Ok, I’m calling it. Livie Bug’s bedroom makeover is officially finished!
When we first moved in back in November 2013, her little abode looked like this:
Womp womp.
And then we moved in the little bit of furniture we owned (seriously that dresser and crib were pretty much all we owned), installed an Ikea light, dumped a hand-me-down mattress in the room, and we were left with…
Oh yeah. Gorgeous set up, I tell ya. Her room had this look going on for a year.
And then in April, when I hashed out the plans for her ballerina bedroom makeover, I thought it would take a month tops. Ha! It’s now the end of July. Doy! (Face palm smack.)
But the day is finally here! Entrez, mes amis.
It all started with this idea I had to use all of the old ballet items I had from my dancing days. (We have dance parties in our kitchen every morning, so why not branch out to her room? This kid has moves!)
And when inspiration struck to use an old mirror I had to make a ballet barre, everything else fell into place.
A lot of lucky finds went into this space like her bed that I found at Goodwill for $25. Those thrift store tips come in handy all the time. A couple coats of Annie Sloan Old White made it good as new… er shabby chic.
We made these wooden sheet music signs for $20 each, and they worked perfectly for her barre wall. The song lyrics are so perfect for a little one’s room.
I still can’t believe that lucky angel wings find that my parents bought for us as a gift on our vacation flea market trip. The applique pillow I made out of fabric scraps fits right in too.
Olivia loves her “princess” canopy that we made with a shelf, and her silhouette art and the repurposed ceiling medallion frames added just enough on her wall.
I repurposed this birdcage that was one of our wedding centerpieces to make a simple lamp. (Thanks to a cartoon character’s noble sacrifice.)
I’m so thrilled that we got to use this old nightstand that belonged to my grandfather, which I brought back to life with an aged metallic paint job.
We made her bedroom look bigger by framing out the window and adding a couple of curtain panels I found at Target.
I’d found a play vanity at a consignment sale that I painted and gilded in silver. She loves tickling her face with the blush brushes I gave her, and she has so much fun making funny faces in that mirror.
And trying on the bling, of course.
I’d found this old dresser at Goodwill for $15 that I painted with more Annie Sloan Old White. For some art, I framed a couple of dresses she had worn as a baby along with a sketch my brother-in-law did.
Before moving into our house, I kept a shoe box of all of the little items from my pregnancy and the hospital when Olivia was born, so I gave them a change of scenery in a shadowbox. That silver rattle beside of it belonged to me when I was a baby.
I found this cute miniature dress form at an antique shop a few months ago that I had to take home with me. Isn’t it adorable?!
My father-in-law has a whittling shop and, from the time Robert and his sisters were born, he whittled a rattle for each of them out of one piece of wood. Robert’s deserved a spot on Olivia’s dresser. It doesn’t get much more special than that, right?
I had found an old bassinet stand for $3 at a yard sale that I reused to make a dress-up rack for all of Olivia’s play clothes. It is so perfect to have right beside her ballet barre mirror where she can twirl in all the frilliness.
I bought this shelf at Hobby Lobby that will work great for any of her boas and hats and things. I printed off one of my favorite Bible verses, Proverbs 31:25, to put in a thrift store frame I had.
Robert’s first toy (the circa 1986 Snuggle bear) and Olivia’s first toy are buddies up there.
My father-in-law has whittled a rattle for each of his grandchildren too. When he gave us Olivia’s bird rattle at our baby shower I actually cried. (Okay, it could have also been the pregnancy hormones talking, but isn’t it so sweet?) He made that one out of one piece of wood too. Seriously, the man has mad skills.
I placed my grandmother’s birdcage veil on top of the shelf too just because it was wasting away in a box in the closet. It has yellowed and torn in a couple of places, but that won’t stop us from appreciating it.
My grandmother gave me a big box filled with all of her old hats from over 50 years ago that we love to play with. Really, y’all, this corner of her room is way too fun.
She insists on putting on those dance dresses pretty much every day. And then twirls and laughs to her heart’s content.
I have three pairs of my old pointe shoes hung around her room. I wore one of these (below) when I got the chance to dance with the Moscow Ballet Company when they were on their Nutcracker tour. The principle dancers signed it for me. And yep, there is still bright red stage lipstick on my ribbons.
