We decided to turn the storage room into a nursery. Technically it was already a bedroom, but it is a very small room, and it had a cement floor and other various parts that were not finished . When we moved in, it was a clothes closet and then a place to store all the games and school/craft supplies. It made a great storage room. but we are having a baby and it made sense to turn it into a bedroom. I did not want to put a lot of money into this room, but I did want a room that I felt comfortable in.

I cleaned out all the various junk inside the room to other locations around the house. We started by installing some remnant carpet tiles for the flooring. It is mismatched flooring, but also very inexpensive and easy to install. I added some curtains from IKEA, got a new cover for my recliner, and set up the crib. Joe added an overhead light that wasn’t on a pull switch, along with another outlet. He also removed some redundant plumbing pipe. (That took awhile because he didn’t quite know what he was doing…thank goodness for a good friend that was able to show him what to do.)

Total cost was also under $175 so far, which included new flooring. The bedroom still isn’t going to impress anyone, but I enjoy it and it is a huge improvement over what we had. I wish I had a picture of the place beforehand, but it was never anything worthy of taking a picture of. It still isn’t quite done, the room needs molding and inside the closet isn’t finished. We might get those projects done eventually. For now it will work wonderfully as a nursery for our new little baby who is coming very soon.

Sometimes I’ve found it very easy to get caught up in dreaming. Dreaming made easier by the world of Pinterest, and Houzz. Before I moved into my new home, I love perusing photographs of lovely homes, saving ideas and pictures I dreamed of copying. Then I bought a house. Our house isn’t perfect. When we moved in, I was much more interested in making the house comfortable and safe than copying the ideas I saved. Projects like finishing off a threshold, installing a toilet correctly, and getting rid of anything I found hideous came first. I stopped looking for ideas, instead going off of my limited budget and own desires. I love my home now if I let myself, and I didn’t create it by copying ideas on the Internet. I am creating my home by responding to my own desires and ideas, and by often being content with less than perfect.

Sometimes I still find a blog or post that makes me want to re-do another room or abandon my simple decor and strange floor plan. I have to take a step back. I stop comparing my home to another and instead ask, “Am I comfortable here? Does my house function well for our family? Is it a place I love to be?” There are still projects I want to do, but they don’t necessarily match the goals of the wide world of home decor out there. This is my home, and the only people who need to love it is my family and me.

I re-did a nursery and I’m not getting any awards from it. But I stayed in our budget, and I’m perfectly happy with it. That’s far more important to me than to try to impress anyone else.