DIY headboard..... in less than 1 hour

After I finished making over the dresser for Quinny's room I knew we needed to address the headboard situation...or rather the lack thereof.  Since we moved Quinn to a "big girl" bed 5 years ago (can it really be 5 years...!) she has never had a headboard.  She had a pretty pink princess canopy that would have hidden any headboard we used so it was never really a priority.  I've been itching to do a DIY upholstered headboard for quite some time now and thought I'd try out one for her room.

When  I was we were creating my our vision for her room I really wanted a big, fluffy gray tufted headboard. Kinda like this cute one from West Elm:

But, the $350 price tag just isn't in the budget, so I watched a bunch of You Tube videos until I felt like I could make one. Which, by the way, is the same method my hubby and I used to build the confidence to do our own backsplash in the kitchen.  Then I was off to Hobby Lobby to pick up the supplies: a couple yards of fabric, foam (actually my mom had some left over from a project), and batting. Then I went to our local hardware store and got a 20 inch x 3 ft. piece of 1/2 inch plywood for $2 (I love living in a small town somtimes!).

Basically, the process of making it is kinda like wrapping a present with many layers.  I wish I could have taken pictures of the process but until that 3rd arm sprouts from my head I'm not that talented so you'll have to imagine it!  I found this video helpful, and followed each step using my mom's electric staple gun to get things attached.
I REALLLLLYYYY wanted to tuft it and add in the buttons but truth be told: I chickened out!  I can't sew....at all, so I get nervous when anything involves a needle.  I decided to forgo it and snaz up the headboard with some cute beaded trim that I found on clearnance and Hobby Lobby. What do you think:

I'm happy that I decided to do the trim instead of the tufting, as my hubby reminded me a couple times, "This is our daughter's room, not yours!"  She is 7 so she totally likes the beaded, fluffy trim waaaaayyyy better than she would have the tufted look.  I used a picture hanger thingy (technical term) that I bought at Lowe's for $5 to attach it to the wall.  It said it holds up to 75 lbs so I thought it could handle a somewhat rambunctious 7 year old.
Here is a look with the bedding:

 

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it and the process has given me the courage to try to do another one...maybe for our room and I'll tuft that one!  Here is the financial info for this one:

Fabric: $7.99/ yard at Hobby Lobby, I got 2.5 yards and used a 40% off coupon = $12

Foam: free, my mom had some left over

Batting: $7.99

Beaded trim: $2.99/ yard at Hobby Lobby, I snatched up 3 yards, since this was a different day I had another coupon!!! =$5.40

Picture hanger thingy: $5 from Lowes

= $30.32 for the entire project...not too bad, especially when compared to the $350 one!

Dresser + paint =love!

A few weeks ago my hubs and I made plans for a trip to PGH (Pittsburgh).  We decided to head there for a few reasons, first his uber smart best friend is doing his residency there and we could visit him, 2. there is a cool downtown, 3. there was an Ikea and 4. I could find some craigslist deals.  About a week before we left I started looking on craigslist for things on my wish list: a dresser and desk for Quinn's room were at the top of my list.

On Sunday afternoon I came across a listing for a dresser that I loved, it was more of a chest actually.  Tall with 4 drawers, decent shape and beautiful lines...sort of an antique style and the $25 price was right up my ally.  I waited until Monday morning to send an email, (since a lot of craigslist business goes on over the weekend), I tried not to get my hopes up and waited to see if it was still for sale.  I hit send and waited...about 2 hours later I had a one word reply: Yes.  Woohoo, let the happy dance begin....but I now I needed to talk this person into holding it for me until Saturday.  After a little back and forth the seller agreed.  5 days later Lance and I pulled up with a Uhaul trailer attached to the back of our SUV, Lance used his supreme deal making skills, handed over an Andrew Jackson ($20) and we were on our merry way with this girl:

She had seen better days for sure, but under that blue marker and dirty grunge was potential.  She had been kept in a garage so there was a bit of a musty odor and one of the drawers needed some repair work.  I gave her a good scrubbin' with some hot soapy water and knew that she was going to be a star.  The musty smell was gone, and she was looking better. I took some wood glue and repaired the drawer that needed mending and putty to fill in the un-used knob holes.  Then I was off to Lowe's to pick out paint.  After much deliberation, I decided on a color called "Muted Ebony" from Valspar.  It is kind of a steel gray, I wanted a dark, sophisticated gray so I thought this would work.  Retrospectively, I wish I'd gone for a lighter gray, but it is growing on me.  After 3 very thin coats of paint with a foam roller this is what I am left with:

 

The gold handles and knobs weren't cutting it anymore, so I took a can of $1 spray paint and gave them a little makeover.  I may change them out later but this works for now.  The top was a different material, kind of a slick, lacquer so I didn't plan to paint it.  I gave it a scrubbing and left it white.  I love how it turned out, although I may add a bit of flair and paint the trim black, this area to give it a bit more character.  Thoughts???

I'll let you know how it turns out if I go that route.   All in all, I think my $20 dresser looks like a million bucks.  Ok, maybe not a million but a good $999,999...here is another looksy:

Here is the budget breakdown:
Dresser- $20
Paint - $11
Spray Paint - $1

Grand Total: $32 for a pretty snazzy dresser that really set the stage for the room re-do!