looking for frugal storage and decorating ideas for new trailer...

justEricka · #1 (**permalink**) 01-19-2005, 09:23 AM

Hi all im getting ready to move into a newer trailer. its bigger than the one we live in now, has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. its got a built in cabinate in the living room. and they just replaced all the floors, floor coverings and cabinates in the whole place.

i have 3 kids who will live with us. the girls will share a room that is 10'6" x 11' and its got a double closet. i plan to paint their closet doors with chalkboard paint for them to use. they are 8 and soon to be 7. i need storage ideas and decorating ideas for them.

our son is 13, and his room is right next to ours. his room is 10'6" x 7'6", his room is half paneld to waist high..and the rest is white. he has a single closet, and he is very into his pokemon and veido games things. he has a full size bed he wont let go of. and i have an entertainment center for him to use too. storage ideas for him.

our room has a full bath, and its long and thin, plus our room is added to that. we have a small tiny closet and its not got a shelf. i need storage ideas for us too.

any ideas you all have is a great thing. i also have a small utility room that is 5x5 and the kids bathroom.

im wanting roosters in mykitchen, with green and barn red accents.

have a good day
ericka

ladyIris23 · #2 (**permalink**) 01-19-2005, 10:19 AM

I haven't had time to check them all out but about.com has a whole section on frugal decorating. Here is the link
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/hom...ting/index.htm
I found some good tips there.
Iris

ethansamuel · #3 (**permalink**) 01-19-2005, 10:48 AM

Ericka...I have come across a bunch of good sites with ideas for decorating kids rooms. When I have a chance later today or tomorrow am I'll post them for you.

Question...do the girls have bunk beds or seperate beds?

Sandra

sandieluvsbears · #4 (**permalink**) 01-19-2005, 11:17 AM

I was just gonna ask the same thing about the beds whether or not they are separte or bunk. My reason was my 2 gd's are 6&8 and dd has bunk beds in their room to save space and she got a long piece of plywood and had my sil anchor it to the wall and it made a built in type space for adesk and to hold whatever else they want to put on it in the middle is their tv. You can also do this with an old door(wood) just cover it that way there is alot more room for other things and she just added 2 wooden chairs and when they sit at it its the perfect height for them to do homework etc. DD doesnt allow the PC in their room she has it in the kitchen so if they want to use it they have to use it their.
Picked up a couple of inexpensive bean bag chairs at Walmart 4 of them and that way if they have friends over they can watch a movie or whatever.
Now if your son doesnt want to get rid of his full size bed you can
add shelves behind his bed(as a headboard for his Pokeman things, that will save space. You can find remnants of wood in Home Depot to use as shelves as cheap as 90 cents!!!!!Just look where the wood is and they have a big bin with odd pieces they
dont even have to match you can paint them all the same color.
Now for your kitchen I cant help there if you were into bears I could go on and on. One thing that may look cute is since you mentioned roosters it reminded me of a barn type decor, you could make a picket fence type shelf(very easy) will tell you how if you want. and hang mugs(maybe some with roosters on them) ffrom it.Also if you look in thrift stores or flea markets you can find some cute little detail things for around the kitchen for little money. It just takes a little imagination and once you get started you will be amazed at what you think of.
Good luck
Hugs Sandie

justEricka · #5 (**permalink**) 01-19-2005, 12:46 PM

lets see if i can awnser the questions....

the girls have a set of metal twin bunkbeds..kind of a coppery color. brittny wants princesses..and desi wants horses. how am i suposed to mix thoes together? but i love the idea of the pull down desk. i wonder if i could do that..

jerron..hes picky..but i may try to see if joe would make him the shelves above his bed..but i dont know if he will want us to..hes just at that age.

in my kitchen..one of the things i saw while looking at trailers..was a lady put a picket fence up along her wall..it was out of wall paper. and it looked really cool. my big idea for the kitchen is kind of like this..

