Home DecorBedroom Budget & Details May 24, 2016 Y’all, I can’t tell you how much we are enjoying this bedroom! As my husband pointed out, it’s the first “finished” bedroom we’ve had since we got married. While I’ve put a little thought into our room in the past, it was never “finished” with wall art and attention to detail. There’s always been a bedroom to-do list left when we move out, so getting this one done for us is a real treat. As with all of our projects, I really tried to be as budget-friendly as possible on this one. Budget-friendly means different things to everyone, for sure. But keeping our goals for the room’s aesthetic and function in mind, I saved wherever I could. Some of the items in this room were sponsored, but as I said in my new year post, those items’ cost still gets included in the overall budget. Let’s break down this room’s budget and details, shall we? The first thing I pictured in this room was floral wallpaper. I’ve never done wallpaper in a room before and I really wanted to try it for the color and pattern that it can bring to a room. This obviously wasn’t a necessity in this room like a comforter, but it makes such a statement. The wallpaper cost $162/roll and we used two rolls for a total of $324. We bought wallpaper glue and a sponge we used for hanging, which was an additional $20. WALLPAPER TOTAL: $344 You can read about how we hung the paper here. After deciding on the wallpaper, this colorful Persian was the next thing I found. I still love how it plays with all of the other elements! I scored it for $320 on eBay and for a 4.5′ x 9′ vintage Persian, I was happy with the price. You can read more about the rug here. I already had the two sheepskins that I put down the sides of the bed. I got them years ago from IKEA. RUG TOTAL: $320 I knew I wanted a dark colored headboard against the wallpaper. I used a dark green velvet that I got several years ago at a fabric clearance sale. I just loved it and knew I’d find a project for it one day. It actually wasn’t what I’d originally pictured and I did search around for a better option, but in the end, using fabric I already had was worth it and I do love how it turned out! It was on sale for $3.99/yard when I purchased it, but I’m not including that in this budget since I chose to use something I already had. The only thing we had to buy for this headboard DIY was some wood that cost $40. HEADBOARD TOTAL: $40 You can check out our headboard tutorial here. We desperately needed to add storage to this room, so I knew we needed some nightstands with big drawers that actually worked. I also wanted them to match. We got these at IKEA for $79 each. I DIY’ed the drawer pulls, which you can read about here. The total for all drawer-pull material was $15. I’m including the chest of drawers in this category since it’s also storage that we purchased. I found it for $125 at an antique store. I love how it fits in this nook and provides much-needed storage! FURNITURE TOTAL: $300 We were given this Pottery Barn white duvet cover and euro shams for our wedding. I love them and even though we’ve used them for six years, they still look great. And that saved a big chunk of the budget! I wanted some texture on the bed without competing with the wallpaper and I love how my DIY Moroccan Wedding Blanket does that. I made it several years ago and still love it! The only thing I purchased when it comes to bedding are the materials for the over-sized lumbar pillow. I really pictured minimal bedding with an over-sized lumbar that brought in some subtle color. I got the subtle blue and white striped fabric at Hobby Lobby for $5.99/yard. It took two yards to make the pillow, so $12 was spent on fabric. I found these awesome dusty aqua tassels at a fabric warehouse for $1 each and used one for each of the four corners. We stuffed it with three bags of polyfill stuffing ($3.99/bag). BEDDING TOTAL: $27 I got the wall sconces for $29 each from Target. I really wanted to do a chandelier in here, but we both have to have a fan to sleep. We’ve tried it without it and it didn’t work so well. We found this black fan clearanced at Lowe’s for $50. We took off the shades and added round bulbs to give it a more modern spin. I didn’t love it at first, but now it’s really grown on me and it’s a super functional choice for us. The brush-stroke lamp on the chest of drawers was a lamp and shade I already had. I wanted a subtle pattern, so I quickly sprayed it with a coat of white primer so the paint would stick and then brushed on these strokes of blue. I had all the materials for it, so free is good! LIGHTING TOTAL: $108 This amazing original, one-of-a-kind abstract is from a local Greenville artist and a Columbia, SC artist. They did a cool collab where each of them painted a part of a series of paintings. This size sold for $195 on her website. The set of paintings over the nightstand were actually a Christmas gift on our first married