Nadia’s bedroom makeover (part 2)

With a budget of less than $100 dollars (and things are more expensive here!) and not much time, it’s a wonder I got anything done. But little time or money does not mean that you can’t make your spaces more comfortable and attractive, just that you have to be a little more resourceful, and just a tad more creative.

You can see all the individual projects here.

This is it. Her little own tropical-inspired space.

Almost everything remains the same in this room. Same beds, curtains, pictures. The changes are minimal, but significant. The most important addition to this room was color.

Next to Nadia’s bed is her “new” dresser, which went from drab to beautiful. The new piece brightens the space and adds a much needed dab of color to this spot.

New colorful pillows were added to the bed, with yet another shade of blue and a dab of red. Her doll Camila, her very first doll, wears a dress and bows made with the same fabric as the pillows.

On the other side of her bed, a new Ikea Billy bookcase was lined with one of my favorite fabrics, full of tropical colors and flair. The hand-painted wooden dolls on top were a souvenir from our trip to Belgium a year ago.

By far the most expensive, time-consuming and exhausting job was painting the doors and her closet (her closet has 14 doors!), but it was well-worth it. The closet occupies almost that whole side of the room, and instead of the honey oak, the bright-white doors bounce off a lot of light that makes the room even brighter.

Eventually I plan to change the knobs, but they still look a lot less cheap against the now-white doors (see how I made these paper hearts).

An accent blue wall emphasizes the only wall in the room (one wall is ocupied by glass doors, one by the closet and another by two doors). With little wall space to make any statements, or hang art on, this one had to stand out.

On the wall some original paintings we bought from a friend of a friend that was leaving the country. I want to eventually change them for bigger pieces, but the lovely illustrations (that extend to the frames!) still fit in, with colors that are perfect in this room.

Instead of the single, sad lamp on her dresser there are now two swing-arm lamps over the two beds. The new shades I made with “bubbly” fabric (her words), repeat colors and patterns used elsewhere in the room. The coordinating beads give them a playful twist, making them girly, but only just enough.

White doors, new accessories and lots of green and blue make her homework/craft space look much brighter and inspiring. On top of her bathroom door a “street sign“,  a little wink to her Danish heritage. A new floor pad grounds and delineate the space, and the new, brighter and more colorful bulletin boards serve as decoration as well as a way for her to “exhibit” her drawings and crafts. Next to her desk, and made by herself, her monogramed trash can.

The lamp on her desk was a lost case which I refurbished and made a shade for. The shade coordinates with the lamps above her beds. The heart mobile (which I subsequently modified because the breeze kept tangling the strings), adds some interest to the vast stretch of ceiling above her work area.

A place to dream and be inspired: It doesn’t take a lot of money, just some work (and a pulled arm muscle), and loads of love. Enjoy your room, kiddo!

Aunt Clara