I know exactly when my daughter made the official transition from little girl to pre-teen. It was the day she declared she was cleaning her room, then emerged several hours later asking for assistance in removing all the “kid’s stuff.” In a giant pile in the middle of her room was the puppy poster that used to hang on the wall, as well as all her dolls and toys.
It was a sad father moment.
Fast forward about 18 months, and another transition is taking place — this time from pre-teen to teenager. She wants to liven up her room a little, adding her own personality and flair. She found several ideas online and asked if she could show me her plans. Being a cost-conscious girl, she assured me that none of the projects were very expensive.
Here’s what my new teenager wanted to change — and how we kept the costs below $100:
My Daughter’s Redecorating Projects
Lighted Faux Bed Posts
This is the most complex project on her list. It would entail hanging a shower curtain ring from a hook screwed into the ceiling, then running a long piece of tulle through the ring that would be twisted and extend down to the floor. Enveloped within the tulle would also be a strand of clear Christmas lights. With her bed in a corner of her room, she thought we could skip doing the faux bedpost in the corner, and only do the remaining three.
Needed supplies:
- Ceiling hooks: $3
- Shower curtain rings: $4
- Bolt of tulle: $18
- Clear Christmas lights: $6 (found on sale for $2 a strand)
Total cost of faux bed posts: $31
Crayon Art
My daughter found a really neat project online where she would glue crayons to a canvas and melt them with a hair dryer, allowing the melted wax to drip down the face of the canvas. With different shapes and color combinations, she could make each one different. She asked if she could start by making two.
Needed supplies:
- Crayons: $5
- Canvas: $15 (on sale)
- Hot glue gun: $3
- Glue sticks: $2
Total cost of crayon art: $25
Decorative Headboard
Right now, her bed doesn’t have a headboard. She asked if we could get a piece of wood, wrap it with a white sheet, then attach it to her wall.
Needed supplies:
- Particle board: $13
- White sheet: $15
Total cost of headboard: $28
Happy Wall
She’s dedicating a section of her bedroom wall to post neon Post-It notes of experiences and thoughts that make her happy. All she needs for this is a package of colorful Post-It notes.
Needed supplies:
- Post-It notes: $4
Total cost of happy wall: $4
For her entire room, the total redecorating cost came out to $88.
My daughter was right in that none of her projects cost a lot of money. They allow her to put her own personality into her room, and even more importantly — they’re giving us a reason to spend some quality time together as we plan, shop, and execute her room redecoration.
That’s a win/win scenario for a dad whose little girl is growing up!
Have you ever redecorated a room inexpensively? Do you have other ideas my daughter could incorporate into her new abode?
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My daughters room cost about 7500 and her music and dance studio (including equipment) was about 10,000.