CampusIntel

A friend of mine just moved into a new apartment. She is a student who is near graduation and has a good bit of debt. Her apartment was pretty bare, and I love to decorate. So, the two of us got together to decorate her apartment!

So far we have finished the bathroom. I will update you on how the rest of the decorating goes. But we’ve tried to keep the costs low. It’s pretty easy to be cost effective, if you shop at stores like Wal-mart and the Dollarama! You can get a lot of nice things. Keep your eyes out for sales!

To the right is a photo of my friend’s shower curtain. This is a part of the before we re-decorated. She lives in an apartment and can’t really afford to buy pain, plus she would have to paint it back once she moves out. The counters are a tan colour and the sink/toilet are white. Therefore her bathroom really needed to get brighter!

Last winter she had gone on a trip to Cuba that I knew she loved. So I went through her photos and found six scenic pictures I thought she would like. The next time we hung out I showed her the pictures I had picked out. She picked the three she liked best, and those were the pictures we centered our decorating around.

We wanted to go with a beach theme to liven up the bathroom. She wanted it to be a place she liked, it is where she gets ready in the morning. It is important to have a positive image in the morning! So we thought in this small space a bright shower curtain would look great!

As you can see from the photos. Her bathroom was, well, it was blah! It definitely needed a pick-me-up. So my friend and I went on a shopping excursion where we purchased a few items and re-arranged some items that were already part of her apartment.

We first went to Wal-mart. There she purchased:

• One blue shower curtain
• One sandy-beige hand towel
• One blue facecloth
• One pack of wood-faced curtain hooks
• One blue hand towel
• One soap dish
• One toothbrush/paste holder

Everything at Wal-mart was affordable. We chose the prices she was able to pay. We found the perfect shower curtain. It looks exactly like the ocean. Once we brought it back to her apartment and hung it up we know it was perfect. The picture on the package did not do it justice. We chose the wood-faced curtain hooks because they reminded us of boardwalks on the beach. From choosing the wooden hooks that lead us to choose a soap dish that was on a white ceramic with a wooden base.

The towels were an easy choice. We found the most beautiful colour beige, it resembled the prettiest of all sand. As you can see in the photo to the left, we draped the blue facecloth over the beige towel.

The next store we visited was the Dollarama. Thank the Lord for this store! I tell you, this place is the best Here we purchased:

• 3 wooden frames
• 3 glass containers with metal lids
• One box of purple Q-tips
• 3 inspirational rocks

The items from the dollarstore were what pulled the bathroom together in the end. The three glass containers were put up against the far wall, and were filled with colourful items! Bath salts, bathbombs and pretty Q-tips. A cheap, easy way to add colour to a bathroom! The three photos were hung on the wall and this is where we placed the scenic photos of Cuba.

The inspirational rocks say: smile, laugh and love. These add “beachy-ness” to the room, but are also a reminded of some of the important things in life.

My friend and I loved the purple Q-tips! I have seen them in blue before as well, so check out your local Dollarama!

After putting everything into the bathroom and setting it up we both felt like there was something missing. She had a bamboo plant in her dinning room, so we borrowed that to put on the back of the toilet, a little inside from the outside!

Lastly we added a white candle, not only will this scented candle come in handy if someone makes a stinky, but it will also be great for a romantic or relaxing bath!

Overall, my friend did not go over her budget. She was able to change her blahh and boring bathroom into a Cuban getaway!After looking at the bathroom all put together my friend said:

I just want to spend all my time in the bathroom now!

We had a lot of fun going shopping and then back to her apartment to decorate. So if your bathroom is looking blah, head over to Wal-mart and do some re-decorating! It’s totally worth it.

Over all my friend and I had a lot of fun. Next week I’ll be back with Decorating 1001. Stay tuned to find out which room I’ll be transforming next!