Before and After: A Stylish $800 Bedroom Redo Done Over a Weekend
Maybe the only thing more fun than a weekend refresher of your space? A weekend refresher done for someone you care about. Caitlin Erickson and her sister Shane love to do DIYs, so naturally they wanted to incorporate that into their gift for their brother, Bret, and his wife Brooke in honor of their first child (due in early March). “Our gift to them was to renovate their master bedroom and the nursery while they went away for a long weekend on their babymoon,” says Caitlin. “Their bedroom before was perfectly fine, but it was a compilation of a bunch of furniture that was bought for other spaces and wasn’t necessarily arranged in an effective way.”
Bret and Brooke had always wanted to give their space a refresher but weren’t sure where to start. “Shane and I obviously love doing this kind of thing and we are also lucky to have husbands (and a dad) who are pretty handy,” Caitlin says. “We wanted Bret and Brooke to come home after their babymoon and be able to begin nesting and not worry about the space in which they were about to bring a baby home to. We also wanted it to be a space that just made them feel good… because they will be spending a lot of time there in the coming months!” (How sweet are these sisters?)
Caitlin and Shane started the reno on a Saturday morning and wrapped by Monday evening (complete with a reveal featuring champagne and doughnuts!). The makeover cost just $800; reusing as much as they could—including the bed, bench, and dresser—helped keep costs down. As for what made this a fun (and speedy!) job? It was a family affair! Caitlin and Shane’s husbands helped install new baseboards, electrical components, and beautiful new picture frame molding for the accent wall. Their dad helped with the electrical, Caitlin’s father-in-law helped with trim, caulking, and hanging, and Caitlin’s mother-in-law helped watch the kids.
The biggest impact piece is the accent wall. “We LOVE the accent wall,” says Caitlin. “The color is actually beige but can read pink at times and is just so rich feeling. The simple add of the trim on the wall has such huge impact and makes the ceilings feel taller and the room bigger.” The globe lights came from Amazon.
New pillows and linens make the bed extra cozy-feeling. The duvet is from Target, while the tufted pillow and textured blanket are from Anthropologie.
Caitlin and Shane did all the painting and furniture refinishing. Initially, they’d planned to install a new ceiling fan as well, but were halted by their time limit; instead, they painted the old one white to help it better blend in.
“Brooke requested lots of white and lots of pillows, and I think we delivered that without it feeling too stark or cold because of all the different textures,” says Caitlin. “We are both so happy with how it turned out and cannot believe that we were able to pull off this weekend renovation.”
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