Guest Bedroom Makeover on a Budget

This guest bedroom makeover is done on a budget using thrifted items, a few new pieces, hand-me-downs, furniture makeovers, and using things I already have on hand. Oftentimes, the guest bedroom is neglected because it doesn’t get used much. But it’s possible to have a pretty guest room on a shoestring budget.

Making over our guest bedroom on a budget is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while. I had to find ways to do it without spending lots of money and also using furniture I already have.

Now instead of a bland room, we have a cheery room for our guests.

Guest Bedroom Makeover on a Budget

Hand me down furniture is the best for budget makeovers because it’s free! The hand-me-downs for this room included a bed frame and mattress. The frame is part of a set that my Grandma gifted me years ago. It just needed a good cleaning and sanding and it was perfect.

I knew I wanted fresh white bedding and happened to find some online at Target during a sale. I can’t find the exact set available anymore, but this one is very similar and in a lower price range than some other options I found.

The bright-colored pillows are clearance finds. The only pieces of furniture that are new are the tables beside the bed. I found those on a major sale at Wayfair. These are similar ones at a comparable price.

The lamps are from Goodwill for about $5 each. (Pretty much every lamp in my house came from Goodwill). I spray-painted these with Valspar gloss blue spray paint and added Walmart shades.

Craigslist Dresser Makeover for Storage

Even a guest room needs storage. This is where I knew I would have to buy second hand. I wanted a dresser but definitely didn’t want to spend much on something new for a guest bedroom.

I also needed a small enough dresser that I could fit into a corner. Then this girl appeared on Craigslist for $50.

Definitely not the most attractive girl in the room at first. Kinda dusty and no shine. But…other than being ugly, it was in perfect shape. One thing I always test before buying furniture to makeover is the drawers. I am not skilled at repairs yet so it can’t need a major facelift.

Anyway – now to make her pretty. I removed all the hardware, took the doors off, and used one coat of Zinsser spray primer. Two coats of satin antique white paint and water based polyurethane and she was done.

For additional storage, I scored this turquoise trunk/footlocker from a friend at work for $15. It holds extra blankets and pillowcases.

I did find a similar one to link, but unfortunately, it’s a bit more expensive.

Window Treatments

Since curtains can be a budget breaker, I chose affordable sheers. These curtains are inexpensive sheers from Amazon. I believe they were $9 per panel and the clips and rod are from Target. Find more budget-friendly curtains here!

• Similar Curtains, Rod, Clips

DECORATING THE WALLS

The sunburst mirror is a DIY that costs next to nothing to make. It was made from wood shims, a small mirror, and floral rings using a tutorial I found on Pinterest. I stained each shim using Minwax Dark Walnut before assembly.

The vintage checkerboard was an antique store find, and the framed art is a tree that is on my Grandma’s farm.

The pink flower pic is courtesy of my cousin (who is an amazing photographer). It’s an old flowering quince plant from my Grandma’s farm.

She sent me the link and I had an 11×14 made for a few bucks at Snapfish. I used a clearance frame from Wal-Mart.

The chair in the corner is another hand-me-down from my Grandma. There were two just sitting in her farmhouse for eternity collecting dust. She kindly said I could have them – one is in this room and another is in our room.

They aren’t my favorite choice of fabric, but there are just too many memories hiding in those chairs to recover them.

The bench at the end of the bed was ours from years and years ago – I just moved it in here to give guests somewhere to sit.

DIY FAIL

And finally, the blue embroidery birds are a DIY also. However, this was a complete fail on my part. One of my coworkers had recently made one and hers was amazing. Can’t be that hard, right? Wrong. I used more old flooring that I stained with Dark Walnut and glued them together with liquid nails.

The tacks are from Hobby Lobby and the idea is to outline the shape and then weave the embroidery thread around the tacks. It’s hard to see in the pic, but there is a long wire across the bottom for the birds to sit on.

Ummm – Didn’t quite turn out that way – Mine looked like two lopsided fish that were sitting on a wire. I finally threw in the towel and my sweet and talented coworker magically turned my fish into birds.

And that’s pretty much it – Throw in a few pretties to the dresser and tables (including a goofy pic of brown dog), the clock is from Target, and done – guest bedroom makeover on a budget.

In total, I believe I spent around $300 on everything. Considering I started with pretty much only a bed frame and mattress, I’m pleased with the results. Of course, I understand things can be done much cheaper if you can shop your house as well.

I spent the largest amount on the bedding and the dresser. I could’ve slashed the budget in half if I’d already had those items.