A tour of my second-hand bedroom
When I moved out of our family home last year, I took almost nothing from my bedroom.
I left every piece of furniture (all Freecycle furniture that I painted), the bed, the lamps...I really just took my clothes. That meant I was starting pretty much from scratch when it came to my bedroom here at this house.
For a wide variety of reasons, I'm trying to keep all my costs down, so of course that's the energy I brought to the task of outfitting my bedroom.
In light of that, I thought it would be fun to take a little tour of how my budget bedroom is currently looking!
Let's go around the room starting at the door.
First, we have my little nightstand, which a friend from book club was getting rid of.
The lamp on top is also from the same book club friend!
I keep a little dish from the abandoned house on the nightstand to hold my night guard for my teeth. 😉
My queen-size sleigh bed frame is from my dear neighbor Kate, who was a blog reader before I ever moved into this neighborhood (what were the odds??)
She had some extra furniture that she needed to get rid of, so when she told me about it, I said YES PLEASE.
One of my cousins had a queen mattress she didn't need anymore, so it was apparent the queen bed situation was meant to be.
My down comforter is one from my old house, but I did buy a new duvet cover from Target for it, and it came with the covers for the extra pillows on my bed.
The small throw pillow is from my Buy Nothing group.
Over the bed is a mirror from the 1960s that someone was giving away on the Buy Nothing group. My dad came over to help me hang it up securely because woo, this thing is heavy.
(Don't worry; we do not generally have earthquakes here, so this thing is not gonna fall on my head while I sleep!)
Next to my bed is a scale that my abandoned-house sister-in-law gave to me because she had an extra one. I mostly use it to help me weigh eBay packages. 😉
My full-length floor mirror was a Facebook Marketplace find; I am of the opinion that a full-length mirror is a must.
Otherwise, how do you really know what you look like before you leave the house??
Also it is very convenient when I need to take clothing pictures for my blog. 😉
Next is a table from my other house, and on top is a plant that I propagated from an Aldi kalanchoe.
The plant is in a pot that I got from my Buy Nothing group; the pot was spattered with something that seemed almost like concrete, but with enough scrubbing, it came clean.
And now it looks great!
My curtains are from Ikea; they're the Matilda ones, and they are only $20/pair. Such a good deal!
The dresser in the corner is also from my friend Kate; it goes with the bed frame.
The little dish on top of the dresser is from the abandoned house, and it's a handy place to put my jewelry at the end of the day.
The lamp on top of the dresser came from Facebook Marketplace; I love it so much! The pull chain is so handy.
In front of the window is the little Philco table that I rehabbed; the light pink color doesn't go terribly well with my cherry-colored furniture, but it's fine.
The table fits perfectly there, and it's really wonderful for the winter, when my orange tree needs to come inside.
The mirror next to that window is from my Buy Nothing group. Something about the actual mirror is a little warped and wonky, so it's not that good for accurately assessing your appearance.
But it IS good for existing as a free piece of wall decor. 😉
The chair underneath is from a set a cousin was giving away; not all the chairs fit around my table, so I put one in my bedroom, and it actually does kinda match the rest of the wood in my room.
And then we're back around to where we started!
My room would not win me any interior design contests, of course. But considering that I spent almost no money to outfit this room, I feel very content with how it looks!
It feels peaceful in there, and sometimes when I hop into bed at night to read, I look around and feel a little bit like I'm in a hotel room.
And I feel really, really grateful for all the free/almost-free things that helped me make my bedroom into a quiet little oasis.
I think I may have told you this before but you know what's funny?
This is the first time in my life that I've had my own room!
I don't think I want to be flying solo for the rest of my life, but for right now, it's been fun to have a space that is JUST for me. 🙂
I know some of you out there are also in a starting-over phase of life, and maybe some of you will be in the future.
So, here are my tips in bullet points:
- Let people know about your situation. Lots of people have furniture/lamps/etc to give away; they just need to know that you are in need!
- Join your Buy Nothing group and then patiently watch and wait for useful things to pop up
- Peruse Facebook Marketplace; you can find cheap/free things there all the time
- Be flexible; if you go into this trying to curate a very specific aesthetic, it'll be way harder. An open mind will make it easier! I wouldn't have necessarily picked the dark wood theme I have going on, but I rolled with it, and it's working fine for now.
