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January 22, 2012

Master Bedroom Makeover: Our Renovation Before & After


When we first found our 1970's fixer-upper, I fell in love with the master bedroom the minute I saw it. It was really ugly at first, but it didn't matter to me. I could see through the outdated colors and woodwork.
I saw potential.
This is the story of how I completely overhauled our bedroom on a really tiny budget. Let's begin with a look at the before picture. 

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!




And here is the master bedroom today. 

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!



I did this entire room for under $500. The only thing I bought retail was the bedding and the rug. The rest came from a thrift store, garage sale, or was made by hand. 

And I completely updated the entire room with paint.
This room had so much outdated wooden trim that I used to refer to it as the wooden dungeon. It just felt dark and depressing. I'm sure my awesome furniture didn't help matters much, either. 

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!


I painted all of the trim and doors in the room white, which made such a huge difference, and then I painted the walls with a warm beige. 

See trim painting tutorial here and paint colors here.

I also rearranged the layout of the room. The bed was previously between the two closet doors (closet makeover seen here), but there wasn't really enough room. So, I moved the bed over to another wall, and put the dresser where the bed used to be.

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!
  
There were tons of diy projects that went into the making of this room. One of my favorites is the headboard I made out of some plywood, foam, upholstery fabric, and nailhead trim.

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!



For my first attempt at a DIY headboard, I think it turned out pretty cool. 
See my tips on making a headboard here




I trimmed the entire headboard with nailhead trim that I bought by the yard here (affiliate link). I absolutely love buying nailhead trim by the yard. It's so much easier than using individual nailheads for your trim. Rather than hammering in every single nail, you only have to hammer in 1 out of every 5. It's genius.


The secret to easily add nailhead trim! Such a great timesaver!



Other than the headboard, all of the furniture in the room came from a thrift store. It wasn't in my budget to get all new things, so I had to improvise. I found several pieces that had a great shape, and I painted them with my favorite shade of white paint. 

See my top 10 furniture makeovers (along with mistakes to avoid when painting furniture) here.


This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!

My favorite item in the room is this french provincial dresser that I found for $50 at a thrift store. 



This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!

I gave it a few coats of paint and accessorized it with a great mirror that I found at a local salvage store. 
To truly appreciate this dresser, you have to see the before picture.

I included a few other thrifty finds like a gold mirrored tray, an orchid, and a brass and lucite lamp.



I decided to leave the hardware as it was, but I painted the insides of the drawers to make this dresser feel brand new.  See more info about painting drawers here.


This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!



Another item I painted was this vanity. It was a thrift store find as well, and after a coat of paint, some gold stenciling, and a freshly upholstered stool, it feels brand new. I also added a mirror that I updated with some gold spray paint. 
See my tried and true spray painting tips here.


This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!

I love the way the gold stencil makes this ordinary piece of furniture kinda special. It was really easy to do, and really takes the whole thing up a notch. 
See the entire vanity makeover here.


This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!



The bedding and rug were the only new, store bought additions to the whole bedroom. I always to go 'new' with that sort of thing. The white striped duvet cover is from Target, the euro shams were from Marshall's, and the floral rug was from Home Depot. 

 I found an old brass chandelier at a thrift store. I needed something to replace the disgusting brown ceiling fan! It's a little too big, but still an improvement. I'm still searching for something better.

See what I ended up with here.

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!



As you can see, the entrance to the room is flanked by gorgeous french doors. There is a whole other room on the other side that we have yet to figure out a purpose for. 

There's also a large walk in closet that is behind those two doors by the white dresser, which you can see the full tour of here

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!

And see that little side room?

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!



Here's what that room used to look like. I painted the entire room full of floor to ceiling wood paneling the same way I painted the trim. It wasn't fun, but I did it.

This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!

And that my friends is how I updated our master bedroom on a tiny budget!


This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!



Just remember, no matter how much or how little money you have, you can make your house special on a shoestring budget. Sometimes, it just means you have to wander into thrift stores, make your own stuff, and learn how to use a paint brush. I make a lot of decorating mistakes along the way, and am always learning as I go. I'm sure this room will go through so many more changes! 


Don't forget to pin this post so you'll have this info when you need it!



This is a really great budget bedroom makeover. Love the before and after pics!

