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Girly Bedroom Re-do and Living on a Budget.

Melissa Beene Ford/ before and after+ Big Blue House

Once upon a time, this was Annie’s room.

Since I didn’t know whether she was going to be a boy or girl (I wanted to be surprised), I decorated it sort of gender-neutral…black, white, and red. It was really cute, if I do say so myself.

This was (well, still is) KB’s room.

The walls are a gorgeous watermelon pink, and the bedding and valances are all shades of pink and green. We decorated this room together when she was three. I took her to Hancock’s, and she picked the fabrics. Good taste for a three year old, don’t you think? I think she has a future in home decor. Except that the paint color she chose was a blinding neon pink; when she wasn’t looking I handed the Sherwin-Williams guy a prettier pink sample card and whispered, “Mix this one instead.” But she THINKS she picked the color, and that’s all that matters.

Well, at some point last year, they both decided they wanted to share a room. Not in so many words, of course, but every night one would end up sleeping on the floor in the other’s room. So we turned Annie’s crib into a toddler bed and moved it, with its black and white toile bedding, into KB’s pink and green room. Its not attractive, in case you wondered. But it does the job…keeps both girls sleeping content and secure, with another warm body in the room.

Now however, we’ve come to the point where we need to lose the crib. For a couple of reasons: one, little Micah needs it.
She’s fine right now sleeping in a bassinet beside mom’s bed, but really needs a crib in her room. And two, Annie is just getting too tall, and can’t keep crib-sized covers on, and this house being 80+ years old is QUITE cold at night when its 28 degrees outside, and she really needs a REAL bed with REAL blankets so she can stay covered up at night. Its time for a real bed for Baby A. And we’re one more step closer to her being a big girl and not a baby…(sniff).

And that presents a dilemma. If money were no object, I’d just call up Bufe and Babin and order up a new tastefully decorated bedroom with all new furniture. Or two; one for each of them.

But I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m trying to do this on a budget. I have a somewhat tightwad penny pinching skinflint frugal spouse. He’s not going to understand why a girls bedroom needs to be cute (how frivolous!), and why those frayed army-green wool blankets that belonged to his grandmother won’t make adequate bedcoverings for the girls. He can’t wrap his brain around the ‘attractiveness’ factor. He doesn’t get things like home decor, or why you would pay money to change the color of your hair.

Men.

I’ve learned, living with him, to do creative things like rinse my ziplock bags out and reuse them. Clip coupons. Shop garage sales and Goodwill. Dig through clearance racks. Someday I’ll give you a tour of my entire home decorated on a budget, and you might just be surprised when I show you what I found at someone’s curb and brought home. What I dug out of the dumpster. The living room furniture that I sucked up my pride and bought from a friend-of-a-friend’s garage sale. The things in my closet that came from Goodwill. Designer clothes I found for $7 or less at the Dillard’s Dump. Seriously. There’s good stuff out there if you just keep your eyes open….

Let’s look at those bedroom pictures again and my decorating budget….

Metal Bed: bought at garage sale. Its a bunk bed; other half is in garage.
Bedding: bedskirt and pillows custom made; coverlet ordered from Domestications (cheap).
Dresser (not shown in picture): someone’s secondhand childhood dresser; repainted white and put pink knobs on it that I ordered from ebay.
Rocking chair (not shown in picture): belonged to my grandmother; repainted it white and recovered it myself.
Wall art: handpainted by KB and myself.

And here’s Annie’s bedroom again….

Bed: given to me by my friend Allison after both of her babies used it(free); BF painted it black.
Bedding: half price at TLC; both of my babies have used it.
Rocking chair: belonged to my grandmother (free).
Dresser (not shown in picture): belonged to my grandmother and refinished by BF. (free)
wall art: framed paperdolls I cut out of a magazine.
Changing table: borrowed.
The only thing that cost me money was the bedding (half price) and the slipcover I had made for the rocking chair.

So you see, two bedrooms totally decorated for almost free. You now see the challenge ahead of me. How do I work with SOME of what we already have to make a cute bedroom for two girls to share?

*Should they share KB’s room, or Annie’s? KB’s is already painted pink. Annie’s would most definitely have to be re-painted. I would have to buy a minimum of new bedding if they used KB’s room. The rooms are mirror images of each other but Annie’s is one foot wider, which makes a big difference.
*Should I use the bunk beds?? I have a fear of Annie falling off the top bunk. Anyone out there have bunk beds?? Is this a real fear?? Should I bite the bullet and buy TWO new matching beds, or just use the bunk beds?? Keep in mind I do have those head-cracking hardwood floors.
*Annie’s room is colder…it has FOUR windows instead of three, and is on the north end of the house. But someday, at some point, SOMEONE will have to use this room.
*Am I wrong to make them share a room in the first place?? If they DON’T share a room, then I don’t have to make the bunk bed decision.

