My kids were away this weekend for "Nana Camp" at my mom's house (THANKS, Mom!) and we spent the weekend redecorating the kids' rooms as a surprise! My 6.5 year old son is getting a Baseball Themed room and my daughter got some Princess upgrades in her room.
Happily, we didn't have to spend that much to make a big impact in both of their rooms. First of all, we didn't repaint. My son's room was a neutral color and we just worked with the existing colors in my daughter's room. Next, I had gradually been accumulating things on clearance at Target over the last few months. I had princess wall decals for $2.48, a bedspread for my son for $17, baseball canvas prints for $5 each, and lots of little accessories. This saved me a ton...most things were 75% off! I also picked up some adorable sheets for my son at Pottery Barn Kids for 40% off...these were still more than a set of Target sheets but they really make the room and they were my one "splurge." See..even my splurges were 40% off! :)
For my daughter's room I spray painted a decorative mirror that we got at the Habitat for Humanity store...it was about $5 and I spent $5 on spray paint. The dated gold frame became a cute glossy hot pink and for $10 I've got a cute mirror that would be over $30 at least in a store.
I did end up buying them both new rugs full price. However, I will be selling one of their old rugs that is still in great condition on Craigslist and hopefully that will more than cover the cost of the new rugs. Instead of buying one large area rug for my daughter's room (which can cost $200 or more!) I got a few smaller rugs and spread them around the room. Total cost was $30...a huge savings and just as cute!
I also reused a lot of things and just spruced them up or rearranged them to make them new again. I didn't buy any new furniture, but I changed out the drawer pulls in both rooms...so cute and less than $10 per dresser! I bought a new lampshade for an old lamp, and used some of the toys they already have as decoration. And just rearranging the furniture makes a big impact!
They get back in a couple of days and I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they see their new bedrooms! For a day and a half of hard work and less than $200, I've got two new rooms!
So how do you save money on redecorating? Are you a thriftstore treasure hunter or a do-it-yourselfer? Share those ideas!!