Alright everyone, it is time to bust out those re-decorating skills! I love changing up a room every now and then for something new and exciting. But let’s face it, re-decorating can get somewhat costly. If you are like me, and enjoy frequent changes, then this post is for you! Today we are going to look at ways to change the theme or feel of a room without digging too deep in the wallet. I am going to show you how easy it is to do a total room makeover on a budget! For this makeover, I will be using a child’s bedroom as the example. But the tips shared here can certainly be applied to any room in your house.
Childhood Room Makeover
I remember when I was growing up, my style changed often. This is probably true for most kids. Some of us never outgrow this (myself included!). My mom was always a good sport though and even allowed me to change the color of my walls! Now that I have my own children, I get to watch their own style evolution. My oldest is now old enough to start voicing her opinions on what she does and does not want in her room. She also likes to voice her opinion on the rest of the house, but that is mommy’s territory. 😊 She has been given the freedom to choose the theme of her room and what kind of decorations she wants. It doesn’t matter if it’s my style or not, this is her space. But unlike my own mother, I am not down with the idea of constantly changing paint colors. It is a lot of work and paint is not cheap. Not to mention how hard it is to paint a room that is used every day!
Room Makeover On a Budget
Painting a room can most certainly change the look. But what if painting simply isn’t an option? For us, it is not completely undoable, but it would definitely be hard. Our daughter would not be able to sleep in her room until the fumes dissipated, nor would she be able to play in there as she always does. So, rather than changing the color of the walls, I started looking for faster and more practical ways to change her room up. Right now, at least for this month, she is really into cats. We love cats in our house and do have one as a pet, but her love for them really grew when she discovered the show Gabby’s Dollhouse. Despite the name, the “dolls” that occupy the house are actually cats! It is actually a really cute show and it provided a lot of inspiration for my daughter’s room makeover.
It Doesn’t Have To Be New!
When my daughter asked me if she could have a “cat room”, I immediately started looking around for cute cat accessories. I also enlisted the help of my mother, who has an amazing ability to spot the most unique things when out thrifting. Yes, I said thrifting! Now let me be transparent for a second here, thrifting is not personally my thing. Not because I have anything against it (quite the contrary), but because I am not a big fan of shopping in general. I get easily overwhelmed in the sea of merchandise, so I usually just stick to a list. It takes a special eye to be able to comb through a store and find hidden treasure. If you are lucky enough to be someone or know someone that has this gift, then I envy you! Upon request, my mom immediately sprung into action and started finding little gems to go with our cat theme. One such find, was this cute little doorstop. It’s one of those things that you didn’t know you needed until you found one!
Isn’t it cute?! This is the perfect example of how something so simple can get you started on your way to a room makeover on a budget! It is easy to get focused on just the walls and forget to add little details here and there. So before moving on to the walls, let’s keep looking at those other little details first.
Budget Makeover Accessories
As I mentioned in a previous post, add a throw rug can really tie a room together. It doesn’t have to be a massive rug because even a small one can add a pop of color or interest to a room. I wanted to find a cat rug that was cute. You know, something that looked like a little girl’s room. When I found this rug on Amazon, I was beyond excited! It is not only adorable, but really soft to sit and play on. The rug comes in many different size choices so it was easy to find one that suited our needs. Just look at that cat! Doesn’t it just scream “come and play!”
Now let’s talk about one of my all time favorite room accessories, pillows. It can’t be explained in any logical way, but I just love pillows. They are so fun to mix and match, and one of the easiest things to change in a room. My mom once again came to the rescue and found some really cute cat pillows to go with the cat theme. While I myself find the realistic one to be a little too realistic, my daughter loves it! That is all that matters at the end of the day right? These pillows are mostly used for decoration, but when mommy and daddy are on the floor playing, they really come in handy. They also get used for forts every now and then as well.
Pillows Aren’t Just For The Bed
You can’t have tons of pillows in a room without having somewhere to put them right? Or maybe you just have some extra stuffed toys or other odds and ends that need a place to go. This provides another great opportunity for a themed item! I have woven totes in various rooms of my house that are great for storage. But I didn’t just want storage for this room, I wanted to find something that went with our cat theme. Once again, Amazon for the win with this adorable cat basket! This basket not only looks like an adorable cat, it is functional too! Win win in my book!
One last item before we move on, and that would be lighting. To be honest, this was the most difficult piece of the entire room. Why? I don’t really know, but it was just really hard to find a lamp that fit what I was looking for. There are plenty of “cat” lamps out there, but none of them stood out to me. Remember that show I mentioned earlier? I went back to the show and looked closely at the background, which is a cat themed girl’s bedroom. That is when I spotted a cat lamp that I knew we had to have! Of course, the lamp in the show was custom made. So I knew that I would have to custom make my lamp as well. If you aren’t crafty, don’t panic! Making a lamp is really quite simple. All you need is a plain lamp, hot glue, some felt stickers and sequins. It didn’t take long at all to whip up a lamp that looked almost exactly like the one in the show! And I have to mention, it was really cheap!
Budget Wall Redecorating
Alright, I have shown you some ways to implement a theme throughout the room, but now let’s move on to the walls. Bringing color to your walls does not have to involve a paintbrush. You can really create focal points on the walls through art! When I say art, I don’t just mean paintings either. Art can be anything from paintings to decals to clocks and everything in between. If it is decorative and hangs on the wall, it is art! Etsy is a really great place to find all things unique for your home. It is my go to when I am redecorating a room. This site is where I found these two decorations for my daughter’s walls. One is simply a decal that was fully customizable. The other is a set of cat pictures that were also fully customizable.
While it is difficult to tell in the photo, the cat pictures are actually outlined in purple. They add little pops of color and of course help to tie the theme throughout the room together. The last item that is worth noting is the cat clock that I found. Amazon has a lot of really cute cat clocks to choose from. This one matched not only the cat theme, but the colors of the room as well.
Find Your Inspiration!
I could go on and on when it comes to ways to do a room makeover on a budget, but I think you can see from what I have already shared just how easy it can be. The next time you or your child want a new look for a room, take some time to look around for the hidden gems that can make it happen without all the hassle and mess of paint. You’ll be surprised at how much new curtains, bedding, throw rugs or just simple knick-knacks can create a new space without breaking your budget! Happy decorating!