Kristen, that IS a quiet peaceful room. I just love it. Though probably not really large it breathes air and light and contentment. Much more and nicer than most hotel rooms. Well done!
I really don't get it why new should beat second hand. As long as things are well maintained and clean
@Lea,
I agree about new not beating second hand. Our family is expecting a baby and I am trying so hard to convince people that they can buy used if they want to gift us something. (It is hard to work that out for a registry but I'm trying.)
Rebekah
Your room is quiet, peaceful, and lovely. Just like you.
I'm doing a Thankful Thursday a day early: my mom was admitted to the hospital yesterday with what seemed like seizures or maybe another stroke. But the symptoms are all gone now--probably were some kind of med interaction and Mom can talk again! Thank goodness. So scared yesterday.
@Rose,
Thank goodness your mom is feeling better. Hugs to you today.
I have the most beautiful bedroom furniture ever--not even joking, museum quality--but I don't use it right now because it's so hard for me to get up the stairs, I let my son have the master bedroom. My daughter has her bedroom and the third bedroom is filled with my beautiful furniture. I sleep in the sunroom with zero privacy. It's OK, I just miss my furniture. One of these days.
Oh man, I hope that you can make it to your beautiful furniture one day soon!
I am so glad your mom is ok. Whew!
@Rose, I'm thankful for that, too.
@Rose, Cheering for your mom's recovery and loving how you care for her.
@Rose,
So glad your mom is on the mend...that does sound scary. Continued hopes that she continues to feel better, and that you can move back into your room at some point - sooner rather than later!
Your room is lovely and bright. Even if the furnishings weren’t acquired all at once, they go together, and I love the outlier of the pink Philco table (which is such a soft pink as to be a neutral/goes with anything piece). It’s very you, and your resourcefulness is a part of that.
Regarding tips, our entire house was furnished for under $1000 thanks to years of careful Goodwill, Craigslist, and freebie trolling. When we moved from a 1000+ sq/ft apartment to a a >800 sq/ft house, we had to do some editing and made sure to give items for free to friends that could use them. With the exception of having to replace the bed frame (for $15 of FB marketplace, and our original bed frame was free) to accommodate a much smaller bedroom, everything stayed and was just given a new role and/or spruced up.
—Repurpose! The elaborate hand carved wooden folding screen (Goodwill, $60) that once hid our former apartment’s laundry room door is now our headboard. We also have an awesome 1950s fold-out bar (Craigslist, $30) that now doubles as extra glass storage up top and important file storage down below (where the liquor would be—this part has a lock and key). My childhood toy chest—hand-built to survive the End Times by my Dad—is our coffee table, and so on.
—Repaint/refinish! A little cleaning and sprucing goes a long way. A beautiful bookshelf with Art nouveau scroll-work cost me $20 from Goodwill, and I refinished it with varnish and stain we already had on hand. It is SO PRETTY! Our VERY yellowed shower stall was redone with enamel boat paint—$27 for a quart beats having to renovate or replace by a long shot, and it’s held up a treat.
@N, Repainting your shower stall was a genius idea! Who would've thought of that? You earn a gold medal in frugality for that one!
How beautiful and . . . clean! My bedroom is never that clean. Clutter rules in my bedroom. But. We've ordered a loft bed to finally get our youngest and her bed out of our room and into the girls' room (gonna be a tight fit!). I cannot wait to have only one bed in our room. The pleasure of being able to make my bed by walking around it instead of just tossing covers up or crawling over a twin size bed!
I love the extra chair. So handy. I haven't decided what we'll use, but there will be a something to sit on while putting on shoes in our "new" bedroom.
Your bedroom looks lovely. I love the clean, simple asthetic. I've heard multiple designers say that a collected look is more "luxurious" than buying everying at once. So, maybe this is a designer's bedroom :).
A very frugal designer. Ha. Although I think a designer would still say mine is too matched! I got everything at different times, but I have so much of the same wood tone.
