Under $25 Makeover: Bookcase Project

So I'm getting started on the Under $25 Makeover a day late and a dollar short! ;) Nevertheless, I promised a project for each week, and here's the first one. This week I am redoing my guest bedroom/office. In that room, I have one of those plain boring compressed wood bookcases we all had in college. It's laminate of course, so painting can be a pain. To save myself some heartache and time, I decided to just cover the back of the bookcase with something. I've seen this done several places before, the most recent being the Nate Berkus show.

So without further ado, here's the before:

I wanted to do something bright, but use supplies I already had on hand. I thought about using paper, but I didn't have enough of the same paper to do the whole shelf, so I decided to use fabric. I dug through my fabric stash and came across some great bright pink burlap I had picked up last year. It was perfect. I wanted to attach it to the back in such a way that I could remove it if I wanted to. That way if I got tired of the pink, I could change it up with a different fabric. I used 3M wall strips at the top corners and sticky backed Velcro dots. Here's what that looks like:


Once I had the top secured, I put the top shelf back in and the fabric was further secured.

I continued to use the Velcro dots at the top of each new shelf until I got to the third one. Then I hit a snag when I realized that shelf didn't come out as it was nailed in. I had to decide whether to leave the extra fabric and hide the bottom shelves or cut the fabric and not put any fabric behind the bottom two shelves. Before the decision:

In the end, I decided to cut the burlap and used three Velcro dots to secure it to the bottom of the third shelf.

Here's the finished project:

I did some rearranging, decided to get rid of some books, and filled the bottom shelf with two baskets that can hide junk. I also did a nice arrangement for the top of the bookcase using stuff I had around the house and some hydrangeas from my garden.


My hydrangeas are in full bloom, so look to see those in about every room in my house during this makeover! Well, that's my simple project for this week. All in all, the cost was free since I used stuff I already had in my stash. But even if you had to purchase supplies, the whole project would cost between $5-$10 depending on the fabric or paper used. I think this pink does a nice job of brightening up an otherwise dark corner. Look for the complete room makeover tomorrow. And don't forget, on Friday you can add your inexpensive project to the linky party!

Happy Crafting!

Inspiration Tuesday: Thrifty Makeovers

In anticipation of the Under $25 Makeover launch next week, I'm sharing some thrifty makeovers. I hope these inspire you to start thinking about inexpensive makeovers!

First up is this thrifty chair makeover featured on Country Living.

Here's the before:

And here's the after:


Love it!!!

I found this great repurposing of a vintage door over at Today's Fabulous Finds.

Before:


After:
Fabulous!

Or what about this great space that was freshened up for under $50 at Better Homes and Gardens:

* See several other spaces BHG made over for less than $50 here.

And finally, I'll share my own microwave stand makeover.

Before:


After:

I'm a huge fan of decorating for less, trash to treasure, roadkill rescue or whatever you want to call it. I hope these projects inspire you to think about it before you pass up that freebie on the curb or throw something out you already, have think about the possibilities!

Happy Crafting!

*Shared at Whatever Goes Wednesday.

Exciting Announcement

I have an exciting announcement to share with every one. I need a little jump start to get back into blogging, so of course, I decided to do something crazy. Instead of a little project or a small makeover, I've decided to go big. I'm talking huge! I'm going to do a series of makeovers in four different spaces in and around my house.

That's right, for the entire month of August, each week will be a different room makeover. And did I mention at least three of these spaces will be made over for less than $25. Each week, starting on Monday, I will be posting one small project from that week's room makeover. Then, on Wednesday, I will be posting the before and after of my room makeover and how much everything cost. Then on Fridays you have a chance to get in on the fun. I will be hosting linky parties every Friday where you can link to a post of a low cost project you've done. It doesn't have to be a new post, just relatively low cost/thrifty project. Then on the final Friday's linky party (August 26th), you can link up your low cost room makeovers. At the very end, I will put all the links in for a drawing for a fabulous prize (yet to be announced.)

I have never done anything this massive before, and I'm hoping that I can garner up your support for this crazy endeavor. As such, please feel free to take the snazzy Under $25 Makeover button on the sidebar. Also, please, please, please, start thinking about projects you can add to the linky parties or rooms you can makeover for less.

Happy Crafting!