When it comes to coming way under budget I find the best solution is to DIY. Lately my sewing and craft projects seem to have taken on a life of their own, and because I have a touch of OCD It’s difficult for me to function in a cluttered disorganized work environment. My husband was awesome enough to not complain when I decided to take over yet another room in our house (he’s the greatest EVER!) so with maybe two days of prep I started the transformation of a guest room into a craft room. Sorry I accidentally deleted the before images, but picture a room 12×10 with a leather and wood queen size bed, a couple of lamps and that about sums it up. I wanted to create a space that was warm inviting and fueled my creativity all for $500.00, did I mention that $500 should also include hardwood floors? and doing the entire project 100% solo with exception of some heavy lifting.
Floors- Wanted dark wood so the room could flow seamlessly with the rest of the house. If you have ever gone through the selection process, it’s a pain trying to find dark wood flooring under $4.00 a square foot. So after visiting several stores and many attempts to sell me $600.00 worth of flooring which would flush my budget completely down the toilet I ended up where no sales person wants a customer to go…….the clearance rack. Because I only needed 165sq ft this was a perfect place to be. I found engineered bamboo marked down from 3.85 sqft to only .66 a sqft. so the floors were a steal for only $108.00. I’ved never installed flooring and needed to do the glue down method, so I watched a few videos online and got busy. After 3 very long days, several blisters and cuts, the floors were completed.
Shelving- Opted for cabinets to keep items neat and orderly. I knew cabinets were expensive based on the basement project we recently completed so I knew exactly where I wanted to go….The Loading Dock, which is a non profit building material re-use center in Baltimore filled to the brim with every building material you could imagine. I picked up a set of six cabinets, and two 30″ shelving cases in perfect condition all for only $100.00 If your working on a DIY project yourself I would recommend finding a re-use center in your area, most cities have them.
$100.00
Cutting/Craft Table- Needed something functional that didn’t take up too much space. Took a trip to Lowes, had a piece of particle board for $17.48 cut 36×42, used a mahogany stain by minwax, and stained the particle board to a deep rich mahogany which gives the particle board a “real” wood finish look with a gloss. Attached the table to 4 legs picked up at the re-use center for $12.00, and had them cut to 37.5″ tall by Home Depot. The bookcase under the table was purchased at Michael’s for $19.99 which coincidentally was having a 60% off sale last week on craft room furniture. The two white baskets were purchased at Michael’s for $2.00 and the wicker baskets were purchased from Ikea for $7.99 each. Purchased the stool at the Goodwill for $6.00 which I painted the legs white, sanded and stained the seat with the mahogany stain.
$77.15
Desk- In order in maximize the space, I chose a 12×96″desk connected to the wall which I purchased at Lowes for $12.98
$12.98
Decorating Accessories:
Peg board- Lowes cut two 45×96 pieces- $18.00
Thread holder- Purchased on sale at Joann’s for $9.99 and painted white.
Lazy Susan storage desktop- on sale at Michael’s $17.99
DIY cork pin cushions- purchase glass canister and carafe corks at Ikea, remove the glass from the lid of the canisters and replace with the carafe corks. Perfect for storage and pin cushion-$10.96
File Cube under desk- on sale at Michael’s-$17.99
3 drawer organizer cube under desk- on sale at Michaels- $15.99
Curtains- Ikea- 9.99
Rugs- Ikea 9.99 each
Wall art- Frames from Target on clearance for 1.49 each and painted white, purchased 1 yard of fabric from Ikea for $7.99. Used left over fabric to re-finish lamp shade.
Wall storage cabinet- purchased on clearance at Home Goods for $34.00 and painted white.
$157.36