I agree on the full length mirror and needing one. However, in my current house, all the closets in the bedrooms have the mirror sliding doors so no need to buy one. And I think there might be too many in my house! Our last house in Florida had a nice 1970's theme with mirrored walls. The horror!!!!!
A few years ago, I actually purchased two lamps from an Etsy seller for my living room. Because they were handmade, I could choose the finish, the fabric on the shades, and the type of switch. I got pull chains, and I LOVE them.
Also, I'm sure you didn't purposely turn your bedside table books so we can't see the spines, but now I'm agog (such a great word) with curiosity as to what you're reading. Care to share what's in that stack?
@kristin @ going country, I want to know about the books too!
@kristin @ going country, Unless, as just occurred to me, the books are specific to your relationship with your ex, as you mentioned before. My bad. Disregard in that case.
Haha, yes, that is exactly why I turned them around! You know me well.
I could share the not-marriage-related ones though.
I too never truly had my own room. My bedroom in my early 20s was in a shared area of the house with the desktop computer (before laptops) and some other shared family items. So as you can guess, my uhh ... romance chances were limited. ^_^;; (I mean, they were anyway because I am me lol)
Hahah, yes, a shared space is not conducive to making out with a cute girl.
It's a lovely peaceful room. Thank you for sharing.
I decorate my home with a mix of free and hand-me-down furniture with only a few new pieces. One of my favorite pieces is 150+ year old buffet that my great-grandparents took across the prairie. Another is a dollhouse headboard that my dad built and my daughter now uses.
At least you left the burgundy paint behind! 😉 As for your room feeling like a hotel room, I've been in quite a few recently and your room looks much more inviting. And while I'm on hotel rooms, has anyone else noticed how high the beds are now? I'm not that short, but getting into them has become a challenge.
@Bobi, I have the same complaint. Did business travelers suddenly get taller? The higher bed is hard to get into and not very easy to get out of in the middle of the night. What are they thinking?????
I have the same lamp with the pull chain, though mine is a little crooked now from cats knocking it over so many times. 🙂
You may want to reconsider your jewelry storage situation now that you have a younger, more energetic cat in the house. If she's the type to get into everything, it might not be the best idea to have jewelry out in a dish. I'm not saying this to be negative. I'm saying this as someone who spent $1,100.00 (in 2006, so I'm sure it's more now) on emergency surgery to remove an earring my kitten swallowed. Definitely not frugal!
Oh, that is a good point! I am thinking there's a lot of cat-proofing we might have to do now that we have a more energetic feline in the house.
@Kristen, On that note, watch your dental floss/string! I had a cat that would immediately eat anything that was long and string like. We had a rather unfortunate incident with curly ribbon, once. He was fine, but he was NOT happy about it and I wasn't either! My cat now could care less about string but if I see wayward used floss, I panic snatch it up all over again, ha.
@Sarah C., Good point on the string. I would add, rubber bands. The cat that liked to eat those lived to a ripe old age but I learned quickly to put EVERY type of rubber band away in a closed drawer. Even the trash was not safe.
My goodness, yes. My tuxedo cat has a terrible habit of eating hair bands if we leave them out.
@Elizabeth, yup, and we had problems with those rubber bracelets that are given as freebies for kids, too. And window clings (that my kids would use to decorate their windows). My son got an indoor bow and arrow set with rubber suction cups on the tips and the cat chewed those, too. I had a very unhappy little boy. Fortunately I never had to take the cat to the vet.
My cat also, for some inexplicable reason, loves the corn silk on corn on the cob.
@Danielle L Zecher, Yep, when I had cats I had to keep everything that they could bat with a paw under wraps. That included my eyeglasses! I had a cat who figured out she could wake me up to feed her breakfast by batting my glasses off my nightstand. I tried putting them in my nightstand drawer...and she taught herself how to open drawers.
@Sarah C., Especially mint floss--they really like mint (I guess it's like catnip a bit?) But I don't know why they like curly ribbon. We had one cat who just adored it.
@Karen A., that's why I have a glasses case!
