Room for Improvement Challenge: Card Room Makeover

A few weeks back, my sister Emily told me about a challenge from Money Supermarket. This is how the challenge went: you emailed to register your interest, once accepted they sent £50 and then the fun began! You make over a room in your house, and then blog about it, telling how you spent the money.

I decided to do my Card Room. This room NEEDED. A. LOT. of attention. Last year, full of energy and gusto I wallpapered one wall. I then got busy, lazy, busier, lazier and then very soon my room looked like this:

Yes, I am ASHAMED to say how I ignored the mountains (or Mount Eithne's as they are "fondly" called in my house) that started to gather behind me as I crafted.... "My" room became the dumping ground, so much easier to dump than sort, and so it got worse, week after week. Time has been precious the past year, and when I did get a moment to myself, I didn't see the point in tidying up. I crafted instead :D

So when I came upon this challenge I decided to go for it! How I longed to have a bit more organisation to my messy desk:

And one last photo, just for the pure shame of it! This was my crafting area, the other side of the very small room.

So with money in hand, I knew there were a "few" problem areas!
(1)  Firstly, the room being so small an 8ft by 8ft "L" shaped room, I needed MORE space! But alas, I was unable to increase the size of the room, so I just had to make do with better storage ideas.
(2)  When working at the computer, I had no space at all. I NEEDED a desk!
(3)  I donated my swivel chair to my husband, (he is studying and spending longer at a desk) so I was using a dining chair. After any length of time, I was hunched over the desk. I needed to get a good supportive chair.
(4)  Much and all as I loved the wallpaper, it was so blah with the cream/magnolia walls. I longed for something more inspiring!

I decided to go for a lime green colour to complement the green in the wallpaper. I had an old paint swatch when deciding at home, so when I went to my local hardware shop, I had to choose a colour again. Let me tell you, choosing a paint with two energetic toddlers exploring a packed hardware shop, is no joke! Having saved a pile of cornice mouldings from falling on my youngest, I then had to carry her to save any more calamities! After much stress, toddler on hip, colour chart in hand, I choose this colour to be mixed: Dulux Lime Zest 3. As my wall space was so small, I chose 1 litre of paint. (a big no no for future painting jobs) Little did I know, that the wall had a lumpy wallpaper on it from maybe 30-40 years ago, and that I would need ALOT of paint to cover the wall. It was like painting pebble dash.
I started painting, and the colour came out like neon yellow. I didn't have enough paint to do two or three coats, and at €20 per litre I couldn't afford to get more, so drastic action had to be taken. Thankfully when starting the renovation, I found a darker green paint in the shed, it didn't suit at all. I poured some of this paint into the Lime Zest, and voila the colour was beautiful! Bright and airy, exactly as I wanted it.
After a fortnight of 4-5 hours sleep a night, I managed to paint the room, sort out all my crafting belongings and other miscellaneous items, buy a desk and chair, assemble them and do a little bit of crafting to pretty the room up. It was a loooonnngg slog, and throughout I thought how crazy I was to undertake it, but now as I type in my renovated room, I can not say how thrilled I am at the outcome. I feel so compelled to sit down and work on the computer or craft, I can honestly say I would never have embarked on the undertaking, had I not decided to go with the challenge.
Here is my revamped computer desk/work area:

A closer view:

My desk:

Now for the other side of the room, the side I spend most time at, creating!

Even mentally, I find a better flow to the room. I feel so inspired to craft or be creative in any form!

I had some plastic containers that were very boring, so with some left over wallpaper, I covered them. I think they look so much prettier!

So, for the before and after shots, side by side:

I absolutely LOVE IT! This room has become a haven for me to retreat to at night. Having spent every waking moment either thinking about it or sorting the room over the past fortnight, I can not wait to craft again!! It is done, I am so relieved I got to finish it on time, and to the way I like it.

Here is a breakdown of the cost:

Paint (1 litre of Dulux Vinyl Soft Sheen paint) €20

Desk €19

Chair €12

Frames €6

Baskets and bin €5.60

Total Cost: €62.60 (approx. £55)

For such a huge change and impact, I think it is a small price to pay. I should have done this years ago!! I look forward to keeping it tidy ;-)

Hope you enjoyed looking at my room improvement. Thanks for stopping by :D

Eithne :-)

Disclosure: Thanks to Money Supermarket for providing the £50/€60 for this makeover challenge.