Friends, can we talk for just a minute about how glad I am that one of the perhaps unspoken rules of blogging is that you must post your beauty shot first. Thank the good Lord because if you had to see the picture of my Master Bedroom prior to the Under $500 Makeover challenge you’d likely never come back to my blog. Let alone visit my house.
This isn’t one of those self deprecating times where I say it’s bad and you’re like, Oh thank goodness these people really are human only to scroll down and be looking at your idea of perfect and someone else’s idea of a “terrible space”. That’s always fun.
Not this time friends. This bad. Truly bad. And I’m pretty sure it has looked worse.
You see, when you’re in the middle of a lot of projects in your house there’s always that one room, at least, that’s the catch all. For years, that room has been our Master. For us, our Master Bedroom has always been last on the list of things to get to and somehow or other it’s just never gotten done. Which is sad really because your bedroom should be your oasis. Your retreat from the world. Not a cesspool for flesh eating bacteria.
Ok. So maybe it’s not that bad. But when eBay challenged me to do an Under $500 Bedroom Makeover I said, I am all over that! It’s about time, really.
I will never get tired of saying it’s amazing what a little paint can do!
We used some paint that we had on hand, purchased another gallon and several sticks of 1x4s and it already looks a million times better, no?
Then I started to scour eBay.com for affordable solutions to my design dilemma.
Take this 1500 Thread Count White King Duvet Set for example. $27.99 AND free shipping! Shut the front door! And it feels like sleeping on butter.
You know, without the mess.
Add to that a set of 1800 Thread Count King Sheets and I’m so far ahead of the game I might even have money left over for the master bath!
Gorgeous and large white curtain panels for under $20 – for TWO. Are you doing the math yet?
Would you ever have believed this was doable for so little?
Avid readers that we are, bedside lamps are a must. But I loved the clean, space saving size of these tables and didn’t want to weigh them down with lamps. I was so excited to find these Swing Arm Wall-Mounted Lamps that all I had to decide was, nickel or bronze. Ultimately I went with bronze to help balance out the “darks” in the room.
This old cedar chest was my great grandmother’s. Check out that wood grain detail on the front. It was the inspiration for lightening up the walls but keeping some drama with the darker furniture. There was no way I could paint this amazing piece. It is in pristine condition. Except for the fact that we’ve lost the darn drawer. It’s around here somewhere. Does that kind of thing ever happen to you? Lie to me and tell me it does!
I didn’t want the room to get too heavy and dark, that’s the problem I was battling before, so I made sure to keep bright pops of color and light accessories throughout the room.
The hardest part of this design challenge for me wasn’t doing it for under $500, it was doing it for me. I am my most difficult client.
My style is kind of hard to pin down. I like a little bit of everything and some days I like some things more than other days. In other words, I’m picky. Maybe indecisive is a better word.
But I think if I had to pick just one word to describe my style it might be, Collected.
If you’ve been around here for longer than a minute it’s likely you’ve heard me whine about that time I blew our tax refund on a set of furniture {over 12 years ago!} and I am never getting rid of it. Well. There’s just something about it and in this room, with all of this bright light and fun pops of color, it just works. I don’t regret keeping it, or not painting it, at all.
I didn’t keep all of that tax-refund furniture in here though. See how we turned our old nightstand into a vanity for our guest bath, here.
Also, can we talk about my obsession with animal heads? These are ones that I’ve collected but you can find some gorgeous handmade versions on eBay that I am dying to get my hands on here: Faux Taxidermy Handmade Animal Heads.
Anybody recognize those bedside tables from this post on How to Update Your Vintage Furniture for Modern Use?
Yep. Now those vintage darlings are tall enough for this giant king bed and you can’t even tell they were altered, can you?
Toss in some photos of our sweet babies, some branches I plucked from the side of the road {If you follow me on Instagram you already know I keep a pair of clippers and boots in my car for just such an occasion} and some keepsakes like this yellow ceramic dog our oldest once gave his Dad for Father’s Day and you have yourself an easy and oh-so-you {or in this case, me} vignette. That and you haven’t spent a dime because you cleverly gathered things from around the house. And from the side of the road, if you’re brave like me.
I’ve always got wood lying around so popping up these 2×8 floating shelves also cost me nothing. But if you had to go out and buy your own you could create these shelves for about $3 apiece. You can handle that, right?
{Tutorial on How-to Floating shelves without brackets or cleats HERE}
If you aren’t really the DIY sort or lack the tools, you can always buy some ready-made floating shelves and you can even choose your size and color.
So what’s the verdict? Much better, right?
I’m curious. What’s your style and how could eBay help you track down just what you need while not blowing your budget?
P.S. I came in under budget at just $485 for EVERYTHING! Can you even believe that? Plus, I put together a collection of all the items on eBay that inspired this makeover and you can find it right here: My Under $500 Master Bedroom Makeover Inspiration.
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Looks amazing. It’s so bright and airy and is a welcoming space to take a few minutes for yourself. Great use of less than $500!
Thank you Heather!
Looks Great! I like that word, collected. I think I’ll use it. My entire house is a collage of things I’ve ‘collected’. 🙂
Gorgeous! I can totally relate to the master bedroom dumping ground!
