If you're on a tight budget I may be able to help you move more easily through the process. You don't have to have a large craft space, in fact what I'm sharing is all about using what you already have.
Question:
"How did you make such big changes to your room and spend under $100.00"?
The simplest answer to why I didn't have to spend a lot of money is,
I didn't make big changes, but rather many small changes that made a big impact.
Preface:
I did not have an actual plan for redoing my room, but more of just an idea of the look that I wanted. So to save money I took the things that I already had or bought very inexpensively (such as my chair and clock) and made them fit that look.
After completing a couple of projects and knowing that I was not going to be repainting my grayed-green walls I realized the picture below encompassed the feeling, color and look that I wanted. So I used it to inspire and lead me. Having an object that you can build a room around is definitely a bonus. This was a picture that my daughter no longer wanted in her room. You can see how the green on the wall can be found in the painting and you will see the other colors in the painting used throughout my room.
After completing a couple of projects and knowing that I was not going to be repainting my grayed-green walls I realized the picture below encompassed the feeling, color and look that I wanted. So I used it to inspire and lead me. Having an object that you can build a room around is definitely a bonus. This was a picture that my daughter no longer wanted in her room. You can see how the green on the wall can be found in the painting and you will see the other colors in the painting used throughout my room.
My craft supplies remained in my craft room as I worked since I had to continue to craft and blog. For the makeover to go smoothly I did one area or piece of furniture at a time.
The total time it took me to redo my craft room was two months. If I were to count in days how long it took me to paint my large pieces of furniture, arrange them and make the table skirts, I would say it didn't take any longer than two weeks. All of my small projects such as shopping at yard sales, painting my mirror and chair, and spray painting small containers is what drew that timeline out, aside from trying to live life too.
My Learning Curve and answers to other questions
1. Hidden storage can really impact the look of a room
2. Make some things stand out cohesively so things you don't want noticed fade into the background
3. Paint can become your new best friend
4. Good furniture arrangement is a must, getting it right can make your furniture look more impressive
5. Little added touches have a big impact too
6. Not everything needs to be exposed to remember you have it. In fact it's a bad idea.
At this point I realized what was wrong and what I needed to change.
My room lacked cohesiveness and a focal point.
Start small and it may help you along.
I didn't have to do a lot to the shelves of my desk to improve them. They are the first thing the eye goes to when I enter my room because they are straight ahead and at eye level.
The way I had my materials stashed just added to the dreariness and confusion of my room.
Embellishing the jars helped me in four ways; it gave me an attractive focal point, somewhat disguised what was in the jars without blocking my view of the contents, allowed me to bring the colors I wanted to an area that was very drab and the added embellishments united the jars with the rest of the room.
Choose what you want to stand out and then make it special.
Did the sandwich containers draw your eye or were you drawn to the embellishments of the jars and the colorful baskets underneath?
My shelves also lacked a pleasing arrangement and in the new design there is balance.
NOTE: I know finding a container to hold craft materials can be exciting. Especially if it holds those materials perfectly. The issue is whether that perfect container works perfect in your craft space and if it doesn't, can you make it work? If not, don't use it, or at least don't display it.
If you need to have it out, you can put it somewhere by itself like I did with my vase of colored pencils.
The next two things I learned go hand-in-hand
3. Paint can become your new best friend.
A can of spray paint, a couple small bottles of craft paint and a partial gallon of paint leftover from a home improvement project can go a long way. That's all I used in my craft room. If you need to buy paint you can find it at Walmart or a store like it inexpensively.
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4. Good furniture arrangement, is a must, can make your furniture look more impressive and is free
The dreaded furniture!
I had mixed pieces of furniture that did not go together AT ALL.
A can of spray paint, a couple small bottles of craft paint and a partial gallon of paint leftover from a home improvement project can go a long way. That's all I used in my craft room. If you need to buy paint you can find it at Walmart or a store like it inexpensively.
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4. Good furniture arrangement, is a must, can make your furniture look more impressive and is free
I
spray painted the containers I already had and added some of them to my desk.
By having the color around the room, it balanced the color scheme and
the room felt brighter and cheerier.
The dreaded furniture!
I had mixed pieces of furniture that did not go together AT ALL.
