Before and After: An $80 Closet Makeover That’s Organized and Stylish

Tess Wilson
Tess Wilson
After many happy years living in tiny apartments in big cities, Tess has found herself in a little house on the prairie. For real.
published May 24, 2018
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Vacuum cleaner and storage bin in a small closet with curtain.
(Image credit: The Mountain & Moon)

This guest room closet was due for an update—it was originally dark brown—but its owner didn’t want to drop a ton of cash on it. After spending a few weeks and $76.69, this closet is now practical and super cute.

(Image credit: The Mountain & Moon)

The makeover by Jessica and Brett of The Mountain and Moon is darling. The new shelves add a ton of valuable storage, the accordion rack is as pretty as it is helpful, and that dotted wall is eye-catching! I could NOT figure out how the couple managed to get a large sheet of lovely wallpaper with that low, low budget, and—spoiler alert—they didn’t:

I hand painted those dots to make it look like the wallpaper I wanted to buy, saving me $60. All it took was a paint brush and sample paint from Home Depot. Voilà!

What an excellent hack! If you simply can’t afford wallpaper, a simple painted design is a great way to go. (If you’ve ever created your own faux wallpaper, please share!)

(Image credit: The Mountain & Moon)

Here we can see there were also shelves added on the upper left, and I assume the vacuum shown in the Before photo could be stored on the lower left. This is like a storage space and statement wall in one, and I bet guests appreciate having a space to tuck their things away.

In the closet reveal post, Jessica shares how exactly that $76.69 was spent:

Budget breakdown:

  • $2.94 on sample paint
  • $4.97 on paint brushes
  • $5.95 on thrifted basket
  • $5.98 on wood screws
  • $4.21 Drywall anchors
  • $52.64 pine boards

What we already had:

  • white caulk
  • Behr paint color matched to BM simply white for shelves and walls
  • furnishings other than the basket

I so appreciate when people include “what we already had” when breaking down their budget. (It’s much easier to remodel a room for $400 if you happen to have $4,000 worth of materials and furnishings lying around.) This quick remodel is a great example of making the most out of affordable materials and accessories.

Thank you, The Mountain and Moon!