Overstock.com was so generous to provide me with a beautiful rug. I’ll be sharing more about it tomorrow along with a bunch of my favorites. It was so hard to decide on one!
By the way, I attempted to have Olivia’s feet pictured on it but ya know that whole never-stopping-always-running thing little ones seem to do? Yeah, that didn’t happen. So I slipped on my shoes for a minute. (And then Olivia wanted me to demonstrate “tippy toes” because she thinks it’s hilarious.)
I picked up the letters of her name for her barre wall at Hobby Lobby for 50% off and they fit exactly between her two sheet music signs. Total happy accident!
And we found this chandelier for 50% off at Lowe’s to replace the Ikea light from my confused designer phase.
I had debated a lot whether or not to put a pair of art pieces on either side of her canopy, but simple seems best.
I’m so glad it’s finally finished!!! Are you on frilly pink overload right now? I promise I’ll give you a break from princess-ville for a while.
It makes me so happy to see that so many sentimental items from our family have ended up in this room.
Ready for the grand total? Here we go!
Budget breakdown: (Some affiliate links are listed below and denoted by asteriks. My full disclosure policy is here.)
- Wall paint (Benjamin Moore Grey Owl): $54 (We bought 2 gallons during the 30% off sale.)
- Bed: $25 (Thrift store find)
- Dresser: $15 (Thrift store find)
- Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: $40
- Chandelier*: $70 (On sale at 50% off)
- Wall frames*: $70 (On sale and with a coupon)
- Wall shelf: $28 (On sale at 50% off)
- DIY Sheet Music Art: $40
- Bedding: $0 (A gift from Olivia’s great-grandmother)
- Curtains: $60
- Play vanity: $20 (Consignment sale)
- Name letters: $30 (On sale at 50% off)
- Angel wings: $0 (Flea market find and a gift from my parents)
- DIY Window Trim: $30
- DIY Ballet Barre: $16
- DIY Canopy: $45
- DIY Applique Pillow: $0 (From fabric scraps)
- DIY Dress-Up Rack: $15
- DIY Birdcage Lamp: $12
Total Out of Pocket: $570
(Rug* provided by Overstock is originally $274.99.)
Let me know if I left anything out, but I’m hoping I covered it all.
Now that I’ve taken all of these pictures, she can totally destroy this room. Okay, I’m kidding. But in all seriousness, I can pretty much promise you it will never be this tidy again.
Embrace the messes though. It means a mind is exploring and growing.
So what do you think? You ready to come over for a dress-up sesh? Or a dance party? We crank up the Bruno Mars and get to steppin’ around here. He’s no Tchikovsky, but who says a ballerina can’t shake things up? I’d love to know if you’re making over a nursery or kids’ room in your house. What cute ideas are you thinking up? You think you’ll try out any of the projects we did? I’m still so ready to make more sheet music signs for other parts of our house.
Want to see some of our other room makeovers so far? Here’s our master bathroom and breakfast room makeovers along with our house tour progress. The strides we’ve made in a year and a half and a low budget always astound me. And sure, I may spend the little extra money we have on home decor instead of shoes but, really, it’s so worth it.
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LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the bedroom make-over!! Oh my goodness, what little girl wouldn’t love it!?! There are so many wonderful things, I’m not sure what my favorite is….
Thanks for sharing!
Blessings to you,
Lanita
Thanks, Lanita! I had way too much fun decorating this one. 🙂
Hi! What size rug did you use?
That is absolutely gorgeous! I don’t know any little girl who wouldn’t want to spend hours playing and imagining in that room! Great job!
Thanks, Anele! We have so much fun in here. 🙂
LOVE , LOVE, LOVE….Olivia’s bedroom makeover!
How Adorable! Everything is so Beautiful!
Thanks for sharing!
Sandi
Thank you, Sandi!
Wow it all came together perfectly! I love how you were able to include so many sentimental items. And what great finds on all of the furniture! I’m in the process of turning my little mans room into a big boy dinosaur room and you have inspired me so much along the way. 🙂
Thank you, Angela! I’m so happy how it turned out. Best of luck with the big boy room! I’ve seen so many cute ones out there that make me want to have a little boy too. (Dangerous territory for me. Haha)
Terrific job! Love everything about the room. Very special that you incorporated treasured sentimental items.
