My Daughter’s Room Makeover With Repurposed Items

There’s quite a few areas of my life where my taste doesn’t always line up with my budget. One area is the home. I love unique furniture and decor, but not having a gazillion tools, time, and money to shop at Pottery Barn Kids seem to hold me back from getting what I want. So I am always improvising!

I have been working on Kinley’s “big girl” room since last spring. It has taken a LONG time because, well, I had a baby, and then 3 kids kind of consumed me. Now that the baby doesn’t need to nurse every five minutes, I’m starting to get back to working on house projects.

For us, 2015 is going to be the year of home. I’m already starting to dream budget our plans for the year, and shop around for the best deals. I’m so excited to finally start to chip away and make this house mine.

Kinley’s room has been a lot of fun to pull together. Best of all? It has been crazy inexpensive thanks to repurposing items and using paint and spray paint!

The biggest item I painted was her furniture. I was able to nab two headboards for $10 — one was Freecycled and the other was from a garage sale. I painted them the same colors to make them feel like they go together {the lighting is odd, but they are both just off-white}.

I was lucky to score an amazing vintage bedroom set complete with a toy chest, full headboard, armoire and dresser for $300. The only catch was it was in pretty terrible condition. With a little paint, it started to look like the set I had dreamed about, but could only find for $1,000+. We are using the dresser now in Kinley’s room, and I have plans to finish the other items for other spots in our home next summer.

My advice? If you can find something you like the look of at a thrift shop or on Craigslist, just paint it! I promise it’s simple. {You can see how I do it here. No fancy chalk paint needed!}

I really wanted some kind of cool mirror to go over the dresser, but the only ones I could find that I liked were around $100 and heavy as heck. I got giddy with excitement when I spotted a plastic one at a garage sale. Only issue was it was black. A few layers of spray paint later, voila!

For artwork, every single cute girl thing I could find in stores said “Princess” on it. {I am not a fan of that word.} I finally gave up on the stores and just shopped local.

I had been considering doing some button art work for her room when I stumbled upon this gem for $18 at a local flea market. Kinley loves it, and I know why — it captures a bit of femininity, but it’s also funky. So fitting for her personality!

Other decor items I found at the flea market included little flowers, butterflies and such for around $5.

Kinley told me how she wanted the butterflies arranged. I dig her eye!

The bedding above is from a HomeGoods clearance shelf, and the quilt below is actually mine from my childhood. I love that she sleeps with the same bedding I did for many years.

Another decor item we incorporated is painted horseshoes. There’s an old superstition that having the ends-pointing-down means good luck can flow down and surround the home.

The lamp was $30 at HomeGoods — my biggest splurge. The nightstand was $5 at a garage sale.

I also bought a teal painted primitive toolbox {$12 at the flea market} for books. Kinley is obsessed with reading, and eventually I would love a big bookshelf for her, but this will do the trick until she’s a tad older. I love that she can easily access them, but they also look cute and make clean-up much easier!

Another part that took awhile for me to figure out was lighting. I realllllly wanted a cool chandelier, but they can be pricey. I literally was going to buy one at Home Depot for $100 when I stumbled into this painted beauty for $25 at an antique shop. I love the contrast it offers against the blue walls. Be sure to check the Habitat for Humanity ReStores for old brass chandeliers — they can easily be spray painted!

The final corner is her chair/reading area. I would love a bigger comfy chair eventually, but I’m just waiting for the perfect funky piece. Until then, the garage sale painted shelf {$10} and rocking chair {$4 at a garage sale, but I painted it} will have to do!

So there you have it, Kinley’s big girl room! There’s two beds in there if her sister would like to join her in the future 😉 Otherwise, I will start working on Karina’s room when we transfer her to a big bed this summer.

{See our master bedroom re-vamp here.}

What house projects will you be working on in 2015?