@Kris, they'll eat some of the weirdest things, won't they?!? The rubber suction cups are pretty impressive, though I'm sure it didn't seem that way at the time. We had to get a breadbox because one of our cats thinks plastic bags are some kind of delicacy. He has no interest in people food, but will eat any kind of bread bag, tortilla bag, or Ziploc bag if he gets a chance.
@Karen A., my vet told me it was because they made the ribbon with fish glue. Also stamps used to have the same glue (why they used to taste so nasty), My mother's Siamese LOVED to lick the stamps if they didn't get put away.
@Kristen, I was also going to mention your mouth guard. Our cat was batting mine around one day. Fortunately, she did not chew it. I keep it in my case now! Your new kitty is adorable!
I really love what you have created with your room. It looks very peaceful and relaxing.
Kristen, The peaceful nature and your complete ownership of this lovely bedroom come through loud and clear. Your hard work (and some of your hero Dad's) made the room into an oasis at a time when a comfy safe place was needed. And, in such short order!
I feel like all of this, your hard work and the excellent results, is a metaphor for the past year you’ve endured.
Your bedroom is lovely. The light in that room is beautiful. You have curated a peaceful place just for you.
It is wonderful that you shared your hints. There is very little in my house that was purchased new. My home is filled with inherited furniture, auction pieces, hand-me-downs, thrift store finds, Facebook treasures and estate sale purchases. I love the collected look. It is always changing.
Wishing you peace.
Your room will surely win something for the "This is how regular people live" contest, and that's much better than any "home/ food" shows these days. I remember how stress/ drama free those shows used to be, now these days everyone seems to be acting and the shows are so fast-paced/ packed with so much information that you feel overwhelmed after watching them.
What kind of sander do you use? I'm seeking guidance to refinish a staircase with water damage that has spindles! We were quoted $6000, so I've started doing it myself (40 grit) but the water damage is stubborn. Any tips to get rid of them?
Thank you, xx.
Ohhh wow, spindles are so tough to sand. I'm not surprised that the quoted price was so high! If they're curvy spindles, the only thing I know to do is hand sand them with a piece of sandpaper, but that is definitely tedious work.
If they have some straight sides, you could use a sanding block, but an orbital sander like I use for furniture probably won't be very useful at all.
@Farhana,
There are sanding sponges, and some of them are fairly flat and really flexible, to use when sanding pieces with a lot of curves and carving. I found some from a place that sells specialty paints for furniture painting, but I've found some sponges at Walmart as well!
@JD, thank you! I bought those sponges already, I was wondering if there's something more "user-friendly" out there that I didn't about ;D.
@Kristen, which orbital sander do you use/ recommend? Thank you!
Thank you for the tour! Every time I've gotten furniture in a "not what I would have chosen, but this is what's available for the price I want to pay" I've been pleasantly surprised.
We got our dining table from a fancy store, but the tabletop was pretty significantly damaged* so it was about the cost of getting it from Ikea. Truthfully, it DID feel a bit disappointing not to have a beautiful new table, but now? I love it! You can't tell it's damaged when it's covered in platters of food and place settings. More importantly, my daughter delights in banging her cutlery on the tabletop which has now chipped the tabletop more--and I care not at all, because we didn't pay premium and it was never in great condition.
*The tabletop is white enameled metal, round, with a pedestal base. The person who bought it first used an electric drill to attach the base to the tabletop; the screws pushed into the metal top, buckled it, and cracked the enamel. Eight screws, eight dime-sized circles of cracked enamel. Then they returned the table to the store. Their mistake is our gain!
That bedroom does look peaceful! And no more dark red walls. I can imagine settling in comfortably at night in that room.
I love using second-hand furnishings, which most of mine are.
I especially agree with being open minded about style. I have a complete mish-mash of styles in my house and I'm sure even an eclectic-loving decorator would hate it, but I live here and I like what I have, so there.
My tip is one we all know, but don't always do. Keep your eyes open. My husband's mother, when they were living in Pennsylvania, was cruising roadside apple stands at farms. She bought apples but she also bought the gorgeous old solid wood sideboard a farmer was using to hold his baskets of apples, for $25. Everyone wanted that thing after she died.
