Every PoorLittleRichGirl wants a kick-ass pad, but who really wants to pay for it? Especially if you are renting, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend tons of money updating a space that you will eventually leave. But do not fret! All it takes is a bit of creativity and some tricks of the trade to take your space from average to a true reflection of yourself.

My client, Patrice, is the epitome of a PoorLittleRichGirl: successful, independent and financially responsible. She had just moved into a great soft-loft in Pilsen and wanted to decorate the space without spending a fortune so I took this project on as a personal challenge: make her home a place that would make any PLRG proud! With a budget of $1000 for accessories and paint we turned her living room/dining room into a warm, inviting space perfect for this hardworking girl.

Below is a picture journey of Patrice’s pad, from drab to fab, including prices and locations of everything purchased. Use it as inspiration, or contact me if you need the extra help!

Patrice’s place was dark and felt cramped. She was a tad bit (or really) too reliant on the color brown.

In order to make her place feel larger with two distinct areas we placed her couch on an angle. I also helped Patrice experiment with color. At first she was worried about the bright red TV stand (which retails at Ikea for $99) but when we came across it at a sidewalk sale for $23 (we got it for $20!) she knew she couldn’t fight me!

The dining area was really dark and rather blah.

In order to add light and texture we added a wicker light fixture.  Textile wrapped frames in bright, fun prints brought visual excitement to the mix!  To see how to make these unique wall pieces check out my previous article using decorative paper.

This area really needs some visual excitement.

Talk about color!  I just happened to have some extra fabric and Patrice’s mother knows how to sew so we created custom curtains.  The area rug was actually an animal print throw blanket.  It’s okay to be creative!!  Recognize the fabric on the lamp shade?  Yep, we used it in the dining room area as well to pull the two areas together.

A mirror can often visually enlarge a space.

Shopping List:

Patrice ended up painting not just this room, but also her hallway.  Labor and material for that cost $500*, which brings us to approximately $1200 but, since the hallway was added in, our living/dining room stayed within our $1000 budget!

*If you happen to have some extra time on your hands, you could attempt to paint the rooms yourself to save, oh, around, $300 or so, as the price for labor was around $400 (still a great deal and worth every penny for Patrice and other busy PLRGs). You would still end up sending around $200 for paint, painting supplies like a tarp, rollers, etc., but that brings your grand makeover total somewhere closer to $800! What a steal for so much style!

Katie Rogulski is our go-to gal for all things design, from choosing a paint color to installing a light fixture. Send her all of your design questions and comments and she’ll will do her best to help you design a fabulous pad without breaking the bank! Katie@PoorLittleRichGirls.com

Being a poor little rich girl sometimes means taking on a challenge in order to save some dough.

For example, when my friend and client, Steph, told me she wanted an upholstered headboard, but was on a tight budget, I decided that we could make one. I’m not particularly handy, but designers do it all the time on those design-on-a-dime TV shows and all the websites we checked advertised “chic and easy” instructions. So why couldn’t we build one?

If you have read my column before you know that I tell it to you straight. Was it fulfilling to see the end result of our labor? Hell yes. Would I do it again? Definitely. Was it a walk in the park? Nope.

As a designer, I do have an ace or two up my sleeve that really helped us complete this project. I have a good relationship with a great carpenter, Chris Favia, who took his Sunday to help us put together the wood framework for the headboard. I do not recommend attempting this project without someone who has access to and is comfortable with saws, drills, etc. I also have a friend who is going to school for fashion and owns an industrial sewing machine. Special thanks to Teddy Schellenbach for helping us sew together our fabric. Matching the pattern would have taken me HOURS.

Even with all this help, Steph and I unintentionally (although it should have been pretty obvious) made things a bit harder for ourselves by choosing a curved design, which required more material and carpentry. To simplify this process, choose a rectangular design. Secondly, due to her 12′ high ceiling in the bedroom we chose to build a 6′ tall headboard, which looks AMAZING, but ended up proving difficult to haul around, even in an SUV. Unless you have unusually tall ceilings, like Steph, I recommend you make a shorter headboard. I make these mistakes so that you don’t have to!

Upholstered headboards are really en vogue and are an amazing way to glamorize your bedroom. Below are the directions we followed and the pictures we took so that you too can build one (without sugar coating the gritty details).

