Nifty Thrifty Girl » Style

a mini bedroom re-do

niftythriftygirl — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:16:51 +0000

My lucky daughter just spent a week vacationing in Florida with her aunt and grandparents. So, while she was away I decided to do what I love best – redecorate. Her bedroom had been painted and redecorated last year but there were still a few things she wanted changed. She decided that the scalloped wooden valances above her windows (that were installed when she was a wee one) were too babyish and wanted them removed. She wanted more modern, ‘adult’ curtains. She wanted her bedroom door painted white (it was a garish green color), she wanted a desk, and she wanted her great, great grandmother’s beautiful, ornate dresser & mirror removed from her room and replaced with something modern. That’s quite a list for someone who’s only eleven!

As soon as her plane took off I scurried home and started tearing her room apart. I have no ‘before’ pictures because the mess that was her room was far too embarrassing to be published. Believe me when I say it looked like a tornado touched down. It took me an entire evening to box up all the things that were scattered around the room. I decided that I would do the decorating and when she got home she could do the sorting.

I knew at some point that I would be redecorating her room so I had previously purchased several pieces at yard sales, IKEA, etc. The major find was the IKEA Knappa pendant light – a mere $2 (!!!) at a yard sale last summer. Her metal swivel office chair was another great find – only $5 at a yard sale…and all I did was clean it up and recover the seat with some Ballard Designs fabric I bought on clearance.

Since a brand new desk was not in my budget I used a small drop-leaf table (that used to be my Mother’s kitchen table) and painted it white. The one white wall in her room was begging for some decoration so I added a little artistic flair and painted a black floral design.

Desk accessories from IKEA and Walmart:

Next, her bed…

I used a previously purchased Ikea duvet that she had picked out, assorted pillowcases & blankets, an Ikea accent pillow and pink accent pillow that I made out of a recycled sweater. I hung artwork/photos (including the photo of a pink lily that she took at a photography class last year) in black frames.

And the final touches: a new white shag rug, curtains and curtain rod from Target. Notice little Waffle enjoying the view.

Not too shabby for a week’s worth of work, don’t you think? I have yet to find a dresser so for the time being we are going to store her clothes in a large, white antique bookshelf.

My daughter arrived home safely last night and her response when she walked into her room: “You’re kidding me!”

Do, Do, Do You Duvet?

niftythriftygirl — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:07:48 +0000

One of my favorite and least expensive ways to change a bedroom’s decor is to use duvets. I bought my first duvet about 15 years ago from Eddie Bauer Home and, believe it or not, I still have it! I have at least six duvets at the moment and switch them out every few weeks to get a quick decor change:

And with crazy boys like these…

who like to sleep with me and roll around in the bed, it’s a great deal easier to wash a duvet than it is a bulky comforter.

Some of my favorite places to shop for duvets:

Garnet Hill

Pottery Barn (I love you PB, but sometimes you are just too expensive and I can only shop your sales!)

Ikea

Target

I tend to buy most of my duvets on sale ($35-$50), that way I don’t feel too guilty when I amass a half dozen of them. I do, however, splurge once in a while when I find one I just can’t live without. Duvets are, indeed, a fun and inexpensive way for a quick change!

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Here Birdy, Birdy

niftythriftygirl — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:57:50 +0000

I’ve always wanted a fancy bird bath but could never afford one of the lovely vintage cast stone bird baths nor did I want to shell out the cash for a reproduction. And then at an estate sale I stumbled across an old metal ice cream parlor chair. It was rusty and falling apart, but for a mere $1.00 I decided I would purchase it and come up with some clever way to reuse it.

I took the chair home and started to disassemble the various pieces. As I sat and looked at the base an idea came to me. I grabbed an old ironstone platter and …TA-DA!… it rested perfectly on the base of the chair. I now had my very own, unique bird bath.

I do bring the bird bath into the garage for the winter as the platter would surely crack under the extreme NY weather we have. But as soon as spring arrives I always look forward to setting up my bird bath in a quaint little corner of my garden.

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Put Your Collections to Use!

niftythriftygirl — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:18:34 +0000

One of my favorite organizing tricks is to make use of the assorted glassware I’ve collected over the years. Most of these pieces were found at thrift stores, flea markets and estate sales. I’ve made a rule for myself to never pay more than $4 or $5 for a particular piece – most of them were actually found for under $2.

I use these pieces throughout my house for organizing; here are just a few tips/suggestions on how to use your collections to your advantage:

- Use small containers to organize bathroom supplies such as cotton balls, Q-tips, makeup brushes

- Use on your dresser top to organize earrings, jewelry, miscellaneous items

- Use on your desk to organize office supplies such as pens, scissors, paper clips

Put your collections to good use, get yourself organized and have fun!

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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…

niftythriftygirl — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:50:17 +0000

On one of my many trash-to-treasure outings during my town’s annual spring clean up I found several vintage dresser mirrors. These large, framed mirrors that were once attached to dressers make great accent pieces. The frames can be painted to suit any decor. Use them on walls, mantles, or over dressers.

I found several mirrors in very good condition and I grabbed them all. I cleaned them up, removed the hardware used to attach them to the dresser, painted the frames and now use them on my fireplace mantel as a focal point. I chose to paint one mirror frame white, and one black so I can change them out as the mood suits me.

These pieces were free, took only a minimal amount of refurbishing and look great. How can you beat that? You can also find these pieces very inexpensively at flea markets, yard & garage sales and estate sales.

When searching for such pieces make sure they are sturdy, with no chipped frames, warping, or broken mirrors. Also, make sure the backing is sturdy as this is what keeps the mirror in place. If you find a perfect mirror that is missing the backing, by all means grab the piece and have a new back piece cut to fit. Also, if the frame is in disrepair but the mirror is in perfect condition and is a pleasing shape don’t pass the piece up. You can take the mirror to a local hardware store and have holes drilled for mounting it on a wall.

And just a piece of advice when looking for trash-to-treasure items; always take precautionary steps to avoid getting cut by rusty metal or broken glass!

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Collections – Turn your Obsession into Decorative Expression

niftythriftygirl — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:36:26 +0000

One of my favorite decorating tricks is to make use of the many collections I have. Whether it be ironstone, cut glass, milk glass, quilts, or enamelware; displaying collections is a great way to enhance your style. If you are like me and have a variety of collections, you can rotate them with each season for a quick decor change.

I have a large collection of transferware which includes several plates and platters. I keep plate hangers on all of these pieces so I can just grab one and switch it out as often as I like.

Ironstone and milk glass pieces are great additions to your collections. White goes with everything and makes for a calming, eye pleasing display.

Experiment with different combinations – use pieces from several collections, or focus on a single color or pattern. For vignettes on tables or shelving try mixing cut glass vases, candy dishes, and bowls. Or try arranging several kitchen items of a similar color for an interesting wall display. The possibilities are endless!

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