If you are looking to turn your home’s décor into a shabby chic paradise, chances are you already have several pieces that can easily be converted to match. While many magazine spreads that showcase the shabby chic look make it appear rather elaborate, shabby chic is one of the easiest looks to achieve. If you love the look but don’t have the dough to renovate the entire house, try using this look in your favorite room. A bedroom makes the perfect place for this look as it has both peaceful and romantic elements.

An antique pink makes a lovely paint shade will make a lovely shade for your walls. If you have the money, you can also opt for a creamy ivory colored crown molding. Choose antique looking frames for your wall décor and fill them with photos that have been printed using the “sepia” or “black and white” effect. Choose artwork that includes paintings of vintage looking floral arrangements. Hydrangeas are a favorite for achieving this look. Fresh flowers also add a special touch to the room. Small mint colored metal pails make perfect vases and really bring out the color of the antique pink walls.

Fabrics are a very important element in achieving the shabby chic style. They have the power to really soften the look of the room and bring the entire space together. Many designers opt for toile fabrics in white and mint green or pale blues. Quilts are also a lovely addition to the tables in the room, which we will discuss later on. An idea that I really love is taking wrought iron candle sconces and painting them a fresh ivory color. You can also hang “dripping” crystals from their bottoms and create the feeling of a chandelier.

As for those tables we mentioned before, it doesn’t take much to create the perfect one for your room. Just a rummage through the basement or a thrift store will give you just what you need. Simply paint the table white and then sand away at some of the edges to create an “aged” look. You can also buy what is called “antiquing finishes” which can crackle your paint or thin your paint to make the paint look aged. Rocking chairs are also great additions to your room. Simply toss a quilt over your old rocker and you won’t even have to buy an antique one!

When it comes to giving your house the makeover of your dreams, it only takes a bit of elbow grease and mere imagination. The sky is the limit when you are trying to create a vintage look. Everything old is new again  . . ., which will save you a fortune! Remember that no room is complete until you make it your own. Put an unusual twist in the room by adding a favorite modern piece of artwork. Add your own touches to the room, even if you think it breaks the rules. The most interesting rooms are made when both style and creativity collide. 

All of we parents with teenage girls know, they are notoriously and rather disapprovingly picky. Whether it be their style of clothes, their hair, what we can and cannot do in front of their friends or their room’s home décor’ – the creatures are just impossible to please! If you are a parent who wants to create the perfect retreat for your teen but just don’t know where to start, here are a few helpful hints for creating a room they not only will love but one that might cause them to actually (gasp!) hug you in public. Another plus? Each idea is budget friendly to the max.

Furniture with Spunk and Spice . . . Minus the Price

How many times has your teen begged for something that was just way out of your budget? If only you had a dime right? By visiting a local second hand store like the Salvation Army or another thrift store in your area, you can purchase great pieces for your home décor and still have money left over for those shoes she’s been eyeing at Macy’s. Don’t pay attention to the color or fading of the piece. All of that will be changed. Simply look at the shape.

Once you find the perfect piece, you’ll need a base color, sand paper, a set of artist quality paintbrushes and accent paint. If you cannot afford several cans of accent paint, opt for acrylic paint instead. If you choose a matte base color this will work fine and not scratch from the surface. For instance if you purchased a dresser, after sanding, you would remove the knobs and paint them separately. You could start with a starch-white base and after drying; begin to build a one-of-a-kind design. By leaving the frame of the dresser white, you can paint each drawer a different color. One could be hot pink with acrylic white polka dots. One could be green with pink stripes and one could even spell out your daughter’s name if you had a well-trained hand. Now for those knobs - Paint them with a color that will pull the piece together. Use green on your pink drawer’s knob and pink on the green drawer’s knob.

One of a Kind Window Treatments

By purchasing a simple, inexpensive curtain rod, you can make it into a piece that looks as though you dished out big bucks. You can choose a simple rod and jazz it up with colorful ends. Opt for wood ends that are easily paintable. Match these to the design of your furniture. For window treatments, you can buy an iridescent fabric by the yards and simply drape it across the rod as a valance.

Wall Art Home Décor

This idea may be perhaps my favorite of all. In my own girls’s rooms, the walls are lined with art frames or mountable blank canvases. When they are feeling artistic, they simply take the frame down from the wall and get to creating. This is a great way for your teen to express their creativity if they like to doodle and it is a way to ensure that they will like the art. This option leaves no chance of a displeased voice calling out “Mom! That’s so lame!”

*Quick Organizing Tip: Clay flowerpots are a great place to store her pens, paintbrushes and school supplies. By painting them with inexpensive acrylic paints, you can create a storage idea that is both functional and fanciful. This would be a great do-together project.

Award Winning Walls

While painting walls isn’t a whole lot of fun, your wall color really is the glue that pulls your room together. If you went with bright pink furniture, choose a bright white for the walls and use colorful frames to avoid sensory overload. If you went with white furniture, go for a bold color that will liven up the look.

Home décor doesn’t have to be a bore . . . nor cause World War III for that matter. With just a little imagination, you can create a teen room that both you and your daughter will be pleased with. No, really  . . . Mom’s Honor.