Thank you, Karen!
Lauren, this room is gorgeous!! and besides being gorgeous you can just feel how much love and thought went into it. And how awesome is your whittling FIL? So sweet. I totally wanna come hang out with you guys in here.
Wow! What a fantastic room full of beautiful design, love and memories. I was nearly teary-eyed reading about all the wonderful stories behind the various pieces you added to the room. Love it.
Aw thank you, Jill!
This room is absolutely gorgeous, I am so jealous of your little princess!! 🙂 I am seriously thinking that “big girls” can have a princess ballerina room too! Why not right?! 😉
Yes! Absolutely! I’d be cool with a ballerina room if I didn’t have a manly hubby to object. 😉 Haha! Thanks, Jamie!
This is absolutely PHENOMENAL!!!!!!!!! Love the finished result! If I find out I’m having a girl (two weeks!) I am stealing many of these ideas! The ballet bar? So cool!
Love it…what a thoughtful Mom you are…and so industrious! My kids are now grown and I did my daughter’s room when I was pregnant with number two and she had to move out of the nursery. The nursery was a lovely cream with a wallpaper border of stuffed animals sleeping…so cute. Her room theme (she was two and a half and we let her pick) was Ariel from The Little Mermaid, which was of course all the rage back in 1992. So we did an Ariel blue border, an Ariel valance, and I had extra material and made Ariel scrunchies (!) for the two of us to match. And of course she loved her little Ariel dress. She is now 24!. Sigh. 🙂
Such a pretty room! I love that all the pieces have a story that goes with it. Great job!
What a stunning space!!! I love everything about it!
Thank you, Jennifer!
It’s a little girls dream! Beautiful! And looks like a lot more money than you spent…great job thrifting! But my absolute favorite is that wonderful wooden rattle! What a treasure!
So pretty Lauren!! Olivia is a lucky little lady 🙂 Beautiful!!!
Olivia simply has the most adorable room! I want to spend time in there!
Thanks, Terry! We have a blast in here. 🙂
The decorated nightstand and the rug are my favorites. You did an awesome job! Why don’t you do this for a living?
Thanks, Anastasia! I’ve thought about becoming an interior designer professionally and offering virtual design services. God has a plan. Maybe it will happen some day soon. 🙂
Love, love, love it! Congrats for everything you do! You are gifted!
Thank you!
So sweet. It is so perfect. I loved decorating for my girls. Their nurseries. Then their rooms which were good til about going into 5th grade. Then a high school look. Then a college phase. And now they’re redone for us.
But I think doing my girls’ rooms were my favorite. I like how you incorporated the dress up with her room decor. I love the bed. Plus the framed dresses. It looks just perfect!!!
Thank you, Gwen! I remember my mom decorating my room for every phase too, and we always had so much fun together doing it.
Gorgeous room Lauren, every little detail is so perfect!
Thank you, Amy!!!
My dancer daughter and I are both dying over this room–We LOVE it! You did such a nice job incorporating special things, that is my favorite part I think but it is so hard to choose. I am sure she will enjoy it for years to come!
PS so nice to meet you in person at Haven–sorry it was SO hectic!
XOXO
Amy
http://www.11magnolialane.com
Aw thank you, Amy! My daughter is loving it, for sure. It was great meeting you too!
You’ve done such a beautiful job on her room! I’ve loved seeing all the posts on all the amazing diy touches you’ve added to the room. So gorgeous!!
OH MY GOSH. I am officially obsessed. There are so many details in this that I love, (especially the diy additions). I adore the wings, I’m crazy about the sheet music & don’t get me started on the color scheme. This is FAB. Pinning!!!!
Yay! I’m so glad you like it! It’s such a calming space (I’ll take anything I can when it comes to settling a little one down for bedtime).
This is the most beautiful little girl room that I’ve ever seen! I love, love the ballet theme and all of your thoughtful details. The rattles that your father-in-law makes are incredible and I’ve never seen anything like them. I love that you decorate with sentimental things from your youth and also your husband’s youth. I got a big smile on my face when I saw snuggle bear. I was a teen when he came on the scene but I still loved him. This room should be in a magazine!
