Natalie's Room Make Over (Work in Progress)

About six weeks ago, Natalie had a string of frustrating potty accidents, so we embarked on a new potty chart with the ultimate reward of a big kid bed!  Four out of five of Natalie's closets friends all have twin beds and have for a year or more, and Natalie was excited to get one, too.  Quickly, we discovered that Natalie really is more interested in having a princess bed than the bed itself.

Well, soon I got to thinking.  Neither of the kids got a decorated nursery.  In Natalie's room, it was a huge effort to get the old wall paper down and then paint.  She had cute linens and a mobile, but that was all.  (For William, we did even less.  His room was already light green and we just weeded out of pink linens!).  So, I figure both kids deserve to have a little money spent on making their rooms special considering how much time and effort parents (okay, moms) usually spend decorating a nursery.  In a lot of ways, I'm glad we waited, because now I can follow Natalie's interests.

Natalie mentions her big bed at least once a day in context of her potty chart.  She has seen the head board and sometimes mentions it.  She does not know that I plan to do a bunch of extra things for her.  

The Plan:
Mattress and box spring - this will be the most money.  Chapter 11 quoted us $150 this morning. We had considered getting my brother's old one, but it sounded too old and damaged.  Buying used from a stranger seemed odd.  There was one on FB for just $20.  Why is it only $20?!?  They claimed no smoke or pets, and it was only two years old.  Just seemed too good to be true, so we are going to buy new. 
Bed frame - FREE - got my brother's old bed frame. This is about a $40 savings for us. 
Head board - FREE - got my sister's old head board that matches Natalie's dresser.  It seems like headboards are pretty expensive.  Anywhere from $50 to over $100. 
Waterproof mattress cover - $4 - this protects the mattress from potty accidents and stomach flu mishaps
Disney Princess twin sheets - $28 - I decided on a set at Kmart for $20, and then got an extra Tangled pillowcase. 
Disney Princess blanket - $15 - $17 - I decided to get a piece of fleece instead of a regular blanket.  First of all, none of the blanket designs were perfect, and neither was the fleece.  The fleece was about $8.50 a yard, so I got two yards.  In the end, for $2 more, I got a much bigger blanket.  I'm considering cutting fray on the edges and knotting it.  I think Natalie would like the sensory element of playing with the fray. 
Ariel pillow - $18 - Kmart had Ariel, Rapunzel, and Cinderella all lined up with the sheets!  I finally decided to splurge and get Ariel because she was not on the sheets.  Her tail is also a cool sparkly material.  
Curtains - originally I was going to buy Disney Princess curtains, but then I decided they would just be one more thing to replace when she outgrows princesses.  So, we are going with purple.  Walmart had two choices, both of which would cost $40; Amazon would cost about $19, but we wouldn't get to see the color in person first.  Still going to try to shop around a bit. (Hoping to sell Natalie's current Eclipse light blocking curtains to make back a bit of the money.  They cost about $20 a panel.  Kind of torn about getting new curtains.  The old ones are so ugly and Natalie likes it when I pull them up so she has natural light and can look out, but I like that they block drafts). 
Curtain tie backs - $24 - $7 - $4 - I first planned to buy purple dragonfly tie backs, but then realized I could make them myself.  First I found white flowers, but then I found pink ones even cheaper at the dollar store.  We also purchased the hooks. 
Posters - $17 - I saved $7 by settling for the Hello Kitty and princess poster available at our local Walmart.  We've decided to spend that money on a My Little Pony poster. Got an extra princess poster for $1 at the dollar store, too. 
Disney Princess wall decals - $10
Disney Princess mini couch - $50 - $6!!! - One of these chairs was on my wish list for Natalie's room, but I couldn't justify the price.  Then I saw one being sold for only $6 on the FB swap page I use and jumped on it immediately.  This particular one is extra awesome because it folds out for larger sitting area or a sleepover mat. 
Magnet board - $1 - I made Natalie a memory board out of an old bulletin board about a year ago.  It works okay, but I'd like her to have something nicer.  A real memory board is about $20.  So, I started to think about something with magnets.  (Both kids play with magnets all the time, but we aren't ready for push pins).  I saw on Pinterst to spray paint an old cookie sheet.  The dollar store didn't have cookie sheets, but it did have nice silver pizza pans. I bought one and glued craft gems around the edge. 
Magnets - FREE - took some the dot magnets we already have and glue on craft gems and the backs of some stampers that fell apart when baby William chewed them. 
Photo collage - $1 - I will probably make a collage of family and friends using Picasa and then print it on our computer.  I can then get a cheap frame from the dollar store and fancy it up with some stickers or craft gems.
Disney Princess light switch cover - $5 - This was a reward for finishing the first row of her chart.  We were coming off a rough patch, so it was deserved!
Disney Princess night light - $1
Adhesive strips - We will need these for the posters, memory board, and collage frame.  
Little Tikes vanity - $68 - this is the one item we will not be getting for the big room reveal.  While reasonably priced for a birthday or Christmas gift, it is expensive for "just because" gift.  I hope to get this for her later.  I always have wanted something like this myself, and think she would like to have it for her play make up and jewelry. 


Current total = $95 (just curtains, mattress and box spring, and some adhesive left to buy!)

Full total = about $125 before cost of mattress and box spring

Savings = $150 (frame, headboard, mini couch, tie backs)



By the way, I haven't forgotten William.  He will be getting Natalie's toddler bed, which means major changes to his bedroom.  The adult mattress will be removed, and then the crib when he has settled in.  Since he is younger, the plan is less envolved.  While William's communication is excellent, its still hard to know what would really excite him in his room, or if those things would stay his interests for a long time justifying the investment.  Here is the plan for William:

Toddler bed - FREE - passed down from Natalie
Toddler bedding - $47 - If nothing else, we will be buying him is own bedding.  The cool bedding was what made Natalie excited about the toddler bed when she first got it.  William seems to like Yo Gabba Gabba the best, so that is the bedding he will be getting. 
Brobee pillow - $20 - This is on Amazon.  I thought we'd seen them for less at Kmart.
Posters - $14 (before laminating) - I want to get him Thomas and Cars posters, but I am concerned about him ripping them off the walls when he is alone.  Considering laminating them.  I'd hang them up higher, but I want him to be able to enjoy them and don't want to give him reason to climb on things. 
Little Tikes table - we already have on outside that is sitting unused.
Chair - will probably just bring one in from outside for now; though I am a little worried about him using a chair to climb.