Tools Guide

Hey you! I am so excited about this post and the series that is coming with it. I love blogging about crafts, graphics, and recipes... but my hearts desire has always been to design my own space and make it amazing. And now I can finally start doing it!

We started our marriage off in a little cabin with a wood burning stove for heat during the New England winter. While it had some charm, we knew it wasn't a space to invest in because we wanted to move. 

Then my husband joined the Marines and I moved in with my parents when Silas left for boot camp in late January. By the time late July came around (that's 6 months apart people!) I knew that I couldn't wait any longer to have our family back together. We didn't want to move all of our stuff cross country because we will be moving again when my husband gets assigned to his permanent duty station in a few months. So most our stuff is in storage back in New England. 

Here's the before... basically an empty room with lots of great natural lighting.

We found a beautiful two bedroom apartment. I've been working on making it feel less "empty" while trying not to fill it up with things that I won't be able to drive cross country with in a few months. I love a challenge!

From the start, I've stored up dreams of giving June a beautiful room, but in our house before this apartment, we didn't have the space for it. So almost two years later, I finally have a beautiful room for her. I got out my Pinterest Inspiration Board for my little girl and got started. Check it out by clicking here.

My Design Criteria: 

1) Renting Friendly (aka, little or no wall damage/no paint, and making an impression with accessories only) 

2) It had to be Cheap (Who doesn't like saving $$$?) 

3) Super Transportable (I need to be able to fit it all back into the jeep when we move again)

And here is the after! Ta-da! This room only cost me $55 total (total as in all supplies included the budget) The Breakdown of all the costs is at the bottom of the post.

I fell in love with the concept of indoor teepees the moment I first saw one in my pinterest feed. I think they are brilliantly adorable and I just HAD to make one for myself (whoops, I mean June!) I wanted to make one that could easily be taken down every time we have to move (military family life) so I used a special, no-sew method (and I can't wait to share it with you all!) It was so much fun to work on, and June really likes using it for story-time!

I love greenish teal blue (I had to say that because my blog design doesn't scream that fact at all, haha!) I didn't want to do just the classic blue and pink, so I decided to incorporate a modern coral orange color too.

I accessorized the lace and pink cotton teepee with some printing paper poofs (see my tutorial here) and hung them in the entrance. June loves balls (guess it's not just a little boy thing) She was so thrilled to see them. I think she liked them more than the teepee, which took 20x more time to make... figures! :P

Ps) She loves using them as a "punching bags."

Staying away from painting and avoiding putting holes in the wall is a bummer... but after brainstorming I came up with the alternative of a wall decal. I made this one out of a poster board & used wall mount tape. It gives the entrance wall some interest and makes a great visual statement.

I made an adorable Marquee Light for June's wall- and my favorite part of it is how cheap it was to make (see bottom of post for all of the cost breakdowns for each project) and the fact that I could totally customize it by using the font I wanted & choosing the colors that went with my design scheme.

Talk about a nightlight!

Since the windows had blinds, I didn't feel the need for curtains, but I still wanted to "frame" the window.  I Playing to June's love for all things circular, I made some decorative balls made from colorful yarn and I draped them garland style around the window.  

I scored some super cute storage baskets from Walmart for under $2 a piece. And they are the exact color I wanted!  They are on the small side, but are super transportable, and I wanted more than one for styling purposes anyways. June loves filling them with her toys and uses them as transportation for her toys. I only wish I had gotten more!

Ps) Notice the My Little Pony Nightlight... yeah, she loves that series! :)

I made some super fun flag banners from scrapbook paper. They add a great punch of color to the room which is something that as a renter, I can't do with paint. And it's so inexpensive! ;)

I brought this sheep skin rug with me from New England, and it's the perfect accessory for under the Tepee. June got a free balloon from Old Navy when we fist got here. She fell in love with the balloon, and I fell in love with the reusable balloon wand handle. No need for helium, or crying babies due to balloons floating away, and when it pops you can replace it on the balloon wand.

So enough talking, here is some more eye candy from the room.

I wish I could invest in furniture for this room, but I would have to get rid of it in a few months, so I'm going to wait until the next move for aspect of her room.

It's been a blast putting it together, and I am super thrilled with how I've been able to keep the price down, while getting such a dramatic look. 

UPDATE: To see June's newest room, go HERE!