Christmas from a local antique store. I was just trying to use what I had, but I love how they bring out the colors of the room. I still have to share details on the wall hanging and word art, but the only thing I had to purchase for this were a couple rolls of yarn that totaled $20. The art on this side of the room also came from my stash and didn’t cost us a penny! I also had the mirror and antlers right inside the door, so more money saved there. ART TOTAL: $215 I really tried to shop the house for accessories. I bought the candle for $10 and the capiz tray for $3.99. I spent $20 on plants for this room, but used pots that I already had. To me, every room needs plants, so that’s money well-spent. I already had the curtains and curtain rod, but they’re from IKEA. I love IKEA curtains! I paid $3 for the other tassels you may see floating around. ACCESSORIES TOTAL: $37 Okay, I think I hit everything! If I missed a category or an item you have a question about, please ask in the comments and I’ll add it! Now, let’s check out our grand total…. I really wasn’t sure how the budget on this room would shape up because I hadn’t added it all up until I wrote this post! But I am pleased! While I would love to do a bedroom refresh for $200 or something, I knew that wasn’t likely with having to buy so much furniture and the look I wanted with wallpaper and the rug. I tried to do things as cheaply as I could, save money wherever I could, but all without compromising the design vision I was headed toward and I’ve got a smile on my face today! We got the dream bedroom we’d hoped for without completely breaking the bank. One quick tip I have for funding rooms like this is to sell anything you’re not using. I’ve been selling any rugs or furniture that we don’t have a place for in this house and I nearly funded this entire room reveal! That makes it hurt even less and makes me enjoy the room even more.
Austin says May 24, 2016 at 10:48 am Thank you so much for your transparency in writing this post! I don’t think any blogger “owes” a budget layout to her followers, but it is SO helpful in knowing what we could do on our own! Plus, while I might wince at the cost of a rug or an item, when you look at the total cost of the room, it all becomes totally doable and reasonable. Reply
Marigene says May 24, 2016 at 9:09 pm I love it all, but the art piece over the bed is way too small. Reply
Lindsay says June 3, 2016 at 7:18 am Thanks, Marigene, but that’s actually what I was going for. I wanted a small hint of modern and color and not have a huge piece of art against the wallpaper. Reply
Whitney Shortt says May 26, 2016 at 3:23 pm Thanks for the budget break down. I agree with Austin that no blogger owes it to their readers, but it is nice to see what you can do on a budget and have an idea of how much things can/will cost realistically. Reply
Lindsay says June 3, 2016 at 7:24 am Thanks, Whitney! I’m glad it was helpful. I used to never do them, but it’s good for me now to do it and really process what we spent where even for me to learn from! Reply
Kate says June 3, 2016 at 2:22 pm Hey Lindsay! First, the bedroom turned out great. I love traditional but still eclectic feel. I think it’s very helpful to see what “budget” design really costs. I recently saw another breakdown that was five digits, which is obviously out of reach for a lot of people. But even at $1300, that’s a lot of money to some folks! And it took a lot of hunting, and diy-ing, and using what you had. Design is (usually) not free. I’m sure I’ve spent at least that much on rooms, but it was usually spent over time, so it’s easy to lose sight of how much you’re really spending when it’s $50 there, $200 here. Anyway, thanks for sharing this and great job on a beautiful space! Reply
Lindsay says June 5, 2016 at 3:33 pm OH I know it is! I don’t discount that at all. $1,300 is a lot to us too 🙂 A lot of my rooms come out cheaper because we’re able to reuse a lot, but on this one, we had so much furniture to buy, so it does add up. I’m so pleased with the price tag, though, for as much as we did have to buy. And with the nature of this job, things happen up front usually instead of spread out over time. This is just to give others an idea of what we did and how the budget shook out. Five digits is insane!!! Wow! Reply
Michelle says June 7, 2016 at 5:25 pm Hi Lindsay! This room is so beautiful. I could just stare at it all day. It has provided me much needed inspiration for my guest room. Question: do you remember the name of the sheer IKEA curtains? Thanks! Reply
Lindsay says June 10, 2016 at 11:27 am Hi Michelle! Yes! They’re the Ritva curtains. I love them and have used them in so many rooms now! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80063833/ And they come in different heights which is awesome. Reply
Lindsay says June 10, 2016 at 11:28 am OH and they’re not sheer…they just look like it when sun shines through a little 🙂 Reply