An Easy (and Budget-Friendly) Room Spruce-Up for Mabel

Same paint. Same furniture. Same layout. This is a very low-budget and minimal effort room update, but I think it is still worth sharing for the very fact that it’s low-budget and minimal effort. It doesn’t take much to make your space feel more like your own and there is ample opportunity to make your home feel more special on a low budget, even when you’re renting. I want to share some tips and ideas for you!

But let’s first back up a little bit to explain how we got here. We are currently living in our in-law’s rental while we wait to move to our new home and as I recently mentioned, it’s turning out to be a longer transition period than we originally expected. We’ve been here for six months now with no definitive end in sight. All of our own things (other than some luggage with clothes and personal items) are packed up in a portable storage unit waiting for us to make the move, so everything we’re using in this in-between period belongs to my in-laws. We are by no means suffering - we’re comfortable and have cozy beds to lay our heads down at the end of each day. However, seeing as we didn’t expect to be here this long, the reality is starting to set in and we’re all feeling a little…unsettled.

As you can imagine, living in a strange transition is one thing, but living in a strange transition with kids isn’t easy. Our girls have been real troopers through it all, but with no end to this adventure in sight (yet), I thought I may as well make an effort to try to help our oldest daughter feel as settled as I could. She has her own little room (my father-in-law’s home office when he’s in town) with an air mattress and a cozy reading chair. Other than a few stuffed animals and some books, nothing in her room is her own.

The Before Photos

Seeing as this is still intended to be a temporary living situation, I don’t have the flexibly to make any permanent changes, such as painting the walls, hanging curtains, or even changing out the light fixture. So instead, I tried to focus my efforts on making affordable swaps that are not permanent - things we could easily remove and/or simply bring with us when we make the move. It turned out to be a fun challenge! I’ll share what the room looks like now and then go into more detail and give some tips below.

Create a Faux Wallpaper

The first thing I did was touch up a little bit of the scratched wall paint and then created a faux wallpaper pattern across the biggest blank wall in the room. I purchased two packs of adorable little flower removable vinyl wall decals (which totalled under $20 CAD) and laid out a rough offset grid pattern across the wall. I used a tape measure to somewhat space the decals evenly and it took about an hour to create. It was a very low investment of both time and money and I think it made a pretty big impact!

In my search, I found numerous adorable decal options that would make great patterns. I love the sweet boho feel of these floral ones, but there were other options that could tap into a completely different style. If you are willing to invest a little more money in this solution, there are numerous small businesses that produce stunning decal options that cost a little more, but offer a lot more option for style. And if you’re going to be somewhere for a long while, you could even invest in removable wallpaper to create a stunning feature wall. I made sure to test that the decals I applied will easily peel off and it’s true - they do!

Add Cozy Bedding

The next thing I did was update the bedding. As I mentioned, my daughter is sleeping on an air mattress and it was starting to feel like a sleepover that would never end. I wanted to make her bed feel like a cozy, comfortable space that felt more permanently like her own (even if it isn’t). I decided it would be worthwhile to purchase some new bed linens for her that would better reflect her personality, but without any guilt, as we can easily just pack these up and bring them with us when we make our move.

Updating bedding (or any linens) can actually go a long way to bring in some of your personal preferences without making any permanent changes to a space. I purchased a simple white comforter with a feminine frill detail along the edges and a fresh set of pink bed sheets for Mabel’s bed. I love that the white comforter will work with a variety of styles and colours in the future, yet the pink speaks to her current preferences and add a good dose of colour to the space. I also added a cozy pink throw blanket to the foot of her bed (not pictured).

Layer in Personal Artwork

Let me preach for a moment: one of the easiest ways to bring personality to a space is through the artwork. And the best part? It can be so affordable to do that these days. Artwork will always bring more depth to a space. It’s like the icing on a cake. When you layer it into a room design, regardless of how temporary that space may be to you, it has the power to instantly add warmth and a sense of belonging. In fact, deciding to add some personalized artwork to Mabel’s room was the idea that sent me on this entire trajectory towards updating her little bedroom.

I talked about this in more detail in this recent post, but artwork can be very affordable through digital downloadable art prints. Be sure to read that post for more details, but essentially, I purchased a couple of downloadable prints that spoke to Mabel’s personality and interests, had them printed, and popped them into Walmart poster frames to prop along another long empty wall. I’ll always recommend printing the artwork as a poster and using a poster frame - both are a very affordable way to get a large piece of artwork (aka more impact) at a low cost. Poster printing uses more industrial processes than fine art printing and poster frames are often outfitted with plastic rather than glass. Big size, big impact, low cost, but also very ideal for a kid’s space.

I propped the frames up on a large shelf that already existed in Mabel’s room, but you can also easily hang artwork right on the wall using Command Strips if you are not able to drill any holes in the walls.

Add Personal Details

Other than some of her personal items, like stuffed animals, books, and an epic headband collection (girl has a ton of headbands!), I grabbed a couple of pretty tabletop picture frames on a recent trip to Homesense and filled them with a few photos of Mabel with some of her favourite people. She absolutely loves these photos and constantly moves them around her space. These types of little details will always make a space feel more personal to you and can easily float around your space.

Mabel also has a real interest in arts and crafts and so I decided to take advantage of her constant creation and hung a canvas of some sunflowers that she painted beside her bed (using the Command Strip hack previously mentioned). She was thrilled when she saw this special detail, and like everything else, we’ll simply just bring it with us when we go.

Add in Versatile Decor Pieces

In the grand scheme of things, simple decor pieces can be a pretty low-investment way to add personal touches to a space. I grabbed a beautiful floral throw pillow and soft pink throw blanket from Homesense that add even more colour and pattern to the room. Some other items that could make a big impact are table lamps, a rug, or small pieces of furniture that can all be packed up to come with you when you leave. To make it even more affordable, you may choose to keep your eye out for interesting and personal decor items while thrifting or browsing on a buy and sell website. There are lots of ways you can personalize your space with these types of items!

Mabel is thrilled with her updated room and I’m so glad I made the effort to make it feel more comfortable for her. We don’t know how long we’ll be here, but as a parent, I’m grateful to know that she is finding comfort and peace in her little in-between space as we wait.

Have you tried any of these tips? Would you add any other ideas to this list?

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Mabel’s (Temporary) Room Source Guide

As mentioned, most of the items in this room belong to my in-laws, as we are staying at their home. Therefore, I don’t have the links to anything that was already in the room. I have linked below the items that I have added:

Removable Vinyl Wall Decals // Twin Sheet Set // Twin Frill Comforter // Pink Throw Blanket (Homesense, similar linked here) // Floral Throw Pillow (Homesense, similar linked here) // Pink Mustang Watercolour Art Print // Pink Castle Art Print