Make Your New Room Feel Like Home (Without Breaking the Bank)

The hardest part about moving out on my own was making my new room feel like home! I also had to keep in mind how I now have to pay for rent and buy a lot more food than I had to when I lived with my parents. I was wandering around Target and kept drooling over all the decor because my walls were looking super bare. I use wandering because I’m pretty sure there were a few aisles I went down at least three times. I was looking at some tassel garlands and was thinking how much I wanted them in my room when I realized I’d been saving tissue paper from everything because “you never know when it could come in handy”.

I took a picture of them and figured there had to be a tutorial on Pinterest on how to make them, they do have everything. Then I started searching for other cheap projects I could put together with some of the things I already owned. I found quite a few things, but I was missing some items so I went back to Target and also stopped at Hobby Lobby. When I got to Hobby Lobby, I remembered that I had a gift card that I’d won a long time ago, which gave me a little more freedom to find what I needed plus a few extra things.

Most of the furniture, artwork & posters were things from my old room including the dresser, Paige Poppe print (eventually it will be in a frame instead of the plastic sleeve it came in, don’t judge, I’m on a budget!) & the art I hung in my dorm room. The bed, nightstand/cart, and bookshelf were purchased on the trip down from Ikea and a mattress when I got here! The awesome thing about the Ikea bed was that I didn’t need a box spring!

The most exciting thing about my new room is the fact that I have TWO walk-in closets! I put my bookshelf in one (because there wasn’t much more room outside the closet) along with some overflow craft supplies and my dresses and the rest of my clothes in the other. It’s definitely taken a while to make my room feel like home mainly because I’m so far away from my family, but spending so much time making my room look pretty has made it easier.

Tassel Garland

Inspiration :: Tutorial

Money Spent: $5 on Hemp Cord because I ran out!

Had: Tissue Paper, Glue, & Hemp Cord

1. Instead of just using scissors to cut the tissue paper, it was so much easier to use slide cutter! Especially if the tissue paper was crumpled up.

2. I left an inch of uncut the portion instead of 2 like the DIY above did because I didn’t want the loop to be as long and I was also making my tassels shorter.

3. I also decided that I wanted to use hemp cord to tie them because it was a little easier and I wouldn’t have to worry about burning myself with a hot glue gun.

Popsicle Stick Shelf

Tutorial

Money Spent: $6 on Stain

Had: Popsicle Sticks & Glue

Tip: The think I struggled with the most was getting stain in between the popsicle sticks once they were glued together, so make sure you get a brush that would make the job easier. Also, make sure that the sticks are flat! I had a few that were warped and wouldn’t sit flat enough to dry in place.

Faux Brass Himmeli Hangers

Tutorial :: Pineapple Trinket Dish

Money Spent: $5 on Spray Paint & Straws

Had: Wire & Trinket Dish

Tip: Don’t get bendy straws like I did or you’ll have to tape the straws together. If you look closely you can see the tape. Also, scour Pinterest to find ideas on other shapes you can hang! I thought the single hanger looked a little random, so I decided to stagger a few smaller ones around it as well as add some more in the corner by my tv.

Painted Flower Pot

Inspiration

Money Spent: $3 on Flower Pot

Had: Paint & Used Spray Paint for other Craft

The flower pot was a somewhat last minute project because my roommate wanted to get a cactus for her room and I went along and pick a succulent out for myself! I used the leftover spray paint & then tried to mix some paints I had together to somewhat match the purple in my bed spread.

I knew wanted my room to look pretty, but I also didn’t want it to be super perfect that it didn’t look lived in. There are definitely a few things I’m hoping to purchase in the future when I have more of a steady income including picture frames and a small table I can put my printer on (which is currently just hanging out on my floor.