This was my inspiration. I always like to start with a picture.
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Let's start with the before:
As you can see, I started with pretty much a blank slate. First order of business was painting the upper walls and ceiling. I based all the colors on a comforter which was an ebay find meant for B's room. She didn't like the color because it as more chartreuse instead of the shade of yellow she wanted. And because it was an ebay purchase, I couldn't return it, so I decided it would be the center of this room. Thus the drastic color difference between the inspiration room and my room. I knew there was a turquoise shade that would look great with the chartreuse and I found it... Valspar Lyndhurst Duchess Blue.
Next the wood work. Now, I am sure there is a mathematical way to figure out how many squares, how big the squares, etc. I eyeballed it. I put up the two top horizontal boards on the back wall and choose the height I liked - 15". So my squares became 15 inches. From there, I found the center of the wall and centered the first square working my way out to the corners. I did the same for the other two walls. I used 1"x6" for the baseboard and 1"x4" for all the other boards. (I do think I will line up the boxes on the side walls should I ever do this again.) I painted the wood and wall Valspar Pale Blossom.
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Now's a good time to talk about that really cute chandelier! I bought that chandelier off the facebook yardsale site for $10! Only it looked like this:
I removed the glass shades (which I took to Goodwill) and asked my wonderful hubby to loosen, flip, and bend the arms. Then, I sprayed it with a few coats of gloss black spray paint. And now I have a really cute upcycled chandelier. Yay, me!
There are few other upcycled pieces in the room as well. The metal art on the wall was the first item to get sprayed with that wonderful pop of fuchsia. The middle one was purchase from the yard sale site for $12. The ones on either side are from Hobby Lobby, regular $19.99, currently 40% off. Add the $3 can of spray paint, and for less than $40 you get a great pop of color.
The headboard was a thrift store find for $30. Originally a light pine and with stickers on the front side, I opted to turn it around and spray it gloss black. For my first large piece of spray painted furniture, I am very happy with how it turned out. Hint: have fine grit sand paper on hand to lightly sand any drips or splatters between coats.
Next, the lamp and the shades... The lamp was a hand-me-over from my mother. I also sprayed it the gloss black and bought a "fabric" shade from Hobby Lobby for $4 (using my 40% off coupon, of course). The shade had a guide to use to cut the fabric and it is already sticky. No adhesive needed. (You can find them in the fabric section, not with the other lamp shades). The fabric came from the local fabric shop up the street out of the clearance bin for $9.99 a yard. Two yards later and I had enough for the lamp shade, the window shade, and a cushion for the hope chest.
Ugh, getting ahead of myself. Picture of the before and after of the lamp:
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All the other major pieces of furniture were upcycled as well. The dresser was purchased for B about 7 years ago. It is a very nice piece of furniture, but over the years, and another child later, it was showing some wear. I pinned a dresser makeover on pinterest where they painted each drawer the different colors of a single paint card. So, I tried it. LOVE it. Such a great way to add color and interest in a room. I asked for some input for the paint on the door and opted to use the two lighter shades. The crystal pulls were bought off the yard sale site, 6 for $4. The other 5 came from Hobby Lobby during their week of being half off. I think I paid $1.50 each for them. I like the mix of the two. I used the pale blossom color to touch up the top and the scuffs on the side and it looks like a new custom piece of furniture!
The side table was my grandmother's. I really thought I had made a mistake in painting it. Actually, I thought my father was going to have a cow when I mentioned it. But neither he nor my mother seemed to mind, and really didn't think my grandmother would care. It probably was not expensive. It was just important. As a way to honor her, I decided to paint her monogram on the top. I originally had decided to make a stencil, but after worrying about pulling off the paint when removing it, I opted to just free-hand it. My grandfather used to hand letter signs for the businesses around town, and as I painted those letters memories of them filled my mind. I think they would both be pleased with the outcome.
I received the hope chest as a gift from my parents as a teenager. It was a light oak color which didn't work in my bedroom or this new room. So, back to the gloss spray paint I went. The mirror was, you guessed it, purchased from the yard sale site for $10. It was a brushed nickel color and was hanging above my grandmother's table in my bedroom. When the table moved downstairs, the mirror looked a little lonely. So, it moved to. Again, covered it in the gloss black spray paint.
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The finished room:
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Well, that covers it. I LOVE how this room turned out. It is a happy room. Loosely based on that inspiration room, I think it turned out better. Got an inspiration room? Let me help you make it a reality!
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