I shared a bedroom with two siblings, then one, until I was an older teen, and then had my own room for less than 3 years before marrying. When DH worked out of town, I had my own room again except on most weekends, and wow, did I love it. Now I have it to myself again, and I sleep so much better, especially since my husband slept like he was practicing for the WWF championship. He occasionally did an "atomic knee drop" in his sleep that nearly cracked my bones at times, but wouldn't wake him at all, and he gave me a black eye with his elbow in his sleep, twice. Not to say I don't miss him now, but sleeping by myself is better for me. I think "A Room of One's Own" (to borrow from Virginia Woolf) is a good concept, if it's feasible.
@JD,
Oh how your WWE comment resonates with me today. My DH has just found out may be going away for 6 weeks leading up to Christmas on a tour, ‘won’t you miss me’ he said. ‘Of course I’ll miss you’ said I, all the time thinking whoo hoo six weeks of uninterrupted sleep from a mild mannered man who turns into some kind of ju-jitsu master at night. Elbows in the temple; knees in the back of my calf and worst of all a heavy hand on top of my head. 🙂 🙂
Your room looks great! What an inspiration for people trying to design on a dime! Very refreshing in a world that insists we need to cycle our entire decor according to the seasons/holidays.
On a funny side note: we have the same bed frame! I thought, “what a pretty color. Wait, we have that same bed!” Haha
I never knew what those Aldi/TJ's succulents were called, so thank you! How long have you had that one? I've had one for years but never moved it from the little metal bucket it came in - I think I need to repot it so it can grow like yours.
That one has grown that large from cuttings that I started a year ago! It really thrived by the window in my living room and I'm hoping it will continue to do so here in my bedroom.
I put the cuttings in fertilized potting soil, but in my experience, kalanchoe is just SO easy to propagate. It roots so easily!
Kristen, every time I see parts of your bedroom on other blog posts I always think how peaceful and beautiful it looks! Everything goes so well and I think the pooled curtains look rather elegant.
That is true...sometimes people pool their curtains on purpose.
I will just pretend I'm being fancy. 😉
@Kristen, the curtains can easily be hemmed.
Add me to the list of people with "loved-again" furniture. Inspired by you, Kristen, I spray-painted my metal headboard a couple of years ago and it was a vast improvement. We inherited my mom's dresser and bedside table and I repainted them (they were in the "antique" category, time-wise, but not cool antiques, just ... old). I was impressed at how well they turned out but boy, I don't have your patience for doing that.
I have a couple of scratch-and-dent furniture items--a chair that had a scratch on a leg--I applied a matching dark stain and you'd have to be inspecting carefully to notice. I also have a scratch-and-dent tv armoire--yes, yes, I know, they are considered outdated--but when the front door of it is closed, it looks like a lovely classic piece of furniture and also, it's a beast--solid wood--and my husband says we will remove it when we move out some day. Or someone else can when we die. Ha. I have read, from several designers/interior decorators, that you are no longer supposed to do matchy-matchy furniture but instead use a "collected and curated" approach. Sounds like most of us are on that train, even if not by choice!!!
I would love a new dining set, but ours seats 10, is solid wood, and has proven to be sturdy and functional over the years .... the prices for new ones similar to ours are beyond what I'm willing to pay and I'm not up for repainting it (see above comment). So, the 1980's dining set that we purchased from friends for $50 twenty years ago remains.
@Kris, I have learned that dining sets are not in demand. If you really want a different one, there are probably tons of choices at estate and garage sales, thrift shops too. Maybe it is just regional, but around here they are hard to sell.
@Central Calif. Artist, good idea. I don't want anything formal and the ones that I have seen have been more formal, but I will keep a lookout.
Your room is beautiful! You have been resourceful, and repurposing the furniture is a win-win! It's new-to-you and given a new home!
I have no tips to add, I think you covered it very well.
I think it is a lovely room, both beautiful and peaceful. I am happy for you that you have such a nice restful space for this time in your life.
Thank you for sharing! I've been reading you for years and wish you all the best!
Thank you!
No tips, just questions and comments.
1. How often "should" one dust? I think the only way to be completely dust free would be to dust every single day. Not happening at my address!
