Before & After: 70 Square Feet + $750 Dollars = 1 Amazing Bedroom

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published Apr 6, 2017

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(Image credit: Tricia of Simplicity in the South )

Tricia was faced with a herculean (ok not really, but pretty difficult) task of maximizing a small space with sloped ceilings and outdated features. The result is cozy, crisp and stylish.

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(Image credit: Tricia of Simplicity in the South )

Tricia: Before we got started on giving our smallest bedroom in the house a makeover, the walls were an odd shade of pistachio green and the flat part of the ceiling was covered in popcorn texture. The biggest obstacle in making the 100 square foot room livable was the awkward floor plan. We only had 70 square feet of usable space to place a bed, dresser, and desk. The sloped ceilings made furniture placement even more challenging.

(Image credit: Tricia of Simplicity in the South )

This bedroom belongs to my oldest son who’s in college. Before the makeover, his mattress was on the floor and he had a makeshift desk. We wanted to surprise him when he came home for summer break with a brand new bedroom.

(Image credit: Tricia of Simplicity in the South )

We spent three weekends getting the project done. First, we covered the popcorn ceiling with wood planking. Then, we made a built-in bed flanked with dressers made from stock kitchen cabinets. Underneath the bed, we added 3 trundle drawers for even more storage.The wall behind the bed was covered in the same planks as the ceiling but the planks were stained.

(Image credit: Tricia of Simplicity in the South )

Across from the bed sits the desk we made from plumbing pipes and a pre-made tabletop from the local home improvement store. I made the artwork using reproduction vintage map lithographs and hung them using salvaged 100-year-old lath strips. I also made a lamp out of an antique copper desk heater. The entire project cost came to $750 and was completely done by ourselves with no outside help. Luckily, there were no setbacks or surprises.

We love how incredibly cozy the room is and all the storage we gained from the built-ins. If we could do it all over again, we would have done it sooner.

(Image credit: Tricia of Simplicity in the South )

Older houses tend to be a little out of square. Keep this in mind when measuring for your space for built-ins. Shop around for the cabinets. You can find them at Habitat for Humanity, Craigslist, or like we did at a home improvement surplus store.

(Image credit: Tricia of Simplicity in the South )

Thank you, Tricia! You can see more on Tricia’s blog Simplicity in the South