Girl's Room Makeover {A DIY Project}

While my girls were away to the beach this summer, lucky kids, I decided to give our eldest a surprise room-makeover.  My goal for this makeover was to ultimately create a space that she could: easily keep tidy/organized, have room to hang out with her friends, quietly do her homework (away from her little sister) and read, etc.  The girls shared a bedroom for the past two years, so this was a nice way to celebrate her having her own bedroom.

Previously, my chickie and I sat down to pin some inspiration to a Pinterest board, so I had an idea of what she was wanting the room to look like.  I also kept the budget for this makeover super low, using items we already had and chalk painting a desk (which I got for free a few years ago).  The only purchases I made were:

1 gallon flat paint for the walls
2 paint samples containers for the desk (though I only used 1) 
1 can of Minwax furniture wax (which will last the rest of my life, I'm sure)
1 package plaster of paris
Desk Lamp base
Lamp Shade
Clear drawer pulls, for desk

Alrighty, here are the pictures & details:

Kind of a "During" shot... but you get the idea, lots of junk and beige walls.  I painted the entire room in one day, did the desk DIY the second day; put the room together the third day.

{Desk DIY}

I used a chalk paint recipe that my Stepmom found somewhere on Pinterest, the same recipe I used on the shelves in this bathroom makeover from our old house.

Chalk Paint Recipe:
- Plastic Container for mixing.
- Plaster of Paris
- Interior Flat Paint 
- Water

Mark lines on the side of the plastic container to divide it into four equal parts.  Add Plaster of Paris to the first line.  Mix in an equal amount of water to make the Plaster of Paris smooth, it should still measure to the first line.  Stir in the paint, to the top line.  

I painted four coats of Homemade Chalk Paint onto the desk, not including the drawers, lightly sanding after each coat.  After the final sanding, I wiped down the desk and applied Minwax furniture wax to the entire desk, again, not working on the drawers, and polished.

I chose to modge-podge fabric to the front of the drawers, picking colors that matched the room.  I pressed and trimmed the fabric to fit the front of each drawer, leaving a slight overlap so I could fold it around the drawer front.  I used Elmer's Spray Adhesive to adhere the fabric to the drawer fronts, being sure to smooth all bubbles.  I then applied two coats of Modge Podge to seal the fabric.

I used a drill to drill through the fabric into the original holes on the drawers, then put on the new drawer pulls.

{Ta Da!}

We have artwork and photos to hang on the wall at some point.  Not pictured, is the wall space to the left of the foot of the bed, where we have her gymnastics memorabilia hanging.

 

My chickie was super-duper excited when she saw her new room... I actually took a video of the "Reveal", but I don't want to completely embarrass her by sharing it with the world... sharing on Facebook was engouh to do the trick. *wink*

XxOo~ Melissa