Please bear with me as this post is going to be long-winded and very image-heavy.
Last Christmas, a bunch of people were asking me what I wanted for a present. It was really hard for me to think of anything because there was nothing that I particularly wanted or needed. I no longer bother telling people not to get me anything because I know that they will just do it anyway, so instead I opened up my laptop and started brainstorming. Somehow, I came up with the idea to redecorate my room and decided to ask for presents that would help spruce it up. Things like new bedsheets, duvet cover, floating shelves, pretty office supplies, etcetera etcetera. As I am prone to do, I got totally carried away and ended up redesigning my entire room. This all happened right before final exam season so it was very distracting, but in the end, it was worth every minute and penny spent.
One thing that I realized while planning out my new room was just how expensive everything is when it comes to interior design. I am very particular about the things that I own, so even if it strays from my vision just the tiniest bit, it won’t do. Unfortunately, many of the things that I wanted were either way out of my price range or simply didn’t exist at all. Well that was a challenge I was happy to take on, as I decided that if I couldn’t buy the items I wanted then I would just make them.
I had wanted a platform bed for a very long time. The overall theme of my room was aqua and minty shades of green with a feeling of lightness and airiness. To me, there was simply no other option than a platform bed. I had given myself a budget of $100 to replace my bed frame but all of the ones I was seeing were $300+. I am very fortunate because my dad is a handyman and very good at carpentry and woodworking. I browsed around for inspiration and ended up finding reddit post with a bed very similar to what I wanted. I took the design, tweaked it to my liking, and then passed it on to my dad, who surprised me with it on my birthday. It doesn’t show well in the pictures below, but it is actually lit from below so, in the dark, it really looks like it’s floating.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I actually forgot to take before pictures so these are just some photos that I found on my phone. What a mess! As you can see, my room used to be extremely mismatched and cluttered. It was really just a mash up of whatever furniture was available at the time.
One of the biggest improvements in my new room is my desk! I enjoy both gaming and crafting so the amount of space available on my old desk just wasn’t cutting it. The area was cramped and cluttered and really just a terribly inefficient use of space. I shopped around a bit to see if I could find the desk I wanted but nothing really caught my eye. Instead I ended up designing one to perfectly suit my space and my needs. Again my dad built it for me, but this time with my help. Well I don’t know how helpful I was but that’s beside the point… We were able to use reclaimed wood for most of it but I did have to buy the two pieces that make up the desktop. Still it only ended up costing around $80 so I would consider that a great success. We used a water-based glaze because we didn’t want to deal with the messiness and fumes of the oil-based. I think it took about 4 coats to get it to the level of glossiness that I wanted. I love the drawers in the middle; the top one is for odds and ends, second is for computer-related accessories like usb sticks and memory cards, the third one is sewing supplies, and the fourth one is general craft stuff.
I found a little table-on-wheels on craigslist for $20 that perfectly matches my desk. I call it the “eating table” because it’s very easy to roll out whenever someone comes in my room to eat and watch TV. It’s especially nice because it has a big hollow compartment in which to stash the consoles to keep them out of the way when not in use.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The hardest item to conquer was undoubtedly the couch, not just logistically but sentimentally as well. The couch you see in the before picture was in our family for many years, and my sister was very attached to it. The only reason it was actually in my room at all was because she couldn’t bear to see it go when my parents upgraded the living room furniture. It served us well for a long time, but unfortunately I just couldn’t find a way to make it fit into my vision. I spent weeks researching and puzzling over how I could make a cover for it to make it look a bit more up-to-date. With the way the cushions were constructed, any kind of sewn cover was far out of my ability range and no matter what I tried, I just couldn’t come up with anything I was happy with.
Once I made the decision that the couch had to go, the next step was finding something within my budget that could replace it. I set my sights on the Ikea Beddinge Futon but, at $269, buying it new was out of the question. Don’t get me wrong, that price seems very reasonable for such a versatile piece of furniture, but I was still a poor student at the time. Again I gave myself a budget of $100. It took me quite a few weeks of scoping out Craigslist to find the perfect one. Most of the ones in my price range would seem to sell instantly and I wouldn’t even get a response. I actually ended up getting a much smaller futon first but it just didn’t sit well in the space so I sold it. I was able to make some money off that sale so, in the end, my Beddinge only ended up costing me $35.
To my surprise, Ikea didn’t sell white futon covers and none of the colours that they did sell matched my decor. And so arose yet another challenge. “No problem!”, I thought, “I’ll just learn to sew”. So I used the extra money that I had saved to buy an old Singer sewing machine and some white duck canvas. I practiced first by making pillowcases and, once I felt confident enough in my ability, I set to work and made the futon cover you see below. Since the futon is very rectangular, the cover was easy to make and I was quite happy with the result. I even added pockets on the side where you can stash a book or a remote.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The rest of the items for my room were either gifts (bedsheets, shelves, duvet cover) or purchased for cheap. I found a lot of great things at Daiso and it was particularly nice because they seem to carry a lot of things that match my colour scheme. Most of the picture frames were bought at Ikea, with the exception of the acrylic ones which were made by my dad. The paper lanterns were ordered on eBay and the Christmas lights are from Rona. I used little clear 3M adhesive hooks to put up the lights and also to hang the string for my polaroids. I did a few other small sewing projects to add the finishing touches and bring it all together but those are another story for another time.
