Glance through Helen James’s home and you’d be forgiven for thinking the 33-year-old from Melbourne has forked out thousands of dollars on her enviable home.
However, you’d be wrong. In fact, Ms James – who goes by I Heart Kmart on Instagram – spent just AUD $500 styling her entire home with furnishings and decorations from Kmart.
Here, she breaks down exactly what she spent, dollar by dollar, and shares her top tips for making your home look luxe for less with FEMAIL.
Prepare your shopping lists…
Helen James (pictured) – who goes by I Heart Kmart on Instagram – spent just AUD $500 styling her entire home with furnishings and decorations from Kmart
Ms James broke down her home – dollar by dollar – to explain exactly how she spent the money on her Kmart home (pictured: the master bedroom)
The thrifty mother also shared her top styling tips and tricks for getting the luxe look for less (pictured: the master bedroom)
According to mum of three (pictured with her kids), her love of Kmart came about several years ago, when she started shopping there and uploading pictures to social media
According to Ms James – who currently boasts more than 100,000 followers on Instagram – her love of Kmart came about several years ago, when she started shopping at the cult discount chain and uploading photos of what she’d bought to social media:
‘I started to notice a change in the Kmart brand around three years ago,’ the mother-of-three told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I had always shopped at Kmart, but I was beginning to notice their homewares were becoming a lot more on trend, while the pieces were still ridiculously low priced.
‘So I created a fan Instagram account to share the Kmart products which are so trendy yet affordable.’
Before she knew it, Ms James was inundated with followers from around Australia and further afield – who all loved the way she was styling her Kmart pieces.
These days, she regularly shares posts about the best bargains as well as styling tips.
‘It’s just so accessible to everyone to be able to give a space in their home a fresh look without breaking the bank,’ Ms James added.
‘A new cushion, a candle… You can spend as little as $20 but walk away with three or four things that can transform a room.’
These days, the popular mother boasts more than 100,000 followers on Instagram (pictured: the girls bedroom)
Before she knew it, Ms James was inundated with followers from around Australia and further afield – who all loved the way she was styling her Kmart pieces (details from the girls room)
Ms James told FEMAIL that nearly her entire home is furnished with Kmart pieces.
From her daughter’s bedroom to the master bedroom and nursery, each room totals around AUD $100 – adding up to approximately $500.
Every time someone comes to my house they notice something else and they ask me straight away if it’s from Kmart,’ she told FEMAIL.
‘Probably my most popular cult items are the rose gold geo candle holder which people loved, as well as the faux leather cushion I have in my lounge.
‘A friend bought one similar from another homewares store a few months ago for ten times the price so she was quite jealous when I told her how much I paid for mine!’.
On Ms James’s sofa, the Harley cushion in tan comes in at $8, while the charcoal cushion costs $12 and the round cushion costs $8 – the throw, meanwhile, costs $16
The mother’s side table (left) costs just $23, with the plant pot costing $5, the candle costing $6, the ceramic candle costing $4 and the journals totalling $4 each – right is the nursery
Speaking about her tips for others who want to recreate the luxe look for less, Ms James explained the key is to shop in stationery and garden as well as the homewares section
Speaking about her tips for others who want to recreate the luxe look for less, Ms James explained the key is to think big when you go to Kmart, and don’t just hit up the home section.
‘I always make sure I shop around the whole store and not just the homewares section,’ she said.
‘Kmart are really good at making sure their pieces complement each other. You can buy a pot from the garden section, a candle from the homewares section and a journal or notebook from stationery and find that they all work really well together thanks to colours and textures.
‘Greenery also makes everything look good. Whether it be faux or real, adding a plant to a coffee table or book can bring a new lease of life to a room.’
Pictured here is Ms James’s master bedroom
The mother-of-three also said her final tip is to ‘give an old couch a new lease of life, by layering it with cushions and throws’.
‘People will admire the cushions instead of noticing the stains,’ she said.
Finally, ‘a throw is great for adding warmth to a space and practical too – the kids love snuggling with a throw while watching telly!’.
A select few ‘K-mart Instagrammers’ are invited regularly to preview events that showcase the latest products, as well as receiving free homewares to document online (pictured: Ms James)
Details from the nursery are pictured here, with the decorative animals costing $5
Helen James is just one of Kmart’s high profile mothers, who has the backing of hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers (pictured: details from Ms James’s Kmart home)
Helen James is just one of Kmart’s high profile mothers, who has the backing of hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers.
A select few ‘K-mart Instagrammers’ are invited regularly to preview events that showcase the latest products, as well as receiving free homewares to document online.
‘We host various product events throughout the year and invite Kmart fan pages as an opportunity to meet the Kmart team while viewing new products,’ Kmart’s head of corporate affairs Tracie Walker revealed recently.
However, not one of the Kmart mothers is yet on the Kmart payroll.
To follow Helen James, I Heart Kmart, on Instagram, you can click here.