Savvy mum transforms dark bedroom into stunning dressing room for under £300
- Monika Bacanskaite, 22, used her time in lockdown to transform a bedroom into a dressing room
- The room cost just £300 but looks state-of-the-art
- Monika stocked up on supplies from Argos, Amazon and The Range
Every beauty and fashion lover imagines having their very own dressing room, but the prohibitive cost can put many people off.
Monika Bacanskaite, 22, a mum of one and makeup artist from Bridgwater, Somerset, had always dreamed of having a beautifully girly dressing and beauty room - so she made her own on a strict budget.
When she moved into a new home with two spare rooms, she set about transforming a formerly dark and dull bedroom into a stunning light-filled beauty room - and she spent under £300 on the project.
Monika told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I have always dreamt about having my own dressing and beauty room - probably most of girls dream about it so I wasn't an exception really.
"First of all I needed a spare room, so luckily when we moved into our new family home there were two spare rooms, so of course one of them was definitely meant to be my dressing room!
"This room was painted in dark navy and red colours, so first of all I had to do three coats of paint to cover it all.
"It took a couple of days, especially since being a first time mummy I didn't really have the time to do it, so my partner gave me a hand which was brilliant.
"The colour I chosen to paint it in was white as I just love light colours: it gives me a clean feeling and everything goes with it in my opinion.
"Once the painting works were done I was able to start organising where everything would be.
"I was so excited as I knew that I would be able to display my collections of makeup and others so they weren't kept in drawers anymore and anyone who comes around could have a little look, and mostly I would be admiring them just seeing all laid out.
"This is where the trouble actually started as I had already purchased a few furniture pieces from Argos and The Range before the lockdown.
“Since lockdown happened, I couldn't visit any more shops to have a closer look and get an idea of what it would look like in my dressing room.
"So I searched for some bits online. Amazon was great for it: they have lots of stuff that I didn't realise they would even have!
"So I started ordering bits that I thought would be useful, like wardrobe rails, hangers, shelves and so on.
"I had already two Argos bookcases that were the perfect size for displaying my makeup, so I was thinking about how to connect them together to make it into one walk-in wardrobe piece.
"I didn't want to spend hundreds of pounds on IKEA walk-in wardrobes, so I thought I would build my own one.
"I bought a wardrobe rail from Amazon and connected with it these two bookcases, so that made a perfect place to hang my jackets and a whole unit became stable!
"I had to drill the rail into the sides of the bookcases. I added an Argos cube storage unit in the middle of these two bookcases. I store my shoes here, and it fits just perfectly!
"The last thing I added was a shelf on the top of the bookcases to make them come together as one piece and it really turned out great - now you wouldn't think these weren't meant to be together!
“I purchased some stick-on LED lights off Amazon to stick them to the top of the bookcase shelves, so now the items I display there are looking even better. I am really happy how it turned out.
"I didn't stop there. I had my dressing table there with a mirror on a wall and it looked boring. So I got an idea that I could make some small shelves to surround my mirror on the sides and a large one on the top.
"We had an old bathroom cabinet that I actually took apart to make these little shelves around my mirror. I painted them and it made great shelves so nothing was going to waste!
"The large shelf on the top of my mirror was from our TV unit. We didn't use it, so I took this shelf and added it there. These shelves made even more displaying space for my items!
"The stools for my dressing table I bought from The Range and they were perfect - just what I wanted. I fitted another wardrobe rail in between the bookcase and wall to have a place to hang my knee-high boots and handbags.
"To hang them there, I used clothes pins from Amazon. In the end my room wasn't light enough, so I purchased some LED vanity lights from Amazon. They were so cheap and such a good quality!
"I got the rug off Wayfair - this app is amazing and has so many beautiful things on it! Both my mirrors are from The Range, which I love, as you can find so many gorgeous things there for your home and more!
“My partner also helped me with drilling some holes in the wall.
"In the end I would roughly say I spent a maximum of £250 to £300, but that’s including the rug, dressing table, mirrors and storage units.”
Monika is delighted with how her stunning dressing room has turned out, and says the project kept her busy during the lockdown.
"I'm so happy with the way my dressing room turned out,” she adds.
"I didn't really expect it to look this good. To be fair, since staying all day at home with a baby while my partner is at work and with no one visiting us I did get bored.
"I needed at least a small break where I could just use my imagination and create, so decorating this room kept me entertained and I did really enjoy all the process, