Cami's Room Evolution

If you have been following along with Cami's room makeover, Cami has been back in her new room for a while and it's livable but not totally finished.  I'm still working on some art projects, a window treatment, and some crown molding. 

Cami is eleven and going into sixth grade.  She is very confident and knows what she likes and dislikes.  She requested turquoise blue walls, horses, good lighting for reading, a comfy chair, storage for all her books and stuff, and a desk for homework and drawing.  I tried to give her everything she asked for on a shoe string budget.

I thought I'd show you how the room looked when we first moved in. 
Here is the WAY before.

Casey and Cami used to share this room and I painted it like this when they were little. 

They had bunk beds.  You can see them in the back left hand corner of the picture. 
The girls are 4 and one 1 1/2 in this picture. 

I used a cheap paint sprayer to whip this paint job out in about an hour.  The tapping off of everything I didn't want paint on took several hours, but the actual paint job was really quick (the paint sprayer was so cheap it died shortly after completing this project).   

The detail of the vines, tree trunks, shading, and grass were done with a regular spray paint can in two different greens.  I added the tree branch detail with a small paint brush.

Using the spray paint can went much faster then painting by hand.

 I wanted the room to have a kid like "cartoon" feel.  The clouds are done with white spray paint right out of the can. 

The sky on the walls fades from a blue to lavender.  This was achieved by changing the paint color to lavender and not cleaning the sprayer.  The sky color gradually changes as you move further up the wall.   The clouds are the absence of lavender paint.  The base of the cloud is the builder white ceiling.  The cloud detail was added with white spray paint out of a can.  Sorry the pictures are bad.

  

I used the same lavender blue to spray the bathroom as well.  I used wavy lines to mimic the feeling of being under the sea. 

The difference is I hand painted the sea life.  To see more of the bathroom go here.

The other bedroom was bigger (we only have three) so I moved the girls into the bigger room and took this one over as the office and painted it a beigy tan.

When the girls got their own room Cami moved back into this one "as is." 

I took the bunk beds apart and now they each have one.

Cami thought her current room was too "babyish."  Unfortunately the second child always grows up faster then the first.  This was the armoire I had from the time Casey was born.  Perfect for baby clothes, not preteen clothes.  I sold it on Craig's List.  I was sad to part with it.

You can see her new dresser in this picture.  I found it on Craig's List and updated it for her.  The mirror is still where it was when the armoire was in the room.  The bed was situated on the longest wall in the room. We kept the bed for now, but replaced the bedding and the drapes.  I changed out the  mirror.  We kept the shelves.  The bedside lamp went bye bye.

The room has two doors, this is the door to the bathroom and one small window that looks out to the drive way.  The view isn't nice so we keep the blinds shut.  The room tends to be dark.



It has one whole wall of closets.  I should be happy with all the closet space, but it really limits our bed placement options.

Here is the opposite wall from the current bed placement.  Cami had one small narrow bookshelf that was completely packed.  She needed more storage and needed to do some editing.  Her desk was unusable because it was covered in stuff.  The drape in front of the desk was hiding more stuff underneath.
 The bookshelf will be used in another room.  The desk will be repainted.  The bulletin boards, shelves, and Ikea desk chair will all be reused in this room.

Here is the door to the hallway.  Cami picked out the paint colors she liked and she lived with the swatches for a few days before she made her final decision.

Things that went bye bye. 

The broken ugly ceiling fan.

The dated carpet with runs and stains.

Math isn't one of my strong suits, but this is how my design equation equals out.
 Desire for Change + Teeny Tiny Budget = Creative Solutions

Here's a re-cap of what has been completed on my teeny tiny budget.

I found a dresser on Craig's List and painted it.

I painted the walls
Benjamin Moore Poolside Blue

I found a bamboo chair  on Craig's List and painted and recovered it in fabric I already had.

I pulled out the carpet and painted the concrete floors. 