2. Why did you choose that barely pink color for the Philco table?
3. THREE mirrors??
1. Your furniture is beautiful and all looks almost like a set, just perfect, not too matchy-matchy.
2. Your room would win an award if I were on the Interior Design Judging Team. . . simplicity, uncluttered, beautiful + useful.
3. One time I counted up my furniture in the entire house and only came up with 8 items that I bought brand new. So your method of decorating seems perfectly normal to me. It is finding things that suit your taste rather than following trends.
4. How wonderful to have your own space, a respite, oasis, refuge. You deserve this after all the upset and chaos.
Yep, three mirrors. I wasn't looking for this many, but hey, when something free turns up that can go on your walls, you take it.
Mirrors are good for making rooms brighter too, so there's an advantage.
The barely pink color...I dunno. Last spring when I was redoing a bunch of furniture, I just got a little itch to branch out from my usual black or white, so I tried a light pink. 🙂
I love mirrors. I have one over every mantel in the house (OK, there are only two), one in the kitchen, and there's one on my dressing table and one on my triple wardrobe. But I've also been known to take mirrors out of decorative frames and put my own pictures in. One of my favorites is an Arts & Crafts copper repousse mirror filled with butterflies that I put a sketch of my (then) three year old daughter in.
I love interior design. I love my antiques. I love beautiful things.
@Kristen,
I love the barely-pink paint you used for the Philco table! Not out of place at all.
Kristen, Missed the chance to welcome the pretty new kitty, especially for Zoe—how thoughtful! We had two cats at two separate times with no significant issues over their long lives.
What I can’t get over is how you can get such cute poses of them for photos. Even the little newcomer, capturing the striking coat and playful expressions, the fireplace image rocks. I could never get ours to pose and didn’t have a camera handy when they did for a few seconds.
@Erika JS, when people ask me to draw or paint their pets, 2 things always happen when I take the photos: if it is a dog, it runs toward the camera; if it is a cat, it immediate starts licking its privates. So you are right about Kristen having super cooperative cats!
Well, some of it is them being cooperative, but also some of it is just like when I photograph kids...you have to take a lot of shots and accept that you will get a ton of duds.
I have taken a million and one bad pictures of my cat because she does like the dogs you mention and she always runs to me when I squat down!
@Central Calif. Artist, that's funny. I think some pets (like my cat) are naturals at posing, and others, not so much. My daughter is artistic and has considered painting pets as a side income. Do you have any suggestions for her to get started?
Kristen, your bedroom is lovely. Warm, inviting, cozy. What a fabulous job you did in decorating on a budget. Everything looks like new and better than some others' new bedroom pieces.
Although I live in an area where people frequently leave great items out on the curb, I'm not able to get them home if I'm lucky enough to see them. We do have facebook marketplace and some apps but there are SOOOO many people competing for the same free stuff.
Also in a small apartment there is literally nowhere to refurbish or paint or stain anything.
I truly think your ability to repurpose is one of your super powers!
I love that you were brave enough to start fresh with your bedroom. Very wise decision as you move ahead with your life.
As for being on your own? Enjoy it. I can tell you there are plenty of happily married/living together couples who would be thrilled to have some time alone in the bedroom.
Being alone now and dealing with all that entails as you navigate divorce will help you focus on how you want create your new life as you move forward. Letting go of what was is much easier when you start fresh with new stuff. (been there. Done that.)
I cannot imagine how painful it is to have this level of change in your life but you seem to be a very astute woman who respects her own needs and is willing to do what must be done to meet them. It isn't easy but you are showing every day that it is possible.
I have always believed that the "right" people come into our lives based on seeing us at our best in terms of how we are enjoying being ourselves in our own lives. People who are comfortable with the lives they create just send out such good energy that it tends to draw similar people to them. I feel that as you move forward in this journey that you will indeed meet individuals who will play a key role in your new life.
Thanks for sharing with us. We may not be in similar life circumstances, but that doesn't make you any less inspiring and motivating to us readers.
If you ever wanted to, I bet you could provide a service to folks who'd be willing to pay you to find things for them. Heck, they would still be saving money and most importantly time.
Aww, thank you for all these kind words!
I love this so much. Hugs from across the internet for creating a beautiful space for yourself to heal.