im buying 8x10 posters of difrent chickens..like old advertisements..and put them on my cabinates. i will paint the cabinates first with hunter green wash paint..the paint that looks like its weathered..and then the chickens..then a frame with chicken wire over that..ithink that will look soo cool.

thanks for the links and the ideas..im still open for any ideas anyone has..ill think anythign thru once.

have a good day
ericka

sandieluvsbears · #6 (**permalink**) 01-19-2005, 02:56 PM

Just another thought Erica, when you mentioned a woman had a white picket fence of wallpaper why not get one of those white Plastic picket fence things (they are cheap) the ones you put around a garden and nail it to the wall. Then you can screw in cup hooks and hang mugs on it. Just another idea, I love the country look, thats what my kitchen is only its all bears,LOL
Hugs Sandie

LiveSimply · #7 (**permalink**) 01-30-2005, 04:38 PM

Is there some way to raise the bed? Our bed is high enough that I can put storage boxes under it. If you didn't want to use storage boxes, under the bed drawers can be built. In the closet one rod can be near the top of the closet and then half way down another rod can be installed. That way twice the amount of clothing can be hung. You could also just use the top rod and build a chest of drawers or shelves for the bottom half of the closet. We had a shelf over a window to display stuffed toys. In the kitchen cup hooks can be placed underneath the top cabinets to display you cups. Also a paper towel holder can be attached under the top cabinet, just make sure that it is away from the stove. Check to see if you need extra shelves added to the cabinets in order to make the best use of your space. If you have a washer and dryer shelves or cabinets can be added above them. Okay it's getting late and that's all that I can think of right now.

justEricka · #8 (**permalink**) 02-02-2005, 09:25 AM

LiveSimply=i measured that space under the beds, i can fit a lg plastic tub under there easily. so i figured out i can slide 6 of them under there easily to use. i can also put 2 accross from the back along the wall for things i want to store..like winter clothes. that will help out some. i cant put a 2nd bar in the closet because the water heater is in the end of that closet. so i have to come up with an idea for that. im thinking..the littel hanging things that you have for sweaters, i could use thoes to set out the clothes for the next day and i found one with 4 shelves, adn room for 5 or 6 prs of shoes, so i can put out 2 days worth of clothes for them. i also wnat to get a couple of the coat hangers for putting backpacks on. that will help out alot. if i can find the ones with the 4 hooks, so i can have them put thier coats on there too.

one thing i did do was order a hangup clothes bag thing, its on a roller base, has 3 places for dirty clothes and a place to hang up laundry across a bar over it. what i plan to do is seperate our clothers out in the laundry room. one place for our socks underwear, and things, one for the girls, one for bubba. plus room to hang things on it. adn since it will roll, that will be alot easier to go thru the house and put things away. i got it on sale at amazon.com for 14.99 less than half what it normally sells for.

thats as far as ive gotten so far. thanks

ericka

ethansamuel · #9 (**permalink**) 02-02-2005, 10:40 AM

Ericka...you've come up with some great ideas so far!

Catwoman · #10 (**permalink**) 02-03-2005, 05:59 AM

Ericka, if you can fit storage boxes under the girls' beds, let them decorate their boxes with stuff they like (or if they're too little, you can do it). Like cut out pictures of horses and princesses from magazines and paste them on, with the edges overlapping... I forgot what they call that. Decoupage? Something like that? Anyway, you could do that, and then allow each girl to decorate the head of their beds the same way. If you don't want to put stuff directly onto the bed, get a craft board and let them do that. Then hang the craft board over the head of the bed and each girl feels like she's got her own little space with what she wants.

If you have the space in the bathrooms, you could get one of those storage stands with the legs that go on either side of the toilet, or some of them are narrow with drawers and can fit between a toilet and a sink. I have seen those at Wal-Mart in the $12-15 range. We have those plastic drawer units with wheels on them on either side of our bed that we bought for $9.99 each, and as long as you wipe them off about once a week with a damp cloth- they tend to attract dust and dirt- they hold up well. We've had ours for three years and they're not close to falling apart yet.