My Strategy
Continued from "A DIY Intervention"..
My Competitors
Susie: She accepted the challenge willingly; she's creative and competitive (I knew she would be a tough competitor).
Laurie: She was also getting revved up and was pinning like crazy on Pinterest, so I knew I was going to have to come up with some really great ideas.
The first step was to decide which room I wanted.
All the rooms were approximately the same size. Two rooms had one window, and one room had two corner windows. So, I chose the bedroom with two corner windows.
I then had to think about the bed size. I knew Laurie had grand kids, so I figured that I would create a room that both adults and kids could use. So I chose twin beds!
Strategy #1 - The Beds
I felt that by picking twin beds I would have the winning strategy. My design idea was to create moving bed frames, twin size use, as well as king!
I made my frames out of two pallets, white washed them, and attached "killer" metal casters (2 on the bottom ends that lock after you move them).
Pallets = $0
Paint = $0 (I already had)
Casters = $50 per bed.
Total = $100 for frames!
Strategy #2 - Table
I then used a portion of a pallet to make a desk/makeup table.
As I told you earlier, my husband is in the farm equipment and manufacturing business. I took a portion of a pallet to my husband's manufacturing plant, and asked them to use a piece of scrap steel and wrap 3 sides. They put 4 legs on it out of scrap pvc piping. I tore out pages of an old book and glued them around the pvc to cover the pipe. Then I sprayed the legs with an acrylic sealer. I found 2 baskets at Hobby Lobby that fit the two openings on the front perfectly!
I had 2 a counter-height chairs in my garage that I donated.
Pallets = $0
Scrap Metal and PVC = $0
Old Book = $0.00
Acrylic Spray = $5.29
2 baskets = $8.00 each
Total = $21.29
Strategy #3 - Wall Decor
Laurie's family lives in Texas, Oregon, and Washington State. I wanted to have something displayed that depicted all areas. I bought a map and cut out the above mentioned states. I then took it to Office Max and got them to blow the size of each state up 5x. I bought 3 burlap canvases at Hobby Lobby. I glued the states on to the canvases and sprayed them with an acrylic clear coat.
3 Canvases with Map = $7.99 each
Total = $23.97
Strategy #4 - Bedding
I looked online for inexpensive cute bedding (FYI, those two adjectives are very hard to put together and find in the bedding world). I got an email saying Kohl's was having a "buy one get 1/2 off Sale," so I headed to Kohl's. When I chose twin beds, I was thinking, "This sure better not double my bedding expense!" But I did find some cute orange and white 'bed in a bag' sets. It was also helpful at checkout when I was given the opportunity to save an additional 10% if I signed up for a Kohl's card - so I did!
Total = $148.50
Strategy #5 - Window Treatments
I measured the two windows in my room (again 2x more cost than the other rooms). When I was shopping for the acrylic clear coat, I noticed some nice looking drop cloths...so I went back and looked at the measurements of the windows, and VOILA! I found some the exact size of my windows! I got 2 (ugh) curtain rods and curtain clips. Then I bought a pretty stencil. I stenciled the drop cloths in a silver metallic paint (already had it in my paint stock). Then to tie in the silver with the bedding, I stenciled on the pillow shams.
2 Drop cloths = $7.89 each
2 Curtain rods = $3.97 each
2 Curtain clips = $8.97 each
Stencil = $6.98 at Hobby Lobby
Total = $48.64
Strategy #6 - Accessories
Starting with my favorite retail stores, I shopped at Ross Dress for Less, and found a rug, table, and paint dipped basket. TJ Maxx had a lamp that was an exact match to the bedding. At Home Goods I found what I figured was an 'icing on the cake win' - a multi-colored Longhorn to hang on the wall between the twin beds! It was so cute, and Laurie is a Texas Longhorn fan! I also bought a mirror there for the desk/makeup table. At Benbrooke Antique Mall I found some old dress patterns, an old green wire basket, wooden wall coat rack, and checkered pith helmet (my favorite piece)! Then picked up a few little odds and ends at Dollar General.
$183.80
Putting it all together
With money running low, Suzy requested Laurie buy pillows, and Laurie agreed!! So she gave me 4, plus Laurie had some extra " burlap gunny" sacks left over, so she gave me two. So I stenciled those as well. Then I bought 4 large decorative wooden buttons and sewed them on the burlap sacks to make fun pillow cases. My friend, Paula, contributed a carafe to place on the table between the beds. The room was finished, and might I add, PRECIOUS!!
Fun Pillow Cases = $11.96
Total = $11.96
Finished Total: $538.16
A bit over budget, but so worth it!
next time..."The Judging Day"
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