Materials:
two 1/2″ sheet of medium-density fiberboard (MDF)
batting, fabric and decorative trim
tempered hardboard (bendable board)
2×4s
staple gun (we got away with just using nails)
drill and wood screws
table saw or circular saw
measuring tape
miter saw
jig saw

1. Tip #1: You need to bring an SUV or truck to the hardware store. Tip #2: Have the hardware store cut the 2×4s into:
For the top of the frame:
two at 13-1/2” long
two at 10” long
two at 5” long
one at 30” long
one a 60” long
For the bottom of the frame:
Six at 60” long

2. Build the top of the frame as follows:

3. Build the bottom frame as follows:

4. Attach the bottom and the top frame together

5. Lay the MDF on the top of the framework and with a pencil outline the curves on the top of the headboard. Then with a saw cut along those lines so that the MDF matches (fits the exact size of) the headboard. When completed, attach the MDF to the framework.

HINT: This is where we got into a problem. Even though we had an SUV, this thing was so freakishly large that we had to chop the headboard into two pieces, in a jig-saw like way, and then reattach them on-site. Unless this MAJOR extra step sounds like fun to you, build a smaller headboard.

6. Attach the batting to the entire MDF covered side of the headboard, and the sides and top of the framework. I recommend using something rather thick, at least 1.5 inches, because that is what your head will be hitting when you are in bed. A staple gun will work, but we used nails.

7. If you want to add depth to your headboard, like we did, we added extra batting along the edges. We used slightly less thick batting for this part because it is easier to handle.

8. Steph and I also made our lives harder by choosing a fabric with a pattern. Sewing the fabric together so that we did not break the pattern was VERY TEDIOUS! (Thankfully, we pawned this part off to an expert). Cover the batting in fabric and attach it with either the staple gun or nails. Hide your nails/staples in the framework on the back and at the edges where you placed the extra batting.

9. To hide where you placed the staples or nails use a fabric glue to attach a decorative trim.

10. Attach the headboard to your bed and admire your 2 full days of work (not kidding)!

Katie Rogulski is our go-to gal for all things design, from choosing a paint color to installing a light fixture. Send her all of your design questions and comments and she’ll will do her best to help you design a fabulous pad without breaking the bank! Katie@PoorLittleRichGirls.com

Dear Katie,

I’m looking for some help with an outside space….my balcony.

I have a glass top table with a wrought iron base and chairs with a little ivy design. A table for four on a balcony you say? It’s from the 60s and people were smaller then so the table for four will work on the balcony space just fine. To keep it simple, I’m painting it black (already looks so much better).

Do you have any fun thoughts for seat fabrics? Are you seeing any cool trends for this type of space? I’ve thought about the classic wide black and white stripes (very cabana-esque) but thinking it could be too conservative so maybe a solid vibrant color or another pattern.

My windows are floor to ceiling so the space will be visible from the inside so I am definitely taking that into consideration.

Just curious what you’re seeing in this space, if anything :) Thanks!

- Heather, Lincoln Park

Dear Heather,

How very PLRG of you to take an old table and breathe new life into it with paint! Black was a great choice. The table looks more modern and sophisticated.

Outdoor pillows will brighten the look of your balcony and will visually increase your homes livable space. Not to mention, seat cushions will allow you to sit in comfort while you enjoy an after work cocktail……or the view.

The good news is that our less than perfect weather and the economy have contributed to some fabulous sales on outdoor accessories. The bad news is cute outdoor fabrics really lag behind interior fabrics. I visited several Chicago boutiques and was totally disappointed with the lack of outdoor pillows available, and those I did find were uninspiring. I was forced to venture online.

Target has a surprisingly large stock of outdoor seating accessories. I was drawn to a combination of the white Oasi set of 4 seat pads with alternating stripped and blue medallion pillows as decorative chair backs. The fusion of the black wrought iron and white seat cushion takes into account your original idea of a black and white motif and the accent pillows add comfort and visual excitement.

The accent pillows make the space and at $24.99 for a pair are a great deal. Buy a pair of each pattern and alternate them on the chairs. The four white seat cushions are priced at $119 for a pair of four, and Target is offering 15% off orders over $125 and free shipping, so the total look is approximately $150.

