I've redecorated quite a bit of my home over the past couple of years, and while the process so far has been very rewarding, it's by no means cheap. Even buying a lot of stuff secondhand and DIYing just about every part of the process so far, my fiance and I have spent... well, I don't like to give out actual numbers, but let's just say it's a lot.
When you're on a tight budget, completely redoing even one room can seem like a daunting prospect. Savvy interior stylist Kiki Tolles was faced with quite the challenge when her sister asked her to redecorate her bedroom - paint, furniture, decor, everything - for only $700. It was a tall order, but Kiki demonstrated how she pulled off her no-holds-barred bedroom makeover on a budget!
$700 might seem like a lenient budget, but when you're completely redesigning an entire room from scratch, that money disappears fast. Kiki's (aka @roomsbykiki 's)Â sister was moving into her old bedroom, which desperately needed a complete do-over. There wasn't much in there, and the few things that were there were, shall we say, "not the vibe."
Kiki wanted to make a fresh start with a Mamma Mia -inspired boho Mediterranean aesthetic. That's not a look you can pull off on a $700 budget if you're buying everything brand-new, so Kiki had to get creative!
Boho Mediterranean Luxury on a Budget
Preparation is half the battle, especially when money's tight, and Kiki went in prepared. To invoke the Mamma Mia -inspired vibe, Kiki created a color palette with lots of rich greens and fresh, natural blues that would reflect the natural light from the room's big windows. She also needed to plan the layout, as that would inform what she bought for furnishings. Since her sister is an artist and a writer, she needed a big desk, and the rest of the furnishings would have to fit around that.
Once the basic plan was established, Kiki stripped the room bare and went to work. She spent around $60 in total on paint, including what she spent painting the ceiling and the trim. As a fun freebie bonus, she realized that the hardware for the door and windows were beautiful brass underneath their awful "landlord special" paint job, and restored them to shiny perfection!
Kiki initially had over 90% of her budget left for furniture and decor, but she had to drop over $250 to order custom bamboo shades to fit the windows. That's where her thrift shopping skills came into play. Buying everything secondhand, Kiki purchased all the room's furniture and decor (including a big West Elm desk, a corner bookshelf, and a gorgeous antique room divider) for... $635, which put her $255 over budget. Thankfully, Kiki still had her old furniture left over, and after selling it all off (mostly on Facebook Marketplace) Kiki dipped back under budget with $20 to spare!
Takeaways for DIY Decorators
After all was said and done, the redecorated room could pass for a staged setpiece in an interior design magazine. Her Mediterranean bohemian aesthetic had perfectly materialized, and all for less than $1,000 (even before Kiki sold off her old furniture to get back under budget).
Kiki was great about detailing her process, and I think there are a few things novice room redecorators can take away from this. First, going into the project with a detailed plan for the color scheme , overall aesthetic, and layout helped Kiki keep her purchases aesthetically cohesive and (more or less) on budget. Secondly, she made great use of the nice features the room already had. For instance, she highlighted the windows by redoing the blinds and painting the trim, and she restored the room's existing brass hardware for an extra bohemian touch. Finally, she got creative with the decor even outside of buying things secondhand - for example, framing her sister's sketches and prints from an art book rather than thrifting even more art.
You have to think outside the box to pull off a DIY room makeover on a budget, but with creativity, shopping savvy, and a fair bit of forethought, it can be done successfully. Kiki's sophisticated bedroom makeover is a perfect example!
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