I made a chandelier with an old lamp from H4H and two hanging planter baskets from Lowe's.

I bought and installed Billy Bookshelves from Ikea. 
The biggest expense in the room.  They are placed on the wall where the bed used to be.

I painted the black desk blue and white and placed it in between the bookcases.

 

I have never been a fan of fake wood furniture that comes in a box, but these work and fit the room's needs perfectly.  You can't beat the price. 

OK, so maybe I'm a fan now and I will get off my high wooden horse.

I found a new mirror at Home Goods.
On Clearance
 It had a few nicks that I touched up with white paint. 
No more boo boos.

I gave some new life with spray paint to some old lamps I already had. 

I re purposed some old toys to make wall art.

I used found driftwood and added some plastic horses to make a jewelry organizer.

I'll show you the final reveal in a later post.

Thanks for checking it out and following along with the makeover.

Bamboo Chair

I bought this chair and ottoman for $30 on Craig's List using my iPhone App. Craigs Pro.

It's going in my daughter Cami's room.  Cami's room is going through a huge makeover.  I already bought a dresser on Craig's List and painted it.  This is the second project on my to-do list for the makeover.

Cami wasn't too enthusiastic when I brought this home for her.   My husband asked, "why is that disgusting thing in our house?"  Casey said, "it's ugly but I know you will make it look good mom."

It just needs some TLC.

and a little imagination.

I started by recovering the chair and ottoman cushion with some left over fabric I had from a Halloween costume project.  I think I picked up the fabric for around $3 on a remnant table.  I only used a really small piece of it to make a witch costume for Cami a few years back.  It's part of the heart detail.

Bye Bye 80's fabric.

How did we survive before there were staple guns?

Still not there yet but I like the progress.

Time for a good cleaning with some warm soapy water and an old tooth brush.

I let it completely dry out in the sun and then I spray painted it white.

Hey Cami, can I find a different chair for you? 
I think I like this in my family room? 

She said "No Way," she LIKES it now!

Here it is in her freshly painted room. 
I painted it Benjamin Moore Poolside Blue, Cami's pick.
 She has some very strong opinions about what she likes.

The little ottoman has a circle detail that will be repeated in the space. 

The carpet is the next to go. 

Roscoe gives it the bark of approval too.

Thanks for checking it out!

Craigs List Pro. I'm Addicted!

My husband got me an iPhone for our 16 anniversary this past April.  My old phone wouldn't charge anymore and I was due for an upgrade.  You might think this is a strange anniversary present, but it's what I wanted and needed.  We went together and picked it up one Sunday afternoon.  I'm not very "techy" and so far I only have four Apps.  I first heard about this App. on Thrifty Decor Chick and I'm addicted!  It's called Craigs Pro.  

 

It's faster and easier to do searches on my iPhone using this App than it is using my computer. I've already bought two pieces of furniture using my phone.  I like it because you can view items on a photo wall and browse the pictures quickly.

I'm redoing my daughter Cami's room as part of her 11th Birthday present.  she needed a new dresser and I found this one.  The previous owner was asking $125, but she sold it to me for $75.  Solid wood with dove tail construction.  This is the "before" picture.  Me like!  I'll show you the after pictures in a later post.

I sold this armoire on Craig's List to make room for the new dresser.  We've had it since Casey was a baby.  It's perfect for little girl clothes, but not a 5'5" 11 year old.

I put these Container Store shelves inside for baby clothes.  I will miss this armoire, but it's going to a good home, a young family with a 2 year old little girl and another baby girl on the way. 

I found this Bamboo chair and ottoman for Cami's room for $30 this past week. 

The "after" turned out so good I'm trying to talk Cami out of it.  I like it right here in my family room, but it's for Cami.

This is the before. 

I know, scary fabric from the 80's, but look past the dated fabric and check out the great lines of this chair. 

I'll show you the "after" in a later post.

Do you shop and sell on Craig's List?  Or do prefer another source for great deals?

Thanks for checking it out.