A few months ago, I was Pinteresting my little heart out when I saw this lovely reading nook. I loved the space - the teal, the yellow, the art - and it really made me think about a reading nook for myself. A little place to sit back, relax, and Pin some more. So, considering myself inspired, I set out to recreate the scene.

Of course, I did so on a budget, but the inspiration is itself a "budget" look, which tempts me to call mine low rent. And truly, hers is more lovely. But as for what this is: A very low-cost, comfortable space, that serves as a welcome place to read, blog, Skype, you name it. I think it perfectly fits in with the theme of this here bloggy-blog: making the best of what you have.

So here's what I had:

First, the Poang chair. It's the homeowners' (we live in a furnished rental) and I really wanted it to lighten it up a bit. Predictably, there are some amazing crafters out there who have recovered theirs with lovely results (here and here), so I figured I'd do that. Then, I was digging around the Ikea as-is section when I found a gray sectional cover. It's designed to fit over the chaise end of a sofa, I believe, but holding it up, I thought it might be work on on my Poang chair. Luckily, there were some Poang covers in the same as-is bin, so I tried the cover on one, and it fit!

I brought it home and Bret slid the cover on (Poang owners know that's a bit more complicated than it sounds; it requires taking the chair apart). We had to make a slit or two to make the skirt fit, but I'm pretty happy with the result: For $9 and way less effort than making a cover, we changed the look of the chair. True, it's not as light as I was originally thinking, but I'm still happy with the result.

What else does a reading nook need? A place to rest one's feet, of course. I found this pouf on clearance at Target for $20. I had been planning to make my own one of these, as well - but when Clearance Section hands you something for less than you'd be able to make it yourself, you take it.

Finally, for me, the key to a reading nook is a place to put my coffee, my phone, and my laptop when I have to get up for something. Enter this wee table. It's still a work in progress, but it does the trick. The base is a clearance plant stand from Target for about $4.50. The top is a stain-grade wood table top for about $11 from Lowe's. I have plans to paint or stain a design onto it.

The pillow is a $6 find from Goodwill, the blanket $7 from Salvation Army, and the map art, (which I re-matted between before and afters), was about $10 per picture, including frame. You can see them, and more cheap art ideas, here.

So that's my less-than-$60 reading nook. It also rounds out my living room, which I'll be sharing more of soon.

Should be a fun couple of weeks - we're up to our elbows in projects over here. Thanks for reading.