Making A House A Home

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After two years of living in my house I am finally ready to make a house a home. With it being privately rented we weren't sure whether we would stay long-term although we really hoped we would but now we're sure of it. Until we buy we don't want to move into another house and we won't be buying for a long time due to a serious lack of savings and a terrible credit rating. Good news for my landlord as he has stable tenants and a stable income from his house and good news for us because the girls are settled and it's so close to everything for us. We have started to make a few improvements like the garden and the kitchen but it's nowhere near my 'home' standard. Blame it on a severe lack of money for years so we've had to make do and buy second hand or blame it on the fact that I have no real eye for interior design but whoever or whatever is to blame, it needs a revamp.

While I'm still not rich enough to buy the long lusted after Pistachio Kitchen Aid mixer, it's here because I want one. I'm in love with the aesthetics as well as the power of the machine so a knock off could do to sit pretty. Everything else is pretty low-cost though with the most expensive thing coming in at £160 (the rug). I feel like the house needs more colour as everything is varying degrees of neutral so a pop of colour in a rug or a side table would do just fine in the kitchen to jazz it up a little. Everything apart from the Kitchen Aid is from Ikea so I think I need a big haul including meatballs and a slice of Daim cheesecake the next time I head there. I love Ikea pieces mixed with thrifted and re-upholstered or painted finds from the charity shops.

Now I know it's not on here but can you recommend a place where I can get cheap large throws to cover a three seater sofa and a two seater? I seem to only be able to find 150cm x 180cm throws and I'd need three to cover the three seater which I'd really rather not have to bother with if I didn't have to. My other option is to take my measurements to a fabric shop and just hem some weighty easily washable fabric but that seems like a whole lot of hassle when I can just order a few throws. So tell me, throw emporiums? Do they exist and if they do where can I get my grubby mitts on some?