Beach Shack Bedrooms...Finally Some Decoration to Show You

These last few days I've been hanging out at the beach shack and I'm REALLY happy with how it's looking. The renos are as good as done and now it's all about the decorating.

I'm a true believer that a shack should be pretty and simple. I really like the whole cane lounge with big floral prints look but Roge would kill me if I decorated that way. I also had to work with what furniture we had in storage or what we could convince our relatives to give us!

Here are two of the bedrooms and I've put a before pic at the start to remind you how they looked!

Pre "Alex reno"

Ta da! Ignore the hole in the wall that I need to patch up but otherwise this room now sings! We ripped up the carpet and painted the walls Dulux Natural White. The mirror on the wall was Mum's and the chair was one I had in my lounge but was originally found at the Hobart Tip Shop ($25).

Cheap mat from Freedom ($19), Mum's old metal chest and a second hand bed from Gumtree.

An op shop Bentwood side table ($10) with a cardboard radio found at a gift shop in Hobart. All the bedding is stuff I had in my cupboard from when I was going through my white phase!

A Evandale market mirror which has frosted flowers on it ($20) and a metal coat hanger from a local store, Vintage Rose ($42)

Remember how I went to the Eco-co store and brought some very expensive cushions? Well here they are in full use amongst all the other stuff which we already had or I had found from the op shop. They really add that final bit of "zing" to the rooms don't you think?

Next:

Again, pre "Alex Reno"

Simple, white walls (same colour as before). The bed was donated by a very sweet friend, Deb.

The linen is what I had in the cupboard. The old carpet was ripped up and we laid seagrass matting which I purchased from a wholesaler on the mainland for $900 for 64m2 which was a bargain as I was able to lay it in all four of the lower rooms (which are concrete floors) plus enough to do the bungalow. The sheepskin mat was a Evandale market purchase ($10). The paper lantern light shade is from ebay ($3).

The cardboard stools are from a designer called Paper Tiger. I've had them for a few years now but recently had not had a use for them. They can hold up to 250kg! I didn't believe that fact until my Grandad sat on one (he's not a small fella!). 

The coat hanger is a Evandale market cane one ($4) with another bevelled mirror from the city mission ($20) 

So there's your first look at two of the finished bedrooms. I still feel like the walls need a bit of art but I like to take my time, getting a feel for the place before I go slapping stuff all over the walls and stuffing more furniture into every corner. Decorating a house is something which is "built" over time and extra layers are added along the way. I'm pleased with these rooms at their "stage 1" phase and will enjoy looking back at the pics in five years time to see how they've changed. I'm sure they will have as I find a new bargain from the markets or op shops!

Some tips on how I've kept the decorating cheap are:

*Use the same paint colour throughout the house as you will end up needing less paint (and therefore costing less $).
*Try not to involve trades as they cost too much. Hence why we brought cheap seagrass matting/carpet as we could lay it ourselves.
*Purchase straight from the wholesaler if you can.
*Go through your cupboards and re use stuff that you've had tucked away for ages. So much of my decoration items have been brought from the op shop or market, stuffed in a cupboard with no use until now. Plus I had all that linen and cushions from my past "fads" and now I can give it new life.
*Buy secondhand bits and pieces. It's cheaper than buying new, it already has a story and your house will look less like a showroom because the items have soul.
*Go though your relatives houses and ask them if they'd let you have a few things. They too probably have cool bits and pieces stuffed at the back of their cupboards!
*If you're going to buy something a little bit extravagant, just buy one or two big ticket items. That's all you need to make your room look that little bit special.

I'm sure there's more but I can't think what else at this present moment. I guess the moral of my story is, second hand and re use stuff you already have. Ask family and friends AND THEN fill in the gaps with a few new items.

Off to make some tea now and sulk about my first day back at work tomorrow after maternity leave :(