How To Turn a Dark Junky Corner Into a Cozy Reading Retreat On a Zero Budget

After we took our bed from boring to beautiful with a rescued mantle for a headboard,  that really only took care of one wall. We still had some issues with other areas. Those are the areas people don’t see in photos.

Yes it’s really true that all that eye candy you see on Pinterest, Instagram and DIY Home Decor blogs, is only pretty within the boundaries of what you are allowed to see. What you may not realize ( or maybe you do ) is that just on the other side of the pretty photo is usually a catastrophe that was masterfully cropped out. Sometimes it’s not so bad, maybe just a four legged furry photo bomb or minor clutter. But in my house it really is a mess just beyond the cropped photo.

But as I was saying about our master bedroom, the Vintage Mantel Headboard really turned out awesome just as I had dreamed it would. I am still over the moon about it and will probably remain that way for a long time. I’m not fond of change, especially if I finally find that one piece that I’ve been searching for. And since my mantel took years to find, I’m going to keep it F.O.R.E.V.E.R.

I still love to make my bed and just stare at this one wall in my master bedroom.  But then I turn around and I see the other three walls.  Blagh! they are ugly.  Well the walls aren’t, but the areas are and one area in particular was just a dump.

So sad really, because I was the one who made it look so dumpy by literally dumping all those pillows from my bed, onto a cedar chest in one corner of the room.  Now I know that pillows are temporary dumping items, because in theory they go back on the bed everyday after a certain woman makes up her bed. But that’s so not the case, maybe once a week I’ll do that.  I’m trying to get better at making the bed everyday, but sometimes I don’t and then that corner continues to look like a mountain of pillows.

Now if it were only pillows, who would complain right?  I mean you have to put them somewhere so you can go to bed.  But no, I like to see just how much crap I can pile in one area before it explodes.  The other dumping items were all of my gazillon yarn projects that are not even close to being completed and yet I seem to start another one.  Each project has a tote that all the yarn, needles/hooks and the project itself, nest in while in the development stage.  Well, I have to put all this stuff somewhere, why not in that dark little corner in my bedroom where no one can see it. Including me since it all gets buried under pillows time and time again.

This is a peek at the corner on a good day.  I’ve already done some purging and gotten down to this point…

I mean seriously!  Whose blanket and pillow do I see?  Even other peoples junk ends up in my room.

As I’m cleaning this out, I’m thinking what a really nice area this could be.   I can see a comfy chair and ottoman tucking into that corner quite nicely.  And then I remember that would involve shopping and spending money and that’s not going to happen anytime soon.  I have post wedding and college tuition empty wallet syndrome.  Can anyone relate?  Will I ever have money again in my life?   I know it’s really silly to be so dramatic, but sometimes this road seems endless. However, I have to say, this road is what ignites my creative fires and for that I am blessed.

No, better than that…I am content.  Content because creativity is a gift, it costs nothing to imagine, dream and create. And when you work with what you have. taking a unloved area and making it into something wonderful, it makes you feel amazing and like you can do anything!

So you want to see what I did with “zero” money in just a couple of hours one afternoon? All I did was gather things from other rooms in my house and I created this cozy little reading retreat, and I had a blast while doing it!

Grab a cup of coffee and check it out!

I’m in love with this cozy little corner.

Oh, I still want that chair and ottoman that I keep dreaming about, but this will have to do for now.

 

peace.love.rust.