Monday, Monday… back to the grind. I hope that you had a fun weekend and that the start of your week has been grrrreeeaaattt! Or as great as a Monday can be, at least 🙂

Today’s post is crucial to understanding a lot of what goes on in the Thomas household. All things house, home, renovating, and decor revolve around a couple things that we call…The Thomas’ Tiny House Rules.

Let me preface this with a few things. We love where we live. God has been so faithful in providing us with a wonderful home in a wonderful neighborhood. Although we had a heck of a time getting through the house hunting process (s.e.v.e.r.a.l. rides on the “Emotional Express”), we somehow made it to settlement, signed the papers, and got our first set of keys! The best part about it? We now live 20 minutes from my work and 20 minutes from Mitch’s. We are surrounded by farms, but 15 minutes from the downtown strip and the mall. Not sure we could have planned it better if we tried!

Anyway, back to it. We live in a 2 bedroom, 11/2 bath condo (or maybe it’s a townhouse- I can never remember the difference). We have all of the necessities- a place to eat, a place to sleep…  and we are grateful for this. Although our space is perfect for us and we love it, we fall into the “Tiny House” category. Any Tiny Home (or Apartment) Owner will agree- there is a certain way that things have to be done. There are certain tricks of the trade that are necessary to making things work. So, with that, I give you the Thomas installment of Tiny House Rules (complete with, wait for it… two rules).

The Thomas’ Tiny House Rules

Rule # 1: Items that enter this house must be purchased as cheaply as possible. You’ll remember this about me- I’m a sucker for a bargain. Thrift stores are a weakness of mine and I am a frequent flier at The Goodwill. I’ve been known to barter my way out of paying full price for things, and in other languages, if necessary. Our house has been furnished (for the most part) by secondhand items, enabling us to fully furnish the space far quicker than if we had bought everything new.

We have a secret in regards to cheap furniture… Come back and visit on Wednesday for the unveiling of the ultimate Hero of our Home Furnishing, the store that made it all possible. They have locations everywhere and are WAY underrated for what they have to offer. For example, one day we walked out with a brand new kitchen table and chairs for $20. Can’t wait to give our mystery source the credit they deserve!

Here are a few fun trinkets that have been cheap finds:

Pair of Black Lamps. They came with not-so-pretty lampshades, but they were $5 each. We put a couple of stylish shades from Target on them and they are as good as new and make great additions to our Master Bedroom.

Funky Teal Frames. Originally from Target, Goodwill was selling a pack of four of these for $2- yes, please!

Glass Votives. At 25 cents a piece at a church thrift store, I loaded up on these babies. You can find things like this at virtually any second hand/thrift store and they are great for last minute decor or adding to a display!

Rule # 2: Nothing is allowed in our house unless it can do more than one thing. This rule has single-handedly changed the way we shop for the house. If you are living in a smaller space, you know this: everything has to have a function or, chances are, there is “no room for it”. In our case, we are careful to make selections for that house that can always do more than one thing. And we are picky about this! I’ll give you a few examples:

Family Room Coffee Table: Serves as a decorative piece, but also has a space for storage. We were on the hunt for a specific type- one with a shelf on the bottom for extra space to store things. An unexpected bonus came about when we realized that the “flaps” could extend and lock into place for extra table space!

The Bench in the Kitchen: Seating and Storage. We were patient with this item… we knew we wanted a bench, but waited and waited before committing to any that we saw because they were either 1. too expensive and/or 2. did not have storage space. Needless to say, when we stumbled on this one at an estate sale for $30, we snatched it up.

Keep an eye out for the “How She Looks Today” post…

Spare Bedroom/Office/Library Futton: What more can we say? It’s a couch AND a bed, enabling us to have a whole room that can do more than one thing! Doesn’t get any better than that…

So what in your house has the ability to multitask? Have you ever had to pass on a purchase you loved because it “just wouldn’t be functional”? That’s the hardest part and don’t worry, we’ve caved a few times and bought things for the sole reason that we HAD to have them… we all have those moments 🙂

See you next time and even though it’s Monday, try to find “the fun of it”!

-Leslie