I was bitten by a bee yesterday on my hand as I did some gardening, and it is swollen up double it’s normal size, but I am bound and determined to write this blog, second in a series, of decorating articles, filled with garage sale, flea market, and consignment shop ideas.

While hardly an experienced decorator, I find myself desiring high style in the middle of a recession. Frugalista that I am, I seem to find a way to create pleasing and high style decor for free or cheap.  And so I pass some of my ideas to you for better or for worse.

One of the rooms I find hard are kitchens, especially small kitchens that don’t contain alot of space for storage or design.  So since kitchens pose a special challenge, I thought I would post some garage sale treasures and scores that  I found to dress up my kitchens with some panache. Hope you enjoy the photos and captions. Happy Saling! Look for more tips at garagesalegold.com

1.Cute little table and chairs, note the inlaid tile, perfect for a small nook. Scored at a garage sale. Kittie not included.

2. Bakers rack scored from a consignment shop. It has some of my rooster collection, which came from garage sales, estate sales, and gifts.

3. Vintage cannisters scored from a barn sale. Got a good deal on them because the original set was not complete, but who cares?

4. Space over a built in microwave. What to do with it? An old Ball jar and some dollar store mini urns and a $1 rooster from a garage sale cheer it up.

5. Washing dishes can be cheery. Old glass bottles found for free or at garage sales contain flowers from the garden, mixed with store bought blooms adorn the windowsill just above the sink. Really dresses up the room. The curtains were also snared from a garage sale.

6. An antique looking print adorns an otherwise barren kitchen wall. Scored very inexpensively at a little consignment shop. Believe me, you can pay more for frames than most of the art I have bought at garage sales.