Description
I'm expecting my second girl and we are moving my 21 month old into her own "big girl" room when the baby is born so the baby gets her old room. So instead of decorating a nursery this time around, my project was a big girl room. I also managed to do it fairly inexpensively.
Design Inspiration
I knew I wanted it to be girly. I already painted her nursery pink and brown, which is right next door to this new room so I wanted to incorporate pink without painting the walls pink again. I looked up color combos online and I really liked the pink and green combination. I also liked the idea of a springtime/garden theme because it's not "baby-ish" and I think it will last her a few years before she outgrows it. I wanted to make this room a bright and cheerfulI place for her to feel special even with a little sister joining the family. I knew I wanted to go with white furniture, but didn't want to spend a fortune so I searched for used furniture to re-finish myself. (Mind you, I was pregnant during this time, and had Never refinished anything in my life, but I was up for the challenge!)
Decorating Style
"Bargain Chic" :-)
Project Details
As I said, I looked for used furniture to refinish to save some money. I searched Craigslist religiously until I found exactly what I was looking for. This takes some time,patience and a vision of what you want the end result to look like. I had never refinished furniture before so I looked up instructions online and asked advice from the sales people at my local Home Depot. As far as the bedding,draperies and other decorative accessories, I shopped for online sales/bargains. Websites such as Amazon.com or Babies R Us sometimes have limited time clearence prices on things. The prices can change from day to day, so you never know when you might stumble upon a good deal. Sign up for Amazon mom and you can even get free shipping on alot of items. I also searched discount stores such as TJ Maxx, Ross and Marshalls.
Favorite Items
I really like the bedding. I got it for half the retail price which I'm really proud of. But I also have to say I love the way the furniture came out. It looked way different before I repainted it, and it's exciting to see the transformation.
Advice
You don't have to buy the same brand or entire set of a certain room decor for it to look like it goes together (for instance, the curtains and valance that match the bedding that match the rug, that match the wall decor.) If anything, it looks too matchy matchy and there is no personal style involved. You just have to be really good at making sure the colors are at least very similiiar or in the same family. You can often save money if you stray from buying from a room set too. You just have to look alittle harder,be patient and creative and you'll be amazed at what you can come up with. Also, don't be afraid to take on "do-it-yourself" projects to achieve the look you want. Even if you don't have any experience, there are plenty of resources and tutorials online.