I’m signing off to go scour Ross, Tuesday Morning, and Marshall’s…my three favorite stores…and heck, maybe even Goodwill. You never know. 🙂

If you see any cute garage sale bedding out there….let me know….and leave me a comment with any advice you might have!

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Comments

  1. Shanequa says

    January 18, 2009 at 2:42 am

    Couldn’t you still use a bed rail on a top bunk bed? Or could you let KB sleep up there till you felt better about Annie being there?

    Reply
  2. Em says

    January 18, 2009 at 4:51 am

    I’m a HUGE proponent of sharing rooms (I just think it’s good for them), but do not, do not, do not do bunk beds!! We bought the greatest set of bunk beds a year and a half ago for our girls, and I couldn’t get them out of here fast enough! This Christmas, all three of mine got metal beds and new bedding. I count it all as a very expensive lesson learned.<BR/><BR/>By the way, what I hated most is

    Reply

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About Me


Hey there... I'm Melissa! Texas girl. Mom to three + one goldendoodle. Believer. Old house fanatic. Creating a happy + healthy home with purpose is my passion. I'm so glad you're here!

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I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 years of paint off of this door down to the wood and start over… but that person has no business starting new projects. 😅 My neighbors must have thought this project would never end. *I* thought this project would never end. 😰 If you’re thinking of doing this yourself? Just don’t, ok? Throw the whole door away and buy a new one. 😂🤣 Just kidding.  Old house weirdos like me… we can’t just do things the easy way. Anyhoo… after some trial and error, @sherwinwilliams Celestial is what I landed on, and I have to say… I like it. Periwinkle-ish blue looks great with the yellow house and will look even better when the azaleas are in bloom. Was it all worth it? That’s not important right now. 🤭 Will I do this all again in two years? The magic eight ball says… without a doubt. 👏🏻 I’ve already picked the next color. #gluttonforpunishment #somefoolsneverlearn #oldhouselove #oldhomelove #makinghome #southernliving #gardenandgun #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in an 80-year-old house completely worth it … what broken pipes, icy hardwood floors and drafty windows? 🤔 I forgot already. #comeonspring #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Happy Saturday ☀️ Happy Saturday ☀️
Salt Lake City is always magical ✨ Salt Lake City is always magical ✨
2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrollin 2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrolling through my pics from the last twelve months made me realize how blessed and content I am. Prosperity, love, and peace have been ours in abundance, in spite of the pain of losing my dad. The second picture is the last picture of him… the last time I saw him. 💔 But God has been good to my family this year and 2022 is ending far better than it began. 😄 #2022inreview #thanksforthememories
Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍ Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍♀️
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That’s it. That’s the tour. (Slide two). 
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It’s a new trend I’m starting: bare Christmas tree. Lowe’s tag still attached (so quirky and unexpected)! Christmas ornaments still in boxes. Coming soon to an Anthropologie window display near you. 
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Every year I think, “next year I’ll do better. Next year I’ll have it together.” And then, here we are on the SIXTH Christmas that we’ve been in this house, the sixth Christmas I’ve dragged our chaotic bunch of Christmas mess out of a chaotic garage I still haven’t unpacked from our move six years ago. 
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Maybe this year is the year I’ll organize it all and put it back neatly so that by Christmas number 7, it will be smooth sailing. People will flock to my social media to see how I’ve pulled everything off SO PERFECTLY. Next year will be my year. 
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Seems every year there’s less and less bandwidth for all these things. There’s more grief and stress, less money. More demands, less grace. 
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I put this sign on the wall in my office so I could keep it in front of my eyes: Love. Joy. Peace. And all that. I am SO unlike Jesus most days. So lacking in all of these character qualities. And that’s WITH waking up most mornings and spending my first 30 minutes with God Himself. 
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How lost would I be without that? Geez. I can’t fathom. I REQUIRE being transformed by renewing my mind every single morning, and even then, responding to people and life with love, joy, peace and patience doesn’t come naturally. 
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It’s the goal, though. 
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This weary world needs that from us Believers during this season, more than ever… even more than an Anthropologie-window-display worthy Christmas home tour. 
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I’m working on both.
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