Okay, so one of my (least) favorite things about design mags, design tv shows, and websites for that matter is the jive they talk about "designing on a budget". Usually because the "budget" they speak of would be like winning the lottery for me. As someone in post-college, pre-grad school and pre-pre career purgatory the thought of spending $2000 to update, or even redecorate a room in my apartment is as realistic as me buying a summer home on "the cape" I don't even know what "The Cape" is! Cape Canaveral? That's the only "cape" i've ever heard of but I don't think rich WASPs want to vacation where NASA launches the Space Shuttle, but I could be wrong.
First, the real catalyst for the "update" was the nightstands that Lindsey and I found at the Kane County Flea Market. I had heard good things about the flea market out there, so we went. Lindsey called it her "junk dream come true" and was it ever! But, in the midst of all the junk were these great antique danish nightstands. Exactly what I had been browsing for, for months. They had drawers, they were pretty, they had to be mine. So, the most expensive item in the "update" came home. $160 for the pair. ($80 each) But I think we will have these babies forever.
And then there were the dinosaurs. Lindsey and I had gone to the Field Museum last year for an extra credit project where she gleefully spent like $5 on the machine that makes wax dinosaur figurines. They were green, yellow, red and blue. All the colors that 5 year olds love and look great in your purple and brown bedroom. So, as she INSISTED on keeping them right out on her dresser no matter what, I thought, well why not make them just a smidge more attractive and spray paint them white so at least they sort of resemble something an adult might own one day. (maybe?) So that's what we did. We already had the paint (i think it was like $2) and now we have a faux-porcelain Jurassic Park in our bedroom.
BTW- I added more pics onto Flickr, of both the bedroom and my Soviet-Kitsch-en. Check it!
Anywhoo, ranting aside, after reading a couple of the latest issues of Domino, (which both featured crap like "High Style on a Real Life Budget!" and "Julianne Moore Decorates on a Budget!") I decided to do a play by play of my actual bedroom redo- on an ACTUAL budget.
Now, I realize my bedroom project is more of an update, a polish, a spruce up (if you will) than a full on makeover, but still it got the job done. So here we go. $250 is all I spent over the course of about 3 months. Just extra bits of cash that found their way into my life and eventually, my bedroom.
First, the real catalyst for the "update" was the nightstands that Lindsey and I found at the Kane County Flea Market. I had heard good things about the flea market out there, so we went. Lindsey called it her "junk dream come true" and was it ever! But, in the midst of all the junk were these great antique danish nightstands. Exactly what I had been browsing for, for months. They had drawers, they were pretty, they had to be mine. So, the most expensive item in the "update" came home. $160 for the pair. ($80 each) But I think we will have these babies forever.So after we had these beautiful nightstands, some other things needed a face lift. We organized the tops of our dressers (and the insides) and basically any other visible surface in the room so that it didn't look cluttered. It is important to note however, that there was enough left out so that we could still live. I never want to feel like I live in a catalog. So, organize but don't even pretend that you are robots that don't need your jewelry or perfume or vibrator easily accessible. :) All of this of course was TOTALLY FREE and made a huge impact on how the bedroom looks.
Next, I bought some new bed linens. I have really like the faux bois look, so I bit the bullet and bought the Martha Stewart Faux Bois duvet cover in "egret" a butter-y color on ebay. (Second from the top in the photo) Buying it on ebay saved me roughy $110. I also then found the pillow shams at Macy's on clearance for $5. Saving me $70. (That's right, that bitch wanted like $142 for the duvet and $42 EACH for the pillow shams. No wonder she went to jail!) Then a nice brown blankie from Target for $20. Done-zo.
Last, I finally framed some postcards, photos, and other silly stuff we had been meaning to hang forever. The frames were a set I bought on sale at Urban Outfitters for $19.99 and two from Target for $4 and $5. I love how it came out, and left enough empty space so I can add to it as much as I want.
And then there were the dinosaurs. Lindsey and I had gone to the Field Museum last year for an extra credit project where she gleefully spent like $5 on the machine that makes wax dinosaur figurines. They were green, yellow, red and blue. All the colors that 5 year olds love and look great in your purple and brown bedroom. So, as she INSISTED on keeping them right out on her dresser no matter what, I thought, well why not make them just a smidge more attractive and spray paint them white so at least they sort of resemble something an adult might own one day. (maybe?) So that's what we did. We already had the paint (i think it was like $2) and now we have a faux-porcelain Jurassic Park in our bedroom. So there you have it. Trust me that the room looks and feels alot better. It may not be ready for a glossy magazine cover shoot, but it does the job for a couple of broke twenty-somethings. And something tells me, if you're reading this, you can relate. P.S. Julianne Moore's bedroom makeover featured in Domino cost about $5000.00. Mine.... not so much.
BTW- I added more pics onto Flickr, of both the bedroom and my Soviet-Kitsch-en. Check it!
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