Place this great candle lantern from CB2 onto your table for $39.95 (on sale, original price $59.95) to finish the look.(I know you didn’t ask about a lantern, but it just works!)

For under $200 you will have a sophisticated and polished outdoor area to enjoy for the remainder of the summer. Keep the questions coming!

Katie Rogulski is our go-to gal for all things design, from choosing a paint color to installing a light fixture. Send her all of your design questions and comments and she’ll will do her best to help you design a fabulous pad without breaking the bank! Katie@PoorLittleRichGirls.com

Dear Katie,

I have an oddly shaped, small bedroom with really high ceilings. Any suggestions on how I can better utilize my space?

- Noelle, Bucktown

Dear Noelle,

Upon seeing the pictures you provided (see before photo below) I knew there was no way I could let a fellow PoorLittleRichGirl live in such clutter and mayhem! But, just writing an article was not enough. I had to personally intervene and stop the insanity. So, I paid a house call…

When I asked why you had placed your bed where it was you told me, “Because that’s the way the person before me had it.” Great logic! If we all lived by that philosophy wall-to-wall green shag carpet would be everywhere.

Listen to me all you PLRGs! Never be afraid to try something new when it comes to design. Even if you mess up you can always fix it. Later this summer I will share how I thought it was an AMAZING idea to repaint my condo and did a real number on the trim, even though I was using my beloved blue tape. But, guess what? It will get fixed and I get to write a comical and self-deprecating article about my attempt which will hopefully teach you all not to make the same mistakes. It ends up being a win-win situation!

Back to Noelle’s problem- Noelle and I decided the best plan of action was to get together and rearrange her bedroom to better utilize her space.

Some notes when trying to rearrange furniture:

Before you haphazardly rearrange your room, it is a good idea to first measure your furniture, walls and potential walkways. Graph paper is extremely helpful in creating a preliminary layout.

Use friends to help you move the heavy stuff. Mimosas and/or other alcoholic beverages are a good motivator. Try to limit yourself to just a few, so you don’t hurt yourself or others!

When moving dressers, first remove the drawers filled with clothes!

Rearranging your room is a great opportunity to clean under all that furniture that you never move. If you happen to vacuum up a piece of jewelry you can remove the bag to find it. (Noelle learned this from experience-see photo on right)

We had several design obstacles to tackle. A converted loft, Noelle’s room is quite small and oddly shaped. This problem was compounded by her furniture layout, which left little to no standing/changing space and a dizzying zig-zag path from the doorway through the room (you can see how close the dresser is to the bed in the photo below).

Also, while the interior walls were drywall, the exterior walls were brick, with a steel and concrete cut out, which at one time was a doorway. Noelle experienced difficulty hanging anything from the brick and had given up, leaving her largest wall empty except for a small lantern she hung from an ancient nail head.

After some preliminary measurements we agreed to a plan of action. We flipped her bed around to give her more standing/changing room and moved her dresser to the opposite wall to break up the empty, brick wall. Due to her high ceilings, we raised the shelf she already had to just above head height in order to create an easier walkway through the room. Using a concrete screw in the mortar we also hung a second, larger lantern over her bed, complimenting the lantern she already had and increasing the visual interest.

BEFORE	AFTER

(The images above were created by Lacey, our Editor, not graphic deisgner, so they are clearly not to scale. But, we wanted to give you a better visual of the furniture placement.)

Once all the furniture was in place it was time to accessorize. When you have a small space it is really important that you attempt to be organized and have a specific place for everything. If you haven’t used, seen or touched something in over a year it is time to get rid of it. Okay, I’ll allow one or two exceptions, like the romantic letter written by your first love that you read after every breakup to remind yourself you are loveable. Wait…that’s just me? Well, you know what I mean. Don’t be a hoarder!

In the end, Noelle’s room turned out really great (after photo above). In just a day we were able to create a more visually appealing and functional space for free!

Thanks for the question, Noelle, and keep them coming, ladies!

UPDATE: To follow up on my previous article, although many people thought the red light and tip jar was a great idea, Maggie has decided to sandblast her shower window. Sorry boys!

Katie Rogulski is our go-to gal for all things design, from choosing a paint color to installing a light fixture. Send her all of your design questions and comments and she’ll will do her best to help you design a fabulous pad without breaking the bank! Katie@PoorLittleRichGirls.com