Are you a sucker for a fun girls’ bedroom makeover? Me too — especially when they only cost $40!
At the beginning of the summer, the older 3 kids mentioned MAYBE switching their bedrooms around (again)!
Dave and I said we could probably make that happen, but we wanted to be SURE they wanted a switch before we moved everything around.
Well, by the time mid-July rolled around, they were still pretty excited about switching bedrooms, so we searched around for a few furniture pieces on Craigslist and Amazon, and finally made the switch at the end of July.
Dave helped me move all the furniture around before he left for a weekend trip with the older 3 kids, and I stayed home with Clara and put ALL the fun finishing touches on their rooms.
It was so fun to surprise them with their bedroom makeovers when they got home!
I’m thrilled with how well the rooms turned out (and how little money we spent to make the transformations). Of course, the kids are quite excited about their new spaces as well — especially since I added a few “bigger kid” items like desks and tables in their rooms!
I’m planning to share the boys’ bedroom reveal next week, but today it’s the girls’ bedroom makeover!
And I say “GIRLS'” (plural) because Clara will eventually be up in this bedroom as well. However, for now, it’s Nora’s room all to herself (yeah, she’s pretty excited!)
Watch the Video Tour!
If you’re reading via email, you may need to click through to the post to watch the video.
I’ve included several more photos of this room below — hopefully you can get a feel for how it’s all laid out!
Looking into the room from the landing area — closets are on the left wall.
Here’s another look at the closets — her clothes are in the left closet, the dress up stuff is in the right closet.
And the fun collage wall we put together!
Another shot from the doorway, looking more to the right side of the room.
The hutch holds lots of craft and school items.
The desk was one thing she really wanted in her “new” room. We got a little tin of teal paint and painted the desk, a shelf, and a few other accessories.
And the bunk beds… these are the same beds we’ve used for several years already.
They are the MYDAL beds from IKEA but we purchased them on Craigslist, painted them white, and cut off the legs so they would fit with our sloped ceilings. We are VERY happy with these beds.
This picture is taken from the brown hutch area looking back towards the door to the landing area.
Not bad… especially considering we spent less than $40 on the whole room ($20 for the desk + chair, $12 for the teal paint, and a few bucks for accessories at the thrift store).
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3 Super Quick Before/After Photos of our Girls’ Bedroom Makeover:
This room was SO “blue” when we bought the house, I still can’t believe how much we have transformed this space!
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As you can hopefully see from the before/after pictures above, this bedroom was a massive project — probably our biggest bedroom renovation to date.
There was absolutely ZERO insulation in any of the walls. We raised the ceiling, rewired the whole room, added tons of insulation, added a 2nd heat duct, and then completely overhauled the paint, carpet, lighting, trim, and even added a second closet.
We are all SO happy with the results of our renovation, and I’m thrilled with how well this room has functioned for all 3 of our older children over the past 3 years!
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More Posts & Pictures Of This Room!
We’ve used this bedroom in SO many different ways over the last several years… here are a few of the different ways I’ve documented on the blog!
1. When we first moved in, we actually slept in this room while we renovated our current “master bedroom”.
2. Then it became a bedroom for one of our international students.
3. After that, it turned into a guest bedroom and / or storage for a few years.
4. We moved Simon up here right before James was born.
5. It turned into a play room for a while when Nora and Simon shared the other upstairs bedroom.
6. Then Nora took over after we totally gutted it and renovated it right before Clara was born.
7. Eventually, both boys moved back into this room and all 3 older kids slept together (per their own request).
8. Now we’re back to just Nora — with Clara moving in sometime in the next year!
Sigh… I’m tired just thinking about it all!
There you have it — a video and photo “tour” of the last 8+ years in this bedroom.
We’ve come a LONG way from blue sponge paint and no insulation… in fact, it’s now one of my favorite rooms in the house!
Jen says
I really enjoy seeing your room decorating posts! When I was a kid many years ago, we had a kitchen table that same light aqua blue paint color! Cheerful! But you call it teal- isn’t teal a dark green with a slight bluish hue?