You’re so sweet, Paula! Thank you! I’m constantly amazed at my father-in-law’s talents. It makes my heart happy to see so many things that mean so much to us in her room where they can be appreciated again.
I did ballet for 10 years growing up and holy cow, this room is what dreams are made of! It’s gorgeous!!! The details are amazing!
Thank you, Samantha! I still miss it sometimes, don’t you? I had way too much fun slipping my old pointe shoes back on for that rug shot. Haha! Good times.
I love everything about this room! I can picture my granddaughters in there. They love to twirl!
Thank you, Marie! Lots of twirling happens in here for sure. 🙂
This is so pretty Lauren! I love how the room feels so calming with little hints of pale pink that shine through. I would love to do something like this for my little girl’s room!
Thanks so much for sharing this at the Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop–this will be one of my featured posts at tomorrow’s party!
Yay! Thank you, Carrie! You are so sweet!
I echo everyone else’s comments–the great finds, the sentimental items, the great DIY projects–amazing! And the cost, OMG Awesome!
Thank you, Susan! Those sentimental items really make it even more special to us. And can’t argue with free! 😉
Ohhhh my goodness Lauren, this is BEAUTIFUL!! Totally every little girls dream! I bet your daughter is just tickled to have this fun room. I’m featuring it at Motivational Monday tomorrow! 🙂
Thanks so much, Amanda! She does absolutely love this room. We have a blast in here. 🙂
What a pretty room for a little girl! I feel your pain when you say you thought it was gonna be done in a month. I am also giving my daughter’s room a makeover and it is definitely taking longer than I thought.
It’s always the case, isn’t it? Haha Hope yours turns out well!
Adorable, I love the ballet bar, so clever~
Thanks, Jenna!
What a charming room Lauren! You daughter must love it. Featured you at Be Inspired this morning. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you, Sharon! You are always so gracious to feature my little DIY adventures. Hope you’re having a great week!
So lovely! I would love to feature both the nursery and the bedroom to show moms that visit my site how to “transition”. Please stop by http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/get-featured.html and let’s talk.
Thanks, Jan! Will do. 🙂
This room, it is just the best little girl’s room ever. I just want to run out and redecorate my daughter’s room. Perfection! Thanks for sharing at the Pretty Preppy Party! XOXO
Thank you, Amy! I had sooooo much fun decorating this room. I might steal it from her. 😉 Thanks for hosting the party!
Stunning! You did such an amazing job with this space – absolutely love it! Thanks for sharing all of the gorgeous details with us at the Pretty Preppy Party! xx, b @ being-bianca.com
Thanks, Brett! I had a lot of fun decorating this one.
A little ballerina’s dream! I have two little ballerinas (granddaughters aged 4 and 7). The 4-yr. old’s name is Olivia and we call her Livvie! The 7-yr old’s name is Lyla and we call her Bug, Buggie or Lyla Bug. I’d love to replicate your Livie Bug’s artwork for their playroom… would you mind sharing your source for the website that you got the music from?
As an aside, I’ve been using engineering prints for low cost/high impact projects for years as a result of wanting an inexpensive prototype for a project I was working on and I’ve not looked back since!
Thanks, Susan! That’s so funny that your granddaughters are Livvie and Bug! I got my sheet music on musicnotes.com. You can just search the title of the song you’d like to use. Engineer prints are so great! You were ahead of your time in that arena because the use of them seems to be everywhere now. Gotta love it. 🙂
Thanks Madam… think I found it – course it would be the next to the last in the list! I’m excited to get started – thanks so much for sharing!
This is amazing!
Congrats!
Thank you!
Hi Lauren,
Just found your stunning ballerina room makeover. Such a beautiful room and I love how you have brought all the family history into the room. It makes the room even more special. I would love to feature your room on my site http://www.thisdecormom.com Do let me know if that is okay with you.
Hi Richa! You may certainly feature it but please limit it to just one photo with a link back. Thanks so much!
Absolute perfection!
Thank you!
I see you used Gray Owl as the color in the bedroom. Someone told me they used the same color but 50%. Did you do anything like that in the room?
Hi Tina! Yes, I did use Gray Owl. This one is at 100% though. I didn’t make any adjustments to it at all.
