Before & After: Inexpensive Re-Do on the Blue Room

In my new (old) house, there was a very, very blue room: blue carpet, blue walls, blue ceiling (the photos here don't show how blue the paint actually was). With stepkids in the house part-time who needed their rooms to be a little less "old lady," we went for an overhaul on the cheap. Shown here (and below the jump), our quick and easy results: a light, bright fun room with lots of further possibility. Read about our problems, process and products below the jump:

The problems:

Plywood pieces under the carpet (no nice hard wood here)

Awkward angles

Small budget

Only a few days to get it finished

The process:

Pulling up old blue carpet and all of the staples that held it down
Removing a big, old, energy-sucking a/c window unit
Paint the ceiling (the angled challenge), then walls, then floor

The products:

Leftover ceiling and light grey paint from our newly painted master bedroom
Leftover bright yellow paint from old apartment
Purchased white floor paint
2 twin beds, side tables newly purchased from IKEA. Old IKEA Lack shelves from our last apartment.
New IKEA rug from as-is section for $1! (because it was "dirty," said the IKEA employee)
Red plastic lamp from our home's estate sale (before our move-in)
Old world map saved from a dumpster
Hubby-made yellow console, previously in master bedroom but now wouldn't fit.

Before Pics:

Comments (4)

what a great transformation, heather! i never would've guessed those floors were plywood from the pictures, either!

posted by closertotheocean on July 1st 2008 at 7:32am
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Agreed. Really nice. Maybe you can faux stain those floors!

posted by MuffinGal on July 1st 2008 at 8:05am
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Not trying to be overly critical, but the combo of the yellow paint, white floors, wood closet doors, and sparse furnishings makes me feel like this is a hospital room. It kind of makes me cringe. However, I applaud the effort, as it certainly is not worse than before, and I'm sure any attempt I made would not have come out nearly as well.

posted by trisarahtops on July 1st 2008 at 8:28am
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I think you should change the bedding add some lovely throw pillows because right now they(the comforters) just blend right into the carpet color. And hang a nice art piece (or collection of small pieces) above the bed!! :)

posted by witchbaby on July 1st 2008 at 9:37am
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