Guest room makeover
Decor & DIY,  Home Improvement

Guest Room Makeover on a Budget

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Does your guest room need a makeover and do you have a very small budget to do it? After living in my home for six years I finally got around  to re-decorating. There are a few of my son’s personal things kept here as he sometimes comes on weekends. Read on for some tips to redo your guest room on a budget.

Guest Room after

Guest Room Budget Tip #1...Have a plan...

Know what your budget is and plan accordingly. If you are unable to do everything you want all at once, plan the project in stages. The next stage in my guest room makeover will be to add more shelves to one of the closets and also to change the light fixture. I would like to put up a ceiling fan to help keep it cooler in summer.

Guest Room Budget Tip #2...Use what you have...

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money for my guest room. Most of the furniture was already there – the bed, bookcase headboard and antique “desk” table. The office chair was a little worse for wear so I decided to replace it. Most of the accessories I re-purposed from other areas in my home. I was also able to use some leftover paint from another project. Since the pandemic has prevented me from having large family gatherings, I commandeered one of the living-room accent chairs too.

Teal chair & striped cushion
Office chair
Round mirror

Guest Room Budget Tip #3...Source new items at a discount...

I bought a new office chair, a round mirror, curtains and a duvet cover set from an online auction for about half price what they would have been to buy from a regular store. Sometimes stores actually have some good deals  and even IKEA has a clearance section in their stores. Thrift stores are great too and you can often find amazing deals there!

Paint edging guest room
Paint edging guest room

Guest Room Budget Tip #4...Paint can have the most impact on a small budget

Spend the time to patch holes, clean and or prime as needed to do a good job. Remove as much as possible from the space so you have room to move around and there is less chance of things getting covered in paint. I had to keep the bed in the room because it was too big to move out, but everything else was temporarily moved to the hallway. 

Stovepipe hole in closet
Before closet ceiling repair with plastic bag covering old stovepipe hole.
Closet Ceiling Repaired
After ceiling repair

There was a hole in the ceiling in one of the closets where an old wood stove used to be. It had been covered with a plastic grocery bag and had remained like that for six years! I finally got it fixed!!!  This cost me nothing really, because I used a scrap piece of drywall and some trim that I already had, and my sweetheart did the work:)

Guest Room After

Guest Room Budget Tip #5...Rearrange the furniture...

This is another no-cost way to make a big impact when you are looking for a change. Keep traffic flow in mind and how you actually want to use the space. It is a good idea to offer an extra place to sit and the addition of the teal accent chair provides this.

Guest Room Budget Tip #6...Declutter and clean...

It is quite common for these spaces to end up being a catch all. This is the perfect time to declutter and give it a thorough cleaning. This the most budget friendly guest room makeover because it costs nothing!

Guest Room Before
Guest Room Before
Guest Room Before

Before pictures...a bit of a dumping ground.

Guest Bedroom 2014
Bed with leather panel "headboard" 2014
Guest Bedroom 2014
Desk & TV area 2014
Guest Bedroom 2014
2 Dressers & chairbed 2014

Before the before pictures...2014.

No matter what your budget is, simple changes can make a big impact for your guest room.