Mum saved £600 on this lovely garden-themed bedroom for her daughters
A busy mum gave her daughter’s room a garden-themed bedroom makeover on a small budget, saving £600 by doing the work herself.
Decorating a child’s room can be tricky – after all, you want to dial up the creativity without spending a fortune on a design they’ll soon grow out of. That’s why Mum, Anna Oliver, decided to make keep costs low by making sure that everything she used was affordable and carrying out the work herself.
Garden-theme bedroom makeover
‘My daughter asked for a garden-themed bedroom, which started the ideas swirling in my brain!’ Liverpool-based Anna told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.
‘Looking on Instagram helped to confirm in my mind that I wanted a pink and green colour scheme. Although my daughters are only young, I wanted the room to feel a bit more grown-up, but still delicate and feminine.’
Keen to keep costs down, when brainstorming girls bedroom ideas, Anna decided to do all the work herself. ‘We had a plasterer in, who was brilliant, but the rest of the work we knew we could do ourselves and save money in the process,’ she says.
Before
Image credit: Anna Oliver
As you can see, it was in real need of a makeover, but before it could be decorated, the room needed to be stripped back. ‘We replaced the old rotten window for £390 and got a plasterer in to skim all the walls and the ceiling for £340,’ says Anna.
‘We also had a new laminate floor fitted, which cost £450 including the fit. We avoided professional expenses where possible – for example, we stripped the walls of wallpaper ourselves, and by not getting a painter-decorator in we probably saved ourselves around £600.’
Image credit: Anna Oliver
Decorating the room wasn’t all smooth sailing and there were some obstacles that had to be overcome. ‘We had a leak from the chimney which resulted in the ceiling staining and needing to dry out over the wintertime before we could paint it,’ says Anna.
If you suspect you have a leak it is best to follow Anna’s lead, address the area, and allow it to dry out with the help of a dehumidifier before continuing with the project.
‘Then, when inspecting the leak in the loft space the ceiling got damaged and had to be repaired and replastered– so that pushed things back too!’
After
Image credit: Anna Oliver
The finished result is a botanical dream that any little girl would be happy to spend time in, with flower-filled bedding and hanging foliage that gives us The Secret Garden vibes.
After the walls were painted, it was time for the old wardrobe to get a makeover. ‘I painted it using Frenchic paint in Dusky Blush, which cost £19.95,’ says Anna. ‘I also replaced the handles with new ones from eBay for £7.’
One of the key features in the room are the ivy garlands that drape up and along the tops of the walls. ‘I’m asked a lot about those,’ Anna says. ‘I bought a pack of faux ivy garlands on Amazon for £12 and stuck them to the wall and ceiling using White Tack. The round-shaped pink cushion and basket are both from B&M.’
Image credit: Anna Oliver
Despite shopping clever, Anna still wanted to invest in furniture that would last. ‘I paid £500 for the beds and mattresses, and £100 for the chest of drawers,’ she says.
The same faux ivy garlands were wound around the base of the bed to create an outdoor feel to the room. ‘We painted one wall using a colour we matched to Mizzle by Farrow & Ball, which was £25, saving £20,’ she says.
Now that the project is over, Anna couldn’t be happier with the outcome. ‘There’s nothing I would change, which is actually a surprise as I’m a perfectionist!’ We bet Anna’s daughters are thrilled with the result.
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