Debbie says
Nice video and Nora’s room turned out great! I actually don’t read too many blogs anymore but I do follow many YouTubers. This video is so helpful to get a better picture of the room and your clear narrative is so helpful.
Andrea says
great — glad to hear you liked the video! Thanks Debbie!
Marva says
Love the video! And love Nora’s room! I especially like the hutch where she can organize and arrange her ‘things’. She’s learning from her mama how to decorate and organize and declutter- start them young!
Andrea says
Thanks Marva! We love the room too!
JJ says
The video was so awesome!!! Love the family on the porch–so funny and precious all in one!!! Her room is a great haven for rest and relaxation.
Andrea says
Thanks 🙂 We had fun with the video!
Sarah Gardner says
Andrea,
I just love how the room turned out!
You may have written about this in a previous blog post, but where did you get the comforters? They fit so well with the bunk beds (which is what we have currently for our kids, and I’m looking for recommendations).
Andrea says
Yes, I think (maybe) I mentioned it in the video — but the comforter is the same comforter we bought for her double bed when she was only 3. We found it on Craigslists back then!
When we moved to bunk beds, I simply cut it in half and sewed up the seams. it’s the perfect size for a bunk bed and doesn’t hang over the edge!
Erin says
Love the video! Darling room. I love all her storage for her special things. My daughter is already requesting a desk for her next room too. Keep the videos coming!
Andrea says
Thanks Erin — desks are apparently very fun!
Karen Miller says
Hi Andrea, awesome video. It’s so nice to put a voice with a face! Love the cute bedroom. Keep up the good work.
Andrea says
Thanks Karen — I’ll hopefully have more videos to share in the coming months!
A says
Andrea, her room is beautiful and so youthful. And I love the bright and cheerful bedding! Is it new or repurposed?
Thanks for a great blog!
Andrea says
Thanks 🙂
The bedding is the same bedding we’ve had for her since she was 3. We found it on Craigslist as a full-size comforter and I cut it in half to make 2 bunk bed size comforters.
JoAnn C. says
Yay, an Andrea video. How awesome. Keep those coming they are such fun to watch.
That typewriter, I love it! I learned to type on one of those in high school before the school bought electric typewriters. I had one just like that at home for the longest time. When I was in my early thirties I went back to college and had to sell the typewriter so I could buy a word processor. That brings back such memories. These days, I thank goodness for computers.
Andrea says
Thanks JoAnn — hopefully I’m able to do a few more videos
And yes, the typewriter is a big hit for our kids!
Diana Edwards says
Thanks for sharing your adventures. Love Nora’s room
Andrea says
Thanks Diana — we’re really happy with how bright and fun the room is!
Jen says
I LOVE the video! The beginning was so fun–and you did a GREAT job!
Andrea says
Thanks Jen!
Christi says
I really enjoyed the video. You may have posted others, but this is the first one I’ve viewed. I really love the shot when you’re all on the front porch. The sped-up changing of seats is a great visual of how flexibility is required when raising kiddos.
Andrea says
Thanks Christi — this only the 3rd or 4th video I’ve ever published — and certainly the first with any sort of “styling” (music, intro, etc.). I’ll hopefully be doing more in the coming months though!
Mary says
Thank you for the consistency in great videos. You are the only blogger that I read every day, because I know you will be there! Thank you for your great work. You make a difference.
Andrea says
thanks Mary — consistency is key for me (for many aspects of my life). If I get out of my routine, it’s really hard for me to get back into it!
Kim says
What a lovely room Nora has! So crisp and clean and roomy. That desk will be loads of fun for her. I enjoyed your video!
I wonder if next summer she would be “grown up” enough to take on a project of painting the hutch white…………….if you and she like that idea. She could paint the knobs with that teal paint she likes so much.
Andrea says
thanks Kim — we are very happy with how it turned out!
I’m not sure I want to paint that hutch just yet — I sort of like the darker wood!