I Can Do That...

by Damselfly

So you liked the winning design last night? And you have a teenaged daughter who would like a room like that...because let’s be honest, nobody over the aged of 16 would be caught dead with a room like that. Anyway, you have no idea where to start and in your town yard sales just don’t have that kind of merchandise at them...I mean where I live you're lucky to find a set of four glasses that don’t have Fred Flinstone on them. You’ll have to do it from...gasp...new stuff. So let’s begin.....

We’ll start at IKEA...because if you don’t have BRAVO to give you money for a budget everything starts at IKEA.

The bed is pretty cheap and it should be since it’s press board but hey who wants to give a teenage an antique anyway. For $79.99 you can get yourself this bed that comes with a mattress and pre-painted...who can beat that. Bonus, when your kid kicks a hole in it with their soccer ball because it’s press board, you won’t feel so bad.

Now I know what you’re thinking...That bed has no bookshelf. Aha...for $29.99 you can add this lovely, also pre-painted bookshelf to the foot of it...tada!

So this looks like a very skinny bookshelf, right? Lay it down on it’s side and you’ve got yourself a coffee table complete with some storage spaces underneath, something that Carisa was missing last night. That’s going to run you $69.99 and it comes in an array of colors not pinkish red but if you buy it in white and then get a can of paint, or better yet spray paint for that nice even coat, you will end up with an appropriately colored coffee table. Not that a teenager needs a coffee table in their room but for the sake of the process...moving on.

The desk that runs the width of the room is very simple. Go to the hardware store with the right measurements. Get the wood. Build it. Paint it. Trust me, this is going to cost you less than trying to get one made. The chair however...

We go back to IKEA and find it for the amazing price of $29.99. Yes it’s black but I was going for what was available in the shape. They do have desk chairs in red that are slightly different...

For lamps we’ll travel over to Target...or Tar-jay to be french and phonetic.

Our floor lamp is not exact and at $139.99 it’s going to be one of the more expensive things in the room...weird but typical. I like it better, but if you look through the floor lamp section you can find ones cheaper but you lose similarity. Either way...

For $99.99, this desk lamp mirrors Carisa’s find well. And if you are really stuck on the white base...get out your paints.

The metal desk is actually interesting. Either you can go to keysan.com, where I found it for $260.94, and buy it new or you can look up used office supplies in your area and find it cheaper. Companies go out of business and liquidators are always trying to get rid of "out of date" office furniture. And come on...that’s why it was in the yard sale...pleather upholstery or not. Oh that reminds me, the pleather you can find at any fabric store and you will with have real luck if you go somewhere that specializes in upholstery.

The wall shelf unit has eluded me. I know I’ve seen it before as a cd rack but alas, I could not find it. Probably could if I had all day to sit on the computer but my 15 month old will not let me do that. What I did find was these at designpublic.com for $104 each. A bit pricey but I did want to give you an option for that piece.

Let’s finish up the metal in the room with the trash can from onlineorganizing.com for $15. I found a cheaper one at Bed, Bath, and Beyond but it wasn’t as similar. You decide what you want.

The chair is a budget killer. It’s going to rip your wallet out of your jeans, pocket and all, chew on it for a while, and hand it back to you spitty and empty. And let’s be honest it’s not that attractive of a chair to begin with. Ok, so this is all a cover because I couldn’t find one exactly like it. I did find this one at metroretrofurniture.com for $1995, but as I have said...I wouldn’t break the bank for this. It’s just not that pretty.

The rug I found at adarug.com $219 for a 5’x7’. It’s big, shaggy, and orange. Like I said, definatly a 16 year old.

And last but not least the accents. Don’t steal a road sign, please. Go to safetysign.com and buy one. It will only set you back $33.35 and your local government will thank you. And the pillows...start at designerlinenoutlet where I found these black and white striped ones for $19.99 each and then go crazy on whatever patterned ones catch your eye.

Well, there it is...broken down and dismantled. Not necessarily my favorite room from last night but it might be yours...if you’re 16...and your favorite movie is Legally Blonde...and you idolize Paris Hilton...I’m going to stop now.