DESIGNING A BEDROOM ON A BUDGET

Remember the thrill of landing your first “grown up” job? You studied hard, worked to make good grades, and finally the big pay off: a real job with real benefits and a real dose of reality! It’s not easy creating a room that looks expensive on a shoestring….

If you are like Lucy, you have roommates to save money, and though you love the fun of designing the common spaces with your friends, you want your bedroom to be a reflection of your individual taste. These are the days that living with buddies is a blast, but you know you’ll have your own apartment eventually. This means you can’t spend too much money on “bedroomy” items because you need to make the most of your paycheck while thinking ahead. Here’s what we did for Lucy’s bedroom, and we know you can do it too!

INSIDER DESIGN SECRETS!

Dhurrie rugs are tough as boots. Made of wool, they are inherently stain resistant and their strong fibers can take a beating. And best, if one side gets tired looking, flip it! So when you are in the market for rugs on a dime, keep your eye on those. Lucy’s dhurrie looks fantastic in her bedroom, but it will also look awesome in a dining room or family room when she has her own apartment. More Dhurrie Dreamin….

Same with leather poufs – they are little work horses because leather just looks better with time. The more you abuse it, the yummier it gets. They play triple duty as seating, footstools, and makeshift end tables, so snap up a few of these fatty babies!

And, um, what’s more durable that a comfy chair without cushions to ruin?! Got a friend with butter fingers who loves red wine? This is her new thrown! We love the crazy inexpensive chair we chose, but herererere are a few more, babycakes!

BEHIND THE SCENES DESIGN TIPS

1.  We chose a neutral palette – a chic blend of whites, creams, grays in oodles of textures. This allows everything to grow with Lucy – even if she moves to another apartment with a totally different color scheme, these items will look fantastic. They are blank canvas for so many different design directions. Check out even more neutral goodies!

2.  Lucy needed tons of storage because she has a small closet in her new place, so we had to get a gigantor dresser for her. We chose two that could be pushed together to look like one, and when she moves into an apartment without roommates, either of these dressers would look fantastic as a sideboard or a TV console. More of Lucy’s clothes will go into the small dressers that serve as bedside tables, and those will look chic on either end of a sofa one day too!

SHOP THE LOOK

*You can click any item below to take you to a detailed shopping list with links to every store!*

MAKE IT YOUR OWN

A huge congratulations to Lucy and her new job in Chicago! We hope this room gives her many nights of needed rest after tackling the big, bad grown-up world and hope all of you find some inspiration here too. This look is as easy on the eyes as it is on the wallet!

#FlawlessDesignForAll & remember, pinning is winning!

xoxo

Anne

P.S. Hey Lucy, your texts make us smile!