Love the lights!
Kelly
LOL Why do we do we do that to ourselves? Thanks Kelly!
Love your story & how you decorated the wall with simplicity … but hope you didn’t buy the lumber on eBay (LOL)
Nah I had a lot of that lumber on hand. 😉 I bought most of the decor stuff from eBay. $27.99 for a 1500 thread count duvet, can’t beat that! Thank you!
After viewing this makeover, I ordered the sheets and duvet set. Great prices. Can’t wait to get them. Would have loved the curtains but they are out of stock and I was just at. IKEA yesterday! On my list for next time. Great makeover!
You will love them! Thank you!
This makeover turned out so well. Do you have directions on how you did the board and batton? I would love to do that in my living room.
Again, good job!
I’m sorry, I don’t! It is really quite easy though! Thank you!
You did a fantastic job with your bedroom!!!!!!!! It is gorgeous and don’t you feel so pampered now?!
Thank you and I do! 🙂
So beautiful!!! Just followed your link and ordered my very own 1800 thread count sheets!!!
🙂 Linda
You are going to love them! Thank you!!
The after is so crisp and fresh and bright! I love your “collected” style! So glad I found your blog- it is drawing me in to read more and more! The hits of color against the white are gorgeous and inspiring me for our bedroom!
Krista thank you so much! I feel the same way about yours. And I can’t stop thinking about your dock cleat suggestion for my mirror. Genius!
I love it! Your room looks sooooo cozy!
Thank you Heather! We find it very cozy and comforting.
Love the makeover! And here’s hoping you find that drawer soon. That definitely happens around here, too!
Man. I STILL haven’t found the drawer. I am horrified thinking about how it could have gotten mixed up in some stuff and taken off.
I have written before to tell you how fantastic you are. I have a confession. Aside from the extraordinary job you did on the bedroom. I am a retired residential Interior Designer. I AM MY WORST ENEMY AND A HORRID CLIENT!! You described me to a tee. I swear, if I were trying to write about my style, etc., I would not have been able to say it so eloquently. From now on, my style will be known as ‘collected’ and it will fit perfectly! This post did so much good besides the design advice and I bet I’m not the only one who benefited! Keep up the good work!
You have no idea how happy this comment makes me for all kinds of reasons, some you probably wouldn’t even realize. Thank you so very, very much! I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
hi! i love what you did with your room. those wall hanging lamps especially caught my eye! would you be able to share where you got them?
thanks!
Sure! The lamps came from Lowe’s. Thanks!
Great job! I love the color selection and am so tired of earthy tans too! I’m going to check out the lamps at Lowe’s. Thanks!
Thanks so much Barbara!
ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! That is one of the best before and afters of a room I have seen in a long time. You have a true talent for design!!
That is an amazing compliment! Thank you!
Hi there! I know I am posting late in the game. I was just curious where the link is to buy the 1500 thread count duvet set and sheets from ebay? I really would like to purchase. 🙂 And I absolutely love love the new makeover!
Thank you,
Brittany
Not late at all! You can find all of the things I got from eBay right here in my collection post: http://www.ebay.com/cln/southernrevivals/Master-Bedroom-Makeover/82486649017?rmvSB=true
Let me know if you have any troubles find it! Thanks!
This room is fantastic! I’m curious, where did you get the wall lamps? I have been looking all over but cannot find ones that would work above the bed that are reasonably priced. Thanks for the tips 🙂
Thank you! They are available from Lowe’s and I believe they were $30 or $40 each. Most affordable that I’ve found. They are plug-in not hardwired though.
I found them at on Lowe’s website, thank you! The reviews say that they are not really useful as they don’t swivel side to side. What are your thoughts? It seems like you have them mounted high enough so you can just flip the switch and they will give off enough overarching light so you do not have to move them much.
They don’t swivel side to side as you mentioned but I don’t find that makes them un-useful. Like you said, mine are mounted high enough that I don’t find that I need them to swivel.
Can I ask where you got the dresser from please??
Hi Julie
Of course! I got it from a local furniture store over 14 years ago. It’s a Vaughn Bassett set of furniture.
Did you nail or glue the 1×4’s to the wall? Looks amazing!
Thanks Thomas! Both. I used my brad nailer to secure while Liquid Nails dried it in place. Hope that helps!
How far apart did you space the 1x4s? Did you nail them to studs? Did you use pine or mdf? A friend of mine told me to use mdf because he said the wood would warp and the knots would show through. The cost of pine is much cheaper though. Sorry for all of the questions but I really want to do this like yours. My wife will love it.Thank you for the inspiration.
Hi Thomas!
They are 16″ apart in width. We did not nail to studs. Just used liquid nails and brad nailer to hold in place in the meantime. We spackled holes, any gaps at the joints and where the wood meets the wall for a clean appearance. We used pine. You’re right, much cheaper and a lot less cutting. Your friend is also correct about the knots. Be sure to seal for that prior to painting. Our room was done two years ago in March and no warping.
What size, length, and type of screws did you use for the floating wall shelf?
Hi Chris,
You can get all the details here on this post: https://www.southernrevivals.com/2014/03/cheap-easy-diy-floating-shelves.html