Money Saving Monday #14

Since creating our addition has pretty much consumed all our free time lately, here's another money saving remodeling / redecorating tip!

Last week, we went to Ikea to see what was available. We decided that creating tables with countertops would be the best way to use the room we have available to the best advantage. We found 2 countertops that we liked, but decided to check the prices at Home Depot and Lowe's before purchasing from Ikea.

After checking the home improvement stores, we realized the best deal was at Ikea. We could get 8 foot lengths of countertop for $59/each, and the legs would be $5/each.

Saturday, we headed over to Ikea with the intention of purchasing the countertops, legs, and a few other things for the office. We wound our way through the store, reserved our countertops, picked up a new bookshelf (which fits perfectly in the space where a door used to be!), found the legs, and a couple other things. (Oh, and we ate swedish meatballs. yum!)

Our last stop at Ikea is always the "As-Is" section. You never know what amazing deals you might find -- we have purchased bookshelves, beds, and other items at 50 - 80% off in the past. On Saturday, we saw 4 eight-foot lengths of countertop! It wasn't the countertop we had decided upon, but it was the other one we liked.

They were marked 51% off, which meant that the money we saved by choosing these countertops paid for the bookshelf.

My tip for today is to always search for the deals, and have an open mind to change! We had to go back and change the color of the bookshelf and the legs after changing the countertop color, but it was well worth it to us.

DH installed the countertops Sunday morning, and they look great. I'm typing this post from my new work area! And, I've filled half of our new bookshelf already :)