Place a thrown together desk made from filing cabinets, a bookcase-headboard, and slab of wood for the surface next to a beautifully lined Victorian piece and the desk looks hideous. In fact the Victorian piece looked horrible too next to these other things.
First I painted stripes on the back of the shelves to give them some interest and disguise the cheap looking back panels. I used two craft paints and sponged the color on so very little paint was used. Since this is not an exposed area that will get a lot of wear, I didn't have to do any priming. No money was spent to do this.
To give my bookcases even more weight and interest I used a white window valance along the top to make them look a bit fancier and to soften the lines. This took the place of using molding. I also painted the underside of the wood to bring color to the nook.
An old medicine cabinet was added since it has a curvy shaped top that breaks up the straight lines of everything around it. This was not absolutely necessary, but a nice added touch. The mirror (once cleaned, haha) helps spread light throughout the room by reflecting the sunlight from the windows across from it.
I painted all the parts of my homemade desk white to make it look like a real desk, work with the shelves and brighten and lighten this massive piece of furniture.
There is a noticeable difference in the amount of light
in my room now with all my large furniture pieces painted white.
5. Little added touches have a big impact too
I wanted hints of pink in my room so I placed some pink and white
striped wallpaper on the back of
the desk. I used two-sided tape to adhere it so it can be easily removed down the road if I wish.
I got the wallpaper from Goodwill about a year and a half
ago and finally found a use for it, but you can use anything to add some
color or pattern to a piece of furniture, including fabric, scrapbook paper or stencils. Goodwill often has brand new wallpaper rolls for around one dollar. I paid $0.86 for mine.
I also added pink bows and labels to some of my cloth bins.
I got the bins at Family Dollar for a total of $24.00.
Although I would have preferred to have them in separate spots, they work nicely together with a board on top to make one continuous surface. I even added a small shelf to the back to add another level. The drawers hold holiday themed embellishments and odds and ends that didn't have a place before. I can store my large plastic jars of flowers on top and this gives me a little area to decorate.
To give the area height I added a stylish mirror
My furniture looks better together now and by building up I made the most of my space. I also have a lot of hidden storage, hence all the fabric. :) Now the shelf unit and my desk look like they belong together.
The white curtains on the bottom of the shelves match the
curtains on the windows.
Money saving tip: To make them I took one large curtain and cut
it in half. Then I measured the length I needed and cut the tops off both halves
leaving room to make the hem for the rod.
"If I don't see it, I won't use it".
These were crafters speaking about how they need things to be exposed so they don't forget about what they have. It's a misleading statement if taken as advice. The only way you will forget about something is if you're not well organized. In fact that is a great queue that you need to improve when you're forgetting you have something. Being truly organized means you know at all times, exactly what you have and where it is.
That was a HUGE mistake!!!
A bunch of different and exposed craft materials together not only make a room feel cluttered and closed in, but displaying everything can actually have the opposite effect.
You may end up seeing nothing, at least nothing in particular.
Now your reason for having everything out may not be exactly the same. I mean it was also convenient to have everything out. At least that is what I told myself, until I was looking through my "organized mess" and couldn't find something that was right in front of my face.
Isn't it much nicer when you walk to your desk and the surface is clean and free of clutter. When you know just by opening a drawer all of your bills are ready to go and you don't have to stare at them or worse, shift them around to get to things. The same applies to a room. Organized messes don't invoke any kind of feeling other than wanting them to go away and they certainly aren't inspiring.
I craft because I like the creativity in making things that attract the eye in a positive way. I like to make pretty things and my room was not pretty.
Only keep some of each item displayed.
Lets use my paper punches as an example. I don't have a lot of punches, but you can substitute anything here.
So to everyone watching craft videos for ideas like I did, keep in mind that the individual ideas are great, but together they may create a monster.
The little joys of finding just the right container and furniture pieces with little to no monetary expense can cloud your judgment if you don't have an overall plan in mind.
I use my inks and rubber stamps at least a few times per week, but when I'm not crafting, as my room serves other purposes as well, I don't want to have to look at them and I don't want the inside of the cabinet collecting dust. Just my personal preference.
It's not the easiest process to decide what you want and figure out how to make it happen without a lot of money sitting in the bank, but it's very possible with a bit of creativity and it's an exciting and very rewarding experience that will make everyday afterward a good craft day. So put your creativity and eye for great things to work for you and make a space that you love.
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