To see all of the mistakes and changes that occurred in this room after this post, check out this post.











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53 comments:

  1. What a wonderful makeover Virginia! You did an amazing job on $500. Thanks for your sweet comment on twitter today!

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    1. Thanks so much, Lori! And I meant every word...your loft is breathtaking!! Thanks for checking out my post too!

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  2. Oh my goodness! What a lovely serene room! Great job!!!

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    1. Wow! Thank you for the sweet words, Amanda! It means so much to hear such lovely compliments!

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  3. Holy Smokes! I am soo impressed! What a transformation - looks like a million bucks!

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    1. That means so much to hear, Barbara! Thank you for making my day! :)

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  4. Soo beautiful! Love the serene color palette!

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  5. This is so pretty & bright. We have the dark wood too. Our closet & trim. Our bedroom is so dark. Someday we will do it over.

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  6. Thank you Kimberly! So nice to hear! All of the painting was time intensive, but it was such a cheap way to totally transform the room! The dark wood made the room so depressing, so it feels so good to have everything be so much brighter and happier now! Thanks so much for following the blog too! You've made my day! :)

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  7. Hi Virginia- Just wanted to let you know that I awarded you the Liebster Blog Award! Congrats!

    www.thislittlemomma.com

    Nicole

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  8. Oh my Gosh, Nicole! That is just the sweetest thing that has happened to me YET in this little blogging adventure! Thank you for your kind recognition! It truly means the world to a little new blogger like myself! Thank you!!

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  9. Absolutely beautiful!! Amazing what a coat of white paint can do, isn't it?? Truely gorgeous and so clean looking! Great job!
    ~Lindsay...I found your fun blog from laughterandgrace.com...

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  10. Lindsay, Thank you so much! I so appreciate the sweet compliments and thank you for checking out the blog! Yes, I love white paint, and this house needed a lot of it! It makes SUCH a difference in the feel of a room! Glad you enjoyed it!

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  11. Virginia, you have serious talent! I'm pinning some of your pic now :)

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    1. Thank you so much Heather! You are so sweet! I so appreciate your support & thank you for following the blog! :)

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  12. I definitely can relax in a room like this! Your newest follower!
    I'd love it if you took a gander into my blog. Thanks!
    Abigail

    Smittenbyabigail.blogspot.com

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  13. WOW!!!! Love this! It's so beautiful. I love that you had the vision to imagine such a major transformation! :)

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    1. Awww! Thank you so much! So nice to hear! Glad you enjoyed the post!

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  14. wow this is amazing! you did a great job! found you from this little momma :)

    http://babybakerlove.blogspot.com/

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  15. found you from this little momma and i LOVE your blog! i can't believe you did this room for 400 dollars?! you have a talent woman. i'm loving it and it has given me a whole new inspiration for redoing my room for a cost friendly price. i didn't think it was possible. love love love it! xo

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  16. Fantastic makeover! I am a new follower to your blog and absolutely love your style! I love painting and refinishing craigslist finds as well. Easy on the wallet and so much more history to go along with it! It IS a lot of work though. Seeing gorgeous after pictures make it seem so easy! But totally worth it

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  18. Beautiful room. My husband and i just move and we are now starting to decorate our master suite and i love the color you use, i will def be using the same :)
    I saw you have a tutorial on your headboard but when i click on the link i dont see anything. Is there a tutorial on your blog?
    Thanks.

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  19. New follower. Love your room. We have been redoing our entire house on a budget too. I am currently working on my upstairs bathroom {scary scary place} and trying to do it using only what we already have on hand.

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  20. What an amazing difference your amazing creativity made! Is the new headboard a DIY or a new purchase. Congrats on a job very well done!

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  21. I love your creativity and your home is so classy and beautiful. Excellent job. Love your blog!

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  22. Your room looks so beautiful! The dresser is stunning!

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  23. Your room looks so beautiful! The dresser is stunning!

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  24. absolutely beautiful!! It's amazing what a little bit of paint can do to make a room soo cozy and warm!!

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  25. Wow, your room is lovely! So lovely! That mirror over your dresser is SO gorgeous, where did that come from??

