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Creatively
Frugal
Children's Rooms
What creatively frugal strategies do you use for creating great
children’s rooms on a budget?
"I decorated my daughters' room with a
backyard theme. I painted the top half of the wall and ceiling sky
blue, complete with clouds that I ragged onto the ceiling with
watered-down white paint. The bottom half of the walls are painted a
pretty green. (I added an inexpensive piece of chair rail to
separate the two colors on the wall and make it look more finished, but
it's not necessary.) I bought a length of picket fence at a home
improvement store, painted it white and attached it
along one wall. I tacked a clothesline on the wall above their
beds where I hung some of their cute outgrown summer clothes with wooden
clothes pins. Other accessories in the room include inexpensive wooden
birdhouses I bought at the craft store (the kids can paint them), and a
few cheap but nice watering cans and baskets in which I tucked stuffed
rabbits or greenery. I always get compliments on their room...
it's whimsical and fun, but simple to do and pretty as well." ~
Kelly
"I start by getting things organized, and then I work out a
decorating plan for the space. Our local paper has a 'thrifty' section
where we have found inexpensive (or free!) furniture. Bunk beds and
captain's beds (with drawers underneath) help save space. My kids love
making forts out of their bunks. In my daughter's room, I used simple
white curtains (sheets would work, too) and accented them with tiebacks
to match her bedding. These took very little time to make. I have a
seminar I offer on organizing for children, and a few tips on my
website, too. I hope to make my seminar available on CD soon. I look
forward to hearing what everyone comes up with!" ~ Jennifer Swanson,
Organizing and Productivity Consultant, www.jenniferswanson.com
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"Fleece panels can be used as
bedspreads and curtains. They are cheap -- around $12.00 -- and come in
SO many different styles. Worked great for us." ~ Michelle
"In the
room for my younger daughters, we took fabric and used liquid
starch to stick it to the wall. All we did was soak the fabric
in the undiluted starch, wring it out, position it on the wall,
and smooth it out. Using this method, you can apply and re-apply
until you have everything lined up the way you want it to be. We
did an entire wall this way with a fabric that matches the
curtains and other fabric accents in the room, but you could
also use the same technique with cutouts. We used thumb tacks to
hold the tops in place until the fabric was dry. When it is time
to change the décor, we’ll just peel it off and start over.
Since it isn’t glued on, we won’t need scrapers or chemicals
to remove the fabric, and we may even be able to wash the
material and reuse it." ~ Rose
"I recently
decorated my son's bedroom in a sports motif with wallpaper border that I
found at a dollar store for exactly that, $1.00 per roll! I've seen
the exact same rolls of border in a wallpaper store for $14.99. I
bordered all the way around his room for $4.00 and had a little bit left
over." ~ Beth
Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone who took the time to share
his or her ideas!
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