Cheap thrills.

Although our kitchen is currently covered with tarps taped to the walls, drywall dust covering everything, and the entire previous contents of the kitchen cabinets are scattered all over our adjacent living room like a indoor garage sale (I wonder what the neighbors think?), I've still had some time to scour the net searching for high end looks on the cheap.

This handy-dandy storage ottoman is a great multi-function piece of furniture - acting as storage, stool, end-table, ottoman, and of course for adding a bit of flair to any room in your house. Hence why these little square storage ottomans are all the rage right now, and also why I'm looking to snag myself one soon. After seeing high-end woven ottomans like this in magazines and other stores, I wanted one for myself. So I went in search of one I could actually afford, and found this one. Guess where? That's right, Wal-Mart. At 30 bucks a pop, and free site-to-store shipping, these babies are right in my price range. Check them out.

Here's another piece of furniture I found at, yes, you guessed it: Wally World. I needed a console table for the house, and although I'm still debating on whether to put it near front door or back basement door, I just absolutely love it. It's solid and sturdy and the glass really makes the room feel open and airy. It was super-easy to assemble, and honestly looks pretty amazing. At 90$, this table looks much more expensive than it actually is (don't you love stuff like that?). Table at Wal-Mart.

Photo frames. Simple, eclectic, versatile, cute, fun, heatwarming, decorative, cheap. Photo frames are wonderful for many uses (besides collecting dust bunnies), and there are endless ways to arrange, personalize, and display them. But there are a few downsides to creating a wall full of wonderful photographs: the cost adds up. Even if you managed to snag a few frames on clearance for 10$ a piece, multiply that by 4, and you've spent 40$ on little panes of glass and wood/plastic. Now maybe if those frames were super-cute then the money spent is worth it, but if you are going for a simple clean look you don't need to spend all that money to get what you are after. That's right, you can get this look by spending only 4 bucks for 4 photo frames rather than 40$. How? Play up your inner treasure hunter and dash off to the local dollar store, where you may be surprised with the cheap thrills you might find. Take some frames home, print off some photos online or take your own, and wah-la: your own collage of photos, super easy on you and your wallet. (photo from Pottery Barn)