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  26. Hi Virginia
    Absolutely awsome work..! To me the little room by the master bedroom must have been meant for a baby cot and relax chair when the feedings take place at night, don't you think ?
    yvette

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  27. How long did it take you to finish the entire home? Do you recommend taking the baseboards off the wall? Your blog has inspired me to do this for my mid 90's just purchased home. I have bought all of the supplies as noted, but just waiting on a good day ( rainy and humid over here) GREAT BLOG!

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  28. Absolutely amazing, love the whole feel of the room. You've inspired me to paint my 80's bedroom furniture!

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  29. This is absolutely amazing!! Looks great!!! Do you remember how much that vanity set was? The vanity table and the chair? I am looking for a vanity set for a while now. Thanks(:

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  30. This is such a beautiful room! So much space and light. I'm a new reader and have been ogling your home. It's cozy and bright and I love it. We don't have many split level homes in San Antonio, TX so I am amazed at the set up.

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  31. Your bedroom is absolutely gorgeous. I have found a bunch on things that I want to try from your blog already. Thanks for the great instructions on painting laminate. You are an inspiration for DIYers!

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  32. OH, I love your bedroom AND your living room. I want white, white, white like you do it, but I'm just not as good as you are! I recently painted my dining table with Cece Caldwell's chalk paint and waxed the surface (with Annie Sloan wax), but it just doesn't look "finished." Do you think I can use minwax on it?

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  33. I love your taste, everything so light, clean and off white colors. Where did you buy that rug for the bedroom???

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  34. I found your blog on Pintrest! Your house is sooo pretty, and i love y our taste and your living room looks so comfy!

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  35. Love, love, love what you've done with your room! Where did you get your bedding?

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  36. Oh my goodness! Beautiful! Our home was built in the 80's and we just bought it. The wood isn't as dark as your past "wood dungeon" wood... :) but it's close. Have you painted the rest of your house in the white trim too?

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  37. Virginia,
    I came across your blog this afternoon and I just HAVE to leave you a comment to let you know how freaking amazing you are. I'm obsessed with DIY and can't wait to buy my own fixer upper (many years from now) and make it my own. You and I definitely have the same style- I LOVE all the white in your house, and love the white kitchen and white cabinets especially. You are seriously a genius and I'm amazed and thank you very much for your blog and all of your tips and I can assure you'll I'll be using many if not all of them sometime in the future :)
    -Rachel

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  38. Lovely make over...white everywhere made the room so bright and brand new...i even liked the transformation of the small room...great job done...and thanks for such a fantastic tips...

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  39. Currently stalking your whole blog! So glad I found it. We just moved into a new apartment after selling everything and I love your style! Now to find a place to paint and DIY without having a yard haha

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  40. Wow, I found one of your photos on Pinterest. I am blown away by your makeover! I have a brand new home and it still doesn't look half as cute as your bedroom! SIGH. I need you in my life! haha :)

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  41. I kept coming back to your site and admiring the bright white trim. It made such a difference and looked so fresh and clean. I have a late 50s ranch house with dated wood trim, and this week, I took the plunge. My dining room is now pale blue with Behr Ultra Pure White trim. I just love it! Now I'm committed. The whole main floor is getting a makeover.

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  42. Great Job! What a transformation. Love it!

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  43. color me impressed! i've been wanting to paint some pieces but i'm scared!! will def have to read up on your tips. the room looks so peaceful. have you thought of a seating area? looks like you might have space in that little nook! i love when large rooms have those. that you did this for $500 is awesome! i've been searching the craig pretty regularly for mirror/iron bed/dresser/armoire but haven't had much luck yet. it's ongoing!

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  44. I love the paint color on the walls. Could you share with me what color you used? This is exactly what I have been looking for.

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  45. I really like the bedding and the furniture.

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  46. Hello, my name is Andrea, I'm from Argentina. I want to thank you with all my heart your posts and ideas that served as inspiration to do things in my house that feared to do. We have a very small apartment in Buenos Aires, and with your help inspire me and started mainly refactions. Then I painted things with spray paint. Also i took your advice decoration, because we share the same style of decoration, colors and furniture. Thanks a lot for all you´re help, motivation, and energy. Sorry if my english is bad, i talk spanish jajaja.

    Kisses from Argentina!!!!!!!

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment!! I do the hammer dance every time I read one.

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