about $210 total for 6 chairs!

Curtains: Went to my local mercato (street market) and bought the fabric. At the time, I didn’t have my sewing machine, so I basically just turned in all the raw edges using fusible webbing! Total cost of fabric and webbing for the curtains  (for one window and one balcony door!)  $80.00 (…..In America, it may be cheaper just to buy ready made curtains….I guess it would depend on what you are looking for?)

So my whole dining room portion cost around $500! Not bad huh?

If you need more old world themed ideas on how you can decorate on a limited budget, just ask….I’d love to help!

Happy Decorating!

Wanita =)