Katie's Room: the Makeover

While work on our house addition languishes between building inspections, a Christendom College student and friend of ours has moved in with us. Since the room that was supposed to be hers still lacks electricity and insulation, she's moved into one half of the boys' room for now. To make her comfortable, we did a little redecorating, and I was pleased at how things came together.

So, a la Better Homes and Gardens, I'll do a price countdown: I painted a flea market dresser ($5) and a 24" high table with drawers ($10.50) blue. The blue paint was a bucket of rephrensible wall color that came with the house when we bought it (free, if you don't count buying the house). For some reason, the aquamarine that would look appalling on a wall looks wonderful on these salvaged finds. And since the room was already dark blue and light blue with a green stripe, the medium blue was just right. Feeling in a 60's kind of mood, I kept the brass handles on the table and bought new knobs for the dresser (c $12.00). The color combination of bright blue and gold reminds me of a 1960's Hallmark gift book I remember reading as a child.

Following an idea I'd seen in Better Homes and Gardens a few days ago, we made a bed using the low table, some cinderblocks and planks, and an oversized wood frame for headboard. The cinderblocks (hidden behind the dresser) form one half of the bed, and the table supports the other side of the mattress.

The battered wood frame was one I had dug out of the woodshed of our old house, and spray-painted gold to hold a collage for a few years. When the collage fell apart, the frame was relegated to the garage, where my husband would occasionally grumble over it.

But now mounting hardware ($3.00) and one yard of batik fabric ($7.00) fastened in place with upholstery tacks has made the frame into a great focal point (it's the First Thing You See when you go into the room, and it works!) And the colors of the fabric pull everything together even more. Ahhh!

We already owned the IKEA oversized pillow in blue and green check, patterned rug, and green blanket. And Katie contributed her dark blue sheets and a velveteen blue bolster (which, by angelic miracle, matched!) I found the mirror at a thrift store for $6.00. Maybe later we'll add some pictures or wall storage units but for now, it's done. Total cost of rennovation: just under $40.00.

Maybe I should submit it to Better Homes and Gardens...