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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Welcome to Our Peaceful Place

Hello! So glad you could join us today. Isn't the scene refreshing?

Let's remember just where we came from:

Um. Yah. Confession time. One day, while in the middle of the dreaded sanding job, I decided to snap some before pictures of every room in my house that I wanted to change. And being the crazy impatient being that I am, I didn't even bother to clean any of them. My idea was that way the before and after would look even more dramatic. I think I need to go take some better shots! And yes, Girly-Lou is in love with paper. Every little thing she receives, every handout, every picture is a treasure and needs to be on the wall. Not so fun for me, but there you have it.

Anyway. Back to the room.

It's done! DONE!!! I've known what I wanted to do with this room for 14 months now. Really ever since we moved in. But I waited for two reasons. First, being pregnant with my third child, I didn't know if the girl room would be this larger room, or the smaller one. Second, funds were a bit low for decorating. But the first reason sounds better, so we'll stick with that.

Then 9 months ago, 'Lil was born. I knew which room to work on! Hubby got a pretty decent raise, and I started compiling.

Speaking of which, let's do a thorough breakdown (thorough because I get frustrated when people to breakdowns and leave stuff out!)

Paint: Not much to talk about the actual process. I did use the green frog tape instead of the blue, and it is a LOT better at keeping out leaks. There are 4 different colors in the room, all by Behr.
  • White is New Day Dew, 1 gal ($22) + 1 qt ($15)
  • Light pink is Shy Little Piglet, 1 qt ($11)
  • Dark Pink is Snow White Song, 1 qt ($11)
  • Green is kind of Friendly Frog, 1 gal ($23) *The real color was WAY too bright. So I grabbed my 1 qt paint cup, measured out about 1 TBSP of new day dew to every 4 oz friendly frog. That made the color much more reasonable!
  • Tape, brushes, etc, $15
Paint total: $97 (paint is WAY more money that I always think!)

Quilts:
  • Fabric $85
  • Batting, $20
  • Thread, $10
Quilt total: $115

I used THIS tutorial for the pattern, THIS tutorial and THAT to make bias tape, THIS tutorial for the actual binding. I also machine quilted for the very first time. If you want any tips for first time quilters, I found THIS site to be the most helpful. They won't win any awards, but I love how the quilts turned out! I don't know if you noticed, but Girly-Lou's has more pink, and 'Lil's has more green. And I even quilted their names in while doing the machine quilting.

Pillows:
  • forms: from old pillows already had, free
  • white fabric: 50 cents worth of thrift store pillow cases
  • other fabric, from quilts
Total: $.50


Dresser:
  • Actual piece, Free
  • Paint (counted above)
  • Knobs $20
Dresser total: $20
You might remember this one from months ago when I blogged about it.

Names etc.
  • Letters: $4.50, painted white
  • flowers and butterflies, scraps from quilt
Total: $4.50

I really wanted to do wood letters in this room. But have you ever priced those things? CRAZY! Then, one day I was wondering around our Michael's. They had these foam letters on clearance for only 50 cents each! SOLD! They were crazy colors, but 4 coats of paint (grumble grumble) later, I was happy with them. Attaching them to the wall was an adventure. I wanted to do a cute hanging something or other, but everything I tried just looked really lame. Finally, in desperation, I stuck a finishing nail in the back of the foam, and then nailed it in. Loved it!

This corner:

Before:
Now:
  • Paint included above
  • Fabric shapes, extra from quilts
  • Clock, actually a wedding present
Total: Free

That tree. Wow. What a process. I first saw THIS months ago, and fell in love. It would have been a fairly easy process, but I didn't have an overhead projector. So instead, it literally took me 5 1/2 hours to get the silly thing on the wall. It only took a couple of hours to actually paint it!
The birds are from here and here, just dipped in liquid starch and stuck up on the wall.

This corner:
  • Mirror, another wedding present, painted white with circles starched on top.
  • Flower pegs: $2 from a thrift store, painted white
Total: $2

Window:
  • Curtains, came with the house (but in another room) Free
  • Ties: left over from quilts
Total: free

Closet:

Before:


Now:
  • Remove nasty old doors, free
  • Wing back chair: craigslist find $10
  • Boxes above, scrounged from around the house, free
Total: $10


Rain gutter Book shelves:
  • Rain gutters: $6.50
  • Brackets: $10
  • End caps $10
Total: $26.50
I used THIS tutorial, but I totally forgot to pick up the end caps. Joys of shopping with three little people! So that will come in a few more days. But I still love them!

