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Kristin Bryant Thompson

I'm a mom of three, interior designer, and owner of Postbox Designs, an E-Design company. I love custom designing my clients rooms, then sending their Room-Inside-A-Box right to their mailbox. You can usually find me barefoot in a messy bun working from my sofa...usually calling Rice Krispie treats my "lunch"!

Unicorn Bedroom Makeover

I would love to share the makeover of my seven year old daughter Adelyn’s bedroom makeover. For her “big girl” room she wanted unicorns, horses, and sparkles…so we compromised to still get her vision while “taking it down a notch”  (or about a dozen!). To create more of a softer look, I used subdued pastel colors, and lots of textures. We added in a lot of fun unicorn and horse items in either inexpensive decor items or easy-to-swap out artwork will sweet, girlish images. We used a new spindle style bed and layered on lots of pink, white, and gold bedding.
But, her favorite part of the room is her new pink sofa! While it is primarily a reading nook, as a bonus it also folds out as a second bed for sleepovers. I love her new Wall Gallery full of fun, whimsical art (where else can you use prints of fairy floss than a little girl’s room??) We added in some fun DIYs just as the $69 light fixture and $2 gold horse figure.
I also wanted to keep it really budget friendly since I wanted her to fully enjoy her space, and not freak out when she secretly brings out her hidden marker stash…I know it is in there somewhere!
My advice to readers for designing a kid room: don’t go over the top with a theme! Instead, do something a little more classic with neutral furniture, and then sprinkle in fun touches (such as our bubble gum blowing llama).
If you can see the whole room reveal (and the free “Shop This Room” printable) right here: http://postboxdesigns.com/2018/11/08/girl-bedroom-decor-kid-room-makeover-e-design/

Adventure Theme Boy Bedroom Makeover

My little man, age 8, would spend all of his time playing outside in our woods if I would let him! So I wanted to bring the outdoors in for his Adventure/Camping themed room makeover. Everything in this makeover is budget-friendly with a lot of DIY touches. I wanted it to be a room he could use for a long time, so while I added in some whimsical elements, all of the main furniture pieces can take him into his teenage years. Design by: Postbox Designs Interior E-Design, Photography by: Jacob Harr

Shared Kid’s Homework Area (from a former hallway)

We had an unuseable hallway filled with outdated built-ins, track lighting, and stained carpet. But with three young kids (ages 4, 6, and 8), we needed to make better use of that space! So we went about creating a farmhouse style Kid’s Homework (and Craft) Area where they each had their own station. We installed a shiplap wall and added three sconce lights, and under each light we added a framed photo of each child. We created a desk from Ikea that was long enough for all three kids to have their own station. We also replaced the carpet with wide plank, hand scraped hickory floors, and updated the lighting. I made my own rug for $20 using an inexpensive outdoor rug and painting a swiss cross pattern onto it. I also created free art by making my own vintage inspired flashcard art and framing it. I made “one minute” no sew curtains using seersucker duvets and clipping them onto curtain rods for our oversized slider door. Then little elements like our industrial chairs with Periodic Table inspired monogram pillows also add a school vibe to the space. We added in some fun, inexpensive decor like wire baskets for holding supplies and the kids went bananas for our gold bulldog tape dispenser! Everything in our room is kid-friendly, budget-friendly and durable. We want our kid’s creativity to shine in this area as they work on their craft projects and create new artwork (which they do every single day!)….now they have a place to make it, and I get my dining room table back! We did the entire project is about two weeks and less than $2000, but any extra space you may have in a bedroom, unused closet, or hallway could work to put in a mini station for your kiddos!

$357 Little Gentleman’s Boy Bedroom Makeover

I created a new room for my son Knox for only $357!  He is my “dapper dude” and loves to dress up, so we gave him a “Little Gentleman” bedroom. To keep a tight budget, I had to do a lot of DIY projects. I started by painting the room a bright blue, then painting navy and red pin stripes on his back wall. I created a gallery wall over his dresser by framing bow ties I cut out from scrapbook paper (a $2 project). He loves Mr. Potato Head so I found protype line drawings online and printed them off, and framed them (free). I drew the picture above his bed with a black Sharpie on a piece of cardstock! (free). All of the frames I bought on sale at places like Michaels and Hobby Lobby. On a blank wall, I filled it up by cutting a giant “K” for his monogram out of scrap plywood and painted it with leftover red wall paint (free). For his rug, I purchased and inexpensive outdoor rug for $20, and painted the Union Jack on it with leftover paint. I couldn’t find striped curtains that I liked, and that would fit into the budget. I eventually found these navy and white striped twin duvets from Target. I hung them as curtains with clips. Because they are duvets, they actually function as great, heavy lined curtains. The biggest splurge was the Pottery Barn Madras plaid bedding. All of his furniture are rustic inspired hand-me-downs that we incorporated into his space. For more details on this space, including the exact price breakdown: http://postboxdesigns.com/2016/03/13/300-boys-little-gentleman-bedroom-makeover/

$400 Shared Girl’s Bedroom Makeover

This bright and colorful bedroom is a shared space for two sisters (ages 4 and 8), so it had to work for both of their needs! I had a tight budget for the room make-over, and decorated the space for $400! I painted the walls a bright turquoise and stenciled the back wall with a Pottery Barn Kids geometric stencil in a lighter shade of the wall paint. The headboards are actually one vintage bed that I split apart for two headboards (I raised the footboard to the same height as the existing headboard to match). The bed frame was found at a flea market for $1 in Alabama and driven back up to Michigan! I had a friend sew all of the custom bedding: floral duvets and ruffled polka dot shams and bedskirts. In total, all of the bedding cost around $200. All fabric was found at fabric.com.
The mirror in between their beds is an Ikea mirror that I painted hot pink. The spindle table is from Target. I created the ombre banner for FREE by using paint samples that I cut out into triangles.
Over the white dresser (the only piece of furniture we already had for the room), I hung an oversized print of the girls together (an engineering print, printed for around $10). I painted an existing lamp hot pink, and added some ribbon and felt flower to dress it up. I also changed out the wood dresser knobs for more sophisticated pewter knobs and glass flower knobs.
In the corner is a dress-up tower that was built by their grandfather and given as a Christmas gift. I created the artwork using $1 of scrapbook paper. I drew the girls’ silhouettes and cut them out of the bright paper, and framed them with frames I already owned.
The turquoise pompom curtains and rods are from Target. The flower pillows are from Target.