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A High/Low Budget Breakdown of the Girls' Room!

November 14, 2016

Thanks for all the love for our One Room Challenge reveal last week! We had so much fun designing and DIYing this room for our girls. When we mentioned to some other ORC designers that we were going to do built-in bunks for this room, we were met with, "Are you sure you want to do that room then? Or if you do, someone would send you beds!" Because here's the thing with the One Room Challenge, it is such a large event that so many eyes are watching, brands are anxious to get their product in the rooms. Linda, who is in charge of the whole thing, works really hard to curate 20 great sponsors for us to choose product from, and lucky for us, it was a lot of companies we were already familiar with and loved, like ATGstores and AllModern and Annie Selke (you can see the full list of sponsors at the bottom of the reveal post). We also got to know other great brands sponsoring the challenge, were able to work things out with other non-sponsoring companies, too, (Like Martha & Ash who always makes the most beautiful curtains!) and absolutely purchased things ourselves or pulled in pieces we already had from the girls' previous rooms.

The sweetest girls room with bunkbeds!

All in all, from building the bunks, to the wardrobes, to all new lighting and all the decor and finishing touches, this room totals about $6200 (fun fact: the most expensive ORC room cost over $75K!!!). Considering custom, built-in bunks would cost around that alone, we're proud of that number, but wanted to share some cost comparison pieces today in case you wanted to create something similar in your home on a tighter budget.

In these high/lows, the "high" is actually what we used and isn't always very high. Often times, there were more expensive versions out there and other times we definitely splurged (I'm looking at you fawn-print pillows--Chairish provided a $250 credit to all ORC participants and the fawn pillows were the very first thing I bought for the whole room, putting up some of our own money to snag 2 because I loved them so much).

Love this bedding combo!

Love this bedding combo!

High Low Room Combination

HIGH: Gingham pillow (scroll down the page to see the pillow), fawn pillow, striped sheets, green cotton blanket, duvet cover, wall sconce, textured throw, star-shaped flush-mount

LOW: Gingham pillow (scroll down the page to see the pillow), fawn pillow, striped sheets, green cotton blanket, duvet cover, wall sconce, textured throw, star-shaped flush-mount


The sweetest girls room with bunkbeds!The sweetest girls room with bunkbeds!

high low room combination

HIGH: brass bug, folkland print pillow, piggy bank, black and gold pillow, pink pillow, black and white striped pillow, basket, brass sculpture, whale bookends, twig colored pencils, unicorn wall mount, wall sconce

LOW: brass bug, folkland print pillow, piggy bank, black and gold pillow, pink pillow, black and white striped pillow, basket, brass sculpture, whale bookends, twig colored pencils, unicorn wall mount, wall sconce

The sweetest girls room with bunkbeds!

While we don't always do cost breakdowns like this, you have been requesting them more and were especially curious about this room, so we hope this helps you in budgeting and creating a space in your own home!

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  1. How can I find a designer in my area to make this design for my daughter's room I live in Wesley Chapel Florida

  2. Super cute room! I was wondering if you happened to find a "low" budget option for the hamper basket you used in the room? I would love to upgrade the hampers in my master bedroom to something like that, need two, which is a lot of money to spend on hampers.

  3. I LOVE THIS! Julia, seriously, if anyone ever gives you the remotest amount of guff for affiliate links (referencing your podcast episode on the issue) you just very obviously put so much damn work into this post and I for one appreciate it IMMENSELY, THANK YOU!!

  4. Thank you so much for breaking down the costs and providing lower cost versions of the items selected. You are helping me be realistic about which decorating projects I can tackle and when.

  5. This turned out beautifully. Might be one of my favorite rooms of yours I've seen yet. I think you hit that perfect balance between "a kid would really enjoy this" and more adult taste/design.

  6. This may be a dumb question but what kind of track did you use to hang your drapes? I love the look of not seeing the curtain rod.

  7. You have come a long way from your first apartment days and budgeting. (the podcast info). From counting pennies to spurges on home design. Congrats to you.

  8. Beautiful room! LOVE the pillow/pattern combos. Curious where you purchased the ceiling drapery hardware? ..And if it was simple to install?

  9. I love what you did with the room but I seriously can't believe that a velvet pink pillow could cost $256?! Am I just super cheap or is this normal?! Hahaha!

    1. Arianna Belle was a One Room Challenge sponsor that offered a credit to her beautiful shop (we did pay some of our own money for it as well). The pillow is completely luxe and gorgeous, but absolutely a splurge!

  10. I don't even care if it's tacky to ask this, but who had the most expensive room? I just want to see what a $75k room looks like- assuming it wasn't a kitchen. Holy guacamole!

    1. Beth Ann - thank you for thinking that was my budget and that my kitchen looks like it was $75K but it's not even close. I was way under and saved money by repurposing some of the old cabinetry by having them sprayed the same colour as the rest. And I didn't purchase high end professional appliances either. I think I need to add up what I actually did spend. Thanks for the link love!

  11. I love the mix of textures and patterns on the girls' beds. I can never seem to make up my mind on choosing bedding that isn't super match-y. My girls share a room and soon they will both be in twin beds so I'm loving the inspiration!

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