the guest bedroom at last. I am still trying to get the hang of this panorama biz. The second one came out all jacked up. Maybe the way I was standing, I don't know. But the door and lamp are all jacked up. Anyway, you can use the arrows to pan through the shots. Meanwhile, I will keep working on this until I get it.
Breakdown.
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| Inspiration |
My inspiration was a mirrored cabinet that I saw in Marshall's one day. But the price tag of $140 was prohibitive so I put it out of my mind. Then I went to Goodwill one day and found two nightstands and a headboard for $99, of course I have no before pictures because my immediate thought was BUY NOW. My second thought was, we are painting this white because black is not it.
Some time later, I also found this for $60:
Have blogged about it many times, but I had a vision of it all done up in white in my guest room as a TV stand etc.
I studied before i embarked on the journey. I read centsational girl, young house love, and onestorybuilding to get their takes and advice on painting furniture. I was on a budget so I didn't buy the pricier paints, I did buy a fancy purdy paintbrush instead of the cheaper wal-mart brand but in the long run, I ended up using a paint roller to apply the paint because I was deathly afraid of streaks and brush marks.
The dresser/TV stand still looks really empty while it awaits its television. I might have to find some art to hang up there. Hmm, project!
I had a budget of $400 but I think I was very close to it after I bought the mattress and so I stopped keeping track.
My favorite part of the room is this:
and the close up:
The lamp redo, I discussed here. The picture is a phone snapshot of my nephews that my sister sent me. I turned it black and white, then put the color back into the baby's jacket, using Picasa, and sent it to Wal-Mart for printing. I actually had a white mat in the frame but unfortunately, I miscalculated and printed the photo as an 8x10 instead of 5x7 oops. It is growing on me now. The candleholder, gosh the picture is so not sharp, i need a new camera (birthday coming up, I take gifts), water pitcher and tray are all from Goodwill.
It was hard finding a rug I liked. I kept going to Ross and leaving empty handed. Finally, I saw this purple zebra? rug and I knew I was done at last!
The chair is also a goodwill find for $9.99. I saw it and didn't hesistate at all.
I painted the back black, and the rest of it white. I knew I wanted black seating. Unfortunately, my cheap ways nearly cost me more money because the fabric I bought from Jo-Ann's Fabric was too small (i thought I only needed half a yard.). I refused to buy more fabric (at this point I was still keeping to my $400 budget) and fortunately I remembered I had a pair of black curtains that I had bought whilst in Miami. I didn't use them here because they were too short and had an AWFUL smell that I couldn't get rid of no matter how much I washed them. Funny enough, the smell is gone but I digress. I changed the foam of the seat and adding some more fiberfill (Hobby Lobby).
The big framed picture is also from Goodwill, $4.99.
The exact budget breakdown as best as I can from my creaky memory.
| Item | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Headboard + 2 nightstands | Goodwill | 99.99 |
| Dresser | Goodwill | 29.99 |
| Chair | Goodwill | 9.99 |
| Mattress | Coworker | 100 |
| Lamp + shade +duct tape | Goodwill, Target, Wal-Mart | 33.00 |
| Rug | Ross | 19.99 |
| Bedding + Pillows | Marshalls/Ross/Wal-Mart | 96 |
| Art over the bed | Kirkland's (already had) | 0.00 |
| Vases | Kirkland's/Goodwill/Ross | 19.00 |
| Candles | Ross | 10.00 |
| Curtains | IKEA (already had) | 0.00 |
| Curtain Rod | Ross | 19.00 |
| Water pitcher, tray + votive holder | Goodwill | 10.00 |
| Poster | Goodwill | 4.99 |
| Painting Supplies | Home Depot/Wal-Mart/Lowes | 56.00 +/- |
| Transportation | U-Haul team thieves err Quality | 64.00 |
| Fabric | Jo-ann's (didn't use) | 3.85 |
| Grand Total | which am sure am probably over/underestimating | 580 |
A word on the transportation. I am so disappointed in U-Haul right now, especially their Team Quality branch in El Paso. Avoid at all costs. Very dishonest individuals. I rented the van from there because it was close to Goodwill. Mistake number 1, I didn't write down the mileage again before I left. I thought he had written it down on the yellow slip he handed to me, because he said it out loud and I saw him write it down. Anyway, as I was driving I saw that the mileage was incredibly higher than what was on the actual rental paper. Now, I was on a strict budget and I didn't want to spend more renting a van than it cost for the dresser I was carrying, I mean that's just foolishness. I got home and looked at the slip and realized it was a trick of the eyes, he hadn't written down the mileage on the paper as I had thought. He had scribble some random bunch of numbers. By this time, I had travelled from there to Goodwill and Goodwill to my house, the google maps was saying that i had driven a total of maybe 12 miles, the odometer based on the mileage he had on the printed rental agreement said I had down much more than that. I took photos of the odometer before I went back to U-Haul and after my final destination. I call dude the next day to tell him about my issues. He tells me that sometimes they take the vans for drives and so the mileage on the computer vs actual mileage might be wrong and he then tells me that he actually overcharged me and will send me a refund. This was right before memorial day. I wait a week, no refund and now I see another charge to my bank. So I call him and again he apologizes, promises to mail my refund. This time, I call my bank to dispute the charge. They reverse the second charge. I got a letter last week stating that I had lost the dispute. Upon further investigation, I see that the mileage had increased again by two miles AND they had charged me a cleaning fee! WHAT? I am so mad still. I returned that van spotless and with more fuel than when I actually rented it with and he charges me a cleaning fee! Wow. So please, any el pasoans who are truckless like me (rare), please STAY AWAY FROM THAT U-HAUL (Team Quality). They are nothing but thieves.
So lessons learned. Be imaginative and see things as they could be and not as they are. Research, research and research again, google is my best friend. Avoid Team Quality U-Haul.
It was loads of fun!
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