I love this room. It is perfect for any little girl! Curious as to what size mirror that is that you used?
Thank you
Desirae
So sorry for my delay in responding to you, Desirae! I kept forgetting to sneak into my daughter’s room while she wasn’t sleeping to measure. The mirror is exactly 35″ x 45″. Hope that helps!
Soooo, that Snuggle detergent bear on the shelf? That was my lovey growing up. My poor guy hasn’t looked as fluffy as yours in a decade or two, but I still love him. I have a picture of each of my four children holding him as sleeping newborns. I’ve never seen another Snuggle bear before, so that was a fun surprise for me 🙂 Beautiful room!
Aww that’s so sweet! My husband had him when he was a baby and then his mom put Snuggle away for safekeeping for many years. She wrapped Snuggle up and gave him to us at our baby shower when our own little one came along. Our daughter loved on him a little bit, but mostly he just hangs out on that little shelf.
I found you looking at Board and Batten projects and just love your site! You do beautiful work!
And my baby is named Lauryn so you have a lovely name! 😉
Signed up for your newsletter and looking forward to your updates. 🙂
Steph
Aw yay! Thank you so much, Stephanie!
It is crazy beautiful! I came here a few times because I think this room is soon beautiful 🙂
I thought there was blood on the ribbons, hahaha, I guess red lipstick is way better 😉
I can’t believe the price you paid for these beautiful items !!
Haha! No, it’s red lipstick. Although, dancing on pointe is brutal, and it did have its gnarly moments for me back in the day. Haha!
Wow what a great find on that dresser for $15! I wish I could find a piece like that for $15!
Crazy, right?! It had some wonky drawers that needed fixing, but other than that it was a great piece.
Where did you get the mirror and bar?
The mirror was a hand-me-down from my mother that I just spray painted. Here’s the post about how we installed the barre: https://www.blesserhouse.com/2015/04/diy-ballet-barre-and-how-to-hang-a-heavy-mirror.html
What a precious little girl’s room! The little table turned out beautifully, and is truly a treasure.
What a beautiful room. I wanted to let you now that I am featuring the ballet barre photo with a link on my site at http://www.simplycreativemoms.com/girls-bedrooms.html if you don’t mind.
What size rug did you use?
I believe the one we used was a 6×9. Our daughter has a full bed, so we can get away with a smaller rug like that. If you have a queen, I’d go with 8×10.
Can you please tell me how you made the sheet music? I love this!!
Oh my goodness- you are freaking AMAZING with design, colors and everything in between! All I can say is WOW!! I love your blog!
Thank you for the kind words!
My wife and I are senior citizens and lost everything to Hurricane Florence last year. We are still trying to get back into a home. We were in a mobile home that was flooded so we lost it and everything in it except my posts hanging from a ceiling rack. Yes, I really use one daily for working pots/pans. Your window trim looks like a fantastic idea for our new home (in progress.). Right now we are in the new window, sub-floor and house wrap stage. I am thinking about doing something very similar to our front door that will be under a “cathedral” Ceiling ( know that stretches a little). I am definitely going to do two windows in the living room and another in the eat in side of the kitchen. We are doing a total rebuild to large by mobile home standards so we are basically working with a clean slate other than the actual floor plan. We have replaced ALL the windows with new construction type High E windows, Redoing both baths and as I said, rebuilding with a blank slate. Our kitchen will be in coffee brown shaker style cabinetry with stainless steel appliances and antique Oak folding leaf table. Many things that we are using are “re-purposed” such as a tallish dresser that I am making a small kitchen island out of to go under my pot rack mentioned above, Your site has been a huge stimulation of ideas. Thank you for all the valuable ideas you have gathered and so graciously shared with so many.
Oh, Mac, I am so sorry to hear/read about your loss. However, it does not seem to be keeping you down. I am excited for you in this renovation!! Thank you for sharing your story and I hope you share pictures as you go. I am humbled that you enjoy the blog and find it helpful. Hugs to you and your wife through this journey.
I love the room and all your unique finishes! I think your father-in-law could open an Etsy store and sell his bird rattle. I love, love it!
He custom makes these to order if you are interested. He is extremely talented and has some other wood work as well. He has a website thewhittlershop.com and is also found on Facebook as Ernie Shaver. 🙂