Your bedroom is bright and peaceful, Kristen.
I love how you’ve coordinated all your furniture. And Sonia’s pressed flowers are beautiful.
Well i am thrilled about more cat pictures!! What a blessing for you 2 and the cat. As far as your bedroom it looks beautiful! I find it so impressive you have created such a comfortable and cozy space with almost no money spent!!
I'm wondering if you can hang mirrors, why your landlords would be opposed to you raising the curtain rods?
Anyway, your bedroom looks lovely, bright and airy and I'm sure its a very serene space for you. Cheers!
I adore this room. I know you don't think it would win any design contests, but it seems very intentionally designed with deliberate decisions about wood tone and linens. It looks like such a peaceful oasis in a really challenging time in your life. Thank you for sharing!
Your bedroom is lovely! So peaceful and airy!
Those are all good tips and I also use pretty one of a kind china dishes to hold things. Its something my mother always has on her nightstand and dressers. All of my bedroom furniture was "inherited" and Hubby and I never had any money to replace it, so its dated. But its also well-made, solid wood. And I know that I could always paint it. I do think there is something to putting it all together by yourself that gives greater satisfaction.
Congratulations on a very pretty room! I like all your choices, but wonder if you are averse to a rug. I like something to warm my bare feet when I get out of bed, and put a large round rug under our bed. It helps give the boxy room a little more character and my cold toes love it, especially in winter. There are lots of companies making inexpensive rugs, including Overstock and others, where I have found imitation Oriental rugs of wool and some of polypropylene that are beautiful, durable, and have now held up perfectly for 20 years or longer. They also absorb sound a bit, and make a room quieter and warmer esthetically. My secret for making a cheap rug feel luxurious is to put a good quality pad under it.
@Kristina,
I agree with you about buying rugs at Overstock.com. Several years ago, I bought a very large Oriental rug (8' x 10') with a matching runner for our living room and hallway for about $150, as they were running a rug sale, plus free shiping and I probably used a promo code. The rugs are polypropylene, but a good name brand; wool would be a disaster in my home. Years later, they are still like new, though they need to be cleaned.
You rock!
Very nice! Now I’m just waiting patiently to see the side table/chest you’re rehabbing!
You should be proud of how your space came together. It is serene. No drama. I love the orange tree. That pop of orange color is beautiful.
i think you did a great job on your room but me being me. i love new furniture. never had any new furniture as a kid. everything was from a dead relative. i get the stuff now on sale though.
Love your bedroom! No one would ever know that you didn't spend a fortune furnishing it! BTW, if you don't like the pink Philco table, perhaps putting a tablecloth, placemat or table runner would make it fit in better with the other items, particularly if the linen incorporated the cherrywood brown and black hues. Alternatively, you could put something in the room that picks up the pink color --a seat cushion on the chair, a picture on the wall, or a throw pillow on the bed. But most decorators say not to get too matchy-matchy in your furnishings, so not to worry.
Hi. It’s me again. I posted way back when I first left my marriage as well in January. I spent almost five months sleeping in a friend’s recliner while I saved money.
I am so happy to say I did what my husband said I could not. I found a three bedroom house of our own. My kids were so excited.
We moved last Thursday. My church family came out in spades to help drive a U-Haul, pack, unload.
I started from scratch too. My friends got me a couch. My church friends bought me a kitchen table set. They went on Marketplace and found a rocking chair for me (I am on the spectrum and rocking is my stim). They found a brand new bunk bed set in the box and when they went to pay for it, the gentlemen had heard some of my story for them and refused to aces or any money for it. They found a free sleigh bed for me. They helped assemble furniture for me. They brought a desk for me to do my work from and a nightstand. I really couldn’t have done any of this without them.
When I went to get boxes off of a couple, they asked if I happened to need a microwave. It was a big ticket item. I couldn’t believe it and thanked them profusely.
Starting over has been so difficult but it is such an incredible feeling and so surreal to know that I did it. This is my house. I was able to bring my three kitties over too!
Ohhhh, you have a free sleigh bed too! Woohoo! We can be twins. 😉
I'm so delighted that you have successfully moved out and on. Yay you!!!