Bunk bed:
  • Um. I'm not sure. My Father in Law wanted to pay for everything, and we made 4 trips to the store to get everything, and every time we went he also decided we needed $60 worth of clamps, or knee pads, or whatever. I think for wood was $250-$275.
Total: Free (for me! Really around $300)
Off course this is a Knock Off Wood pattern. I didn't like the ladder, so I spent a lot of time looking at dimensions online, and made up my own. Actually making the bed went super fast. Sanding and painting on the other hand . . . . Well. It's done now!

Grand Total: $275.50 (or $575, depending on how you're counting.

I'm very happy with how it all turned out. There are still a few things I'd like to change. I'd like some different curtains, I'd love to make a magnet board for Girly-Lou to put all her papers on, the blinds need replacing. If I had money out my ears, I'd refinish the floors, get a new rug, and a really cute light fixture. But we're good for now.

And Buddy's happy because now I get to work on his room next!


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21 comments:

  1. WOW!!! SOOO very cute!!! you did a really nice job, I'm sure that one day (when they are decorating a room )your darling girls will understand all your efforts and hard work!!

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  2. It is SO CUTE! I love everything you did! When I have my own house someday I am hiring you!

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  3. It's just so stinkin cute, sis!!

    Ah, to have your energy and stick-to-it-ivness!!

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  4. Very cute... though the wood letters spell names.... You are amazing though! Way to be!

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  5. WOW!!! The process along the way was great, but to see the final results is amazing. I wish my daughters had had such a creative mom. Oh well, they all seem to have turned out to quite creative themselves. Hurray for blended genes. You are great!!

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  6. Looks amazing! I'm so impressed with those bunk beds too! Love the colors you chose too, great job!!

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  7. I am floored! You have some serious talent my friend! I look at all of our very blank and boring rooms in our house and think we could really use a little bit o' you around here. Thanks for the inspiration, love those rain gutter bookshelves by their beds - genius!

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  8. Beautiful. One day, one day, one fine day, my girls will have a room designed and decorated for them. At the moment they have paper bag brown torn wall paper in our temporary rental here in France. But... one day.

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  9. Hi! I found your blog on Just a Girl. Love your makeover, especially the shelves with the books and your tree...so cute. My 4 year old is sitting here on my lap and she keeps saying "ooooh, that house is so pretty!" I'm your newest follower!

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  10. Fabulous job! It all came together beautifully!

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  11. omg this is awesome, this is a room she can grow into teen with..
    I am inviting you to share your talent at our blow out linking party.
    http://www.passionatelyartistic.com/2010/11/fall-grace-and-blowout-linky-party.html
    Thank you,
    Maggie

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  12. I kind of did a double take when I saw your room! Beautiful...we must have "distance decorating attachment disorder". Sure we aren't related? Check out my daughters' room and a highlight of your work! Great job!

    http://www.containchaos.com/?p=571

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  13. Wow, it looks amazing and you should be proud of all your hard work!!

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  14. I just came over from Knock Off Wood, and I find myself suddenly in love with you. My daughter chose a really bright green that she loves and I hate for her room. Now, seeing almost the exact green on your walls and how well it works, I might just be getting some pink and doing the same. Gorgeous, gorgeous room. Great job, supermom!

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  15. What a beautiful job you've done, and I think your quilts are terrific.

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  16. I live in Fort Worth, so yes...I know where Euless is! =) Love the room! I keep trying to convince my husband to let me have some wood-working tools so I can build my own stuff, too! Great job!

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  17. What a pretty room. My 7 year old daughter, "Missy Moo" wants her room painted in both pink and green very similar to what you've done (except with a white line between the two colours). I love the darker pink though! Great job!

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  18. delicious!
    call me my girl to show her how beautiful this room!
    Can I steal your idea?
    thanks
    Ciao ciao

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  19. Hi! Just came over from Knock off Wood, and was wondering... We have a super small bedroom for our two boys (7.5x10) and I was hoping to see what the dimensions of THIS room are? I love the set up, but I'm hesitant on how large the bunk bed looks. Any response would be great! Thanks!

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  20. Love your transformation. I´m getting my girls bunk beds too. Hope it turns out as pretty as yours.

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  21. I actually came to your site because of the picture of your very nice ladder, I am just finishing my girls bunk beds. would you mind sharing how you made the ladder? I’m still very new to all this and would appreciate the helpful info. Thanks so much

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