DEAR GAIL: We’ve just completed adding on a room to our master bedroom as a retreat for me. The construction costs were far more than we budgeted and now I only have a couple hundred dollars to finish the room. I have a bare concrete floor, no window treatments and no furniture. I know that I don’t even have enough money for flooring, but would like to start using the room and am willing to do something temporary for at least a year. What can you suggest to give me a nice room to retreat in? Madeline H.
DEAR MADELINE: Remodeling can and many times does run over budget and normally you can figure an additional 25% in cost overruns. So with what you have left, let’s use it as best we can.
First, let’s start from the bottom and move up. To cover your bare concrete, I would suggest either painting or staining it. If you know that in a year you’re going to carpet, don’t be afraid to experience with a difference floor treatment.
An easy and cherry paint treatment is to do a black and white check board design. Paint the whole floor white and then mark off squares and paint every other one black, or the color of your choice. Use exterior house paint as it holds up better and then protect it with a sealer. Then to add some softness, purchase an inexpensive area rug or carpet remnant. Cut the remnant to the size you want and cover the edges with carpet tape to keep it from fraying.
For your windows, a real inexpensive, actually cheap option for your light and privacy control is to purchase paper shades. They are meant to be used in a temporary situation. They attach to the window with double-sided tape and look just like pleated shades. They come with a plastic clip that you use to hold them up when you want to pull them up off the window. But you could attach two ribbons at the top, one on the front and the other on the back. Then when you want to open the shade, just pleat them up and tie the ribbons. This is a nice way to dress them up, instead of using the plastic clip.
To further dress up the window, purchase a ready made valance or drape a couple yards of discount fabric over an inexpensive rod.
If you like the feel of a sun porch, now is a great time to purchase a 5-piece set of white wicker furniture. At this time of year, many times you can purchase the whole set for under $100. For the cushions, you can buy foam and pillow forms from an upholstery supply store. Then just cover them with a colorful fabric and you have a room full of furniture. If you’re not a sewer, you could use iron on seam tape or glue.
In every room you need proper lighting, so look for a box of lights. You’ll find them in the home improvement stores, department stores and home stores. I just recently purchased a box of lights for $55 and it had two table lamps, a floor lamp and an accent lamp, which is all that you’ll need.
For some inexpensive artwork, pull some garden pictures out of a magazine and place in frames from a dollar store. Even look for some marked-down pictures books at the book store. I picked up a great garden book for $4.99 that has the most fabulous pictures for framing. Picture books can be a great source for images.
Your finishing touches in any room are your accessories. Look around your house to see what you can use instead of buying anything new. What do you have packed away in the closet or garage? Look in your kitchen cabinets for vases and water pitchers. Bring them out and fill with some twigs and greenery. If you have a green thumb, buy a couple flowering plants and greens to bring color and life into your room.
So with a little extra work and frugal shopping, you should be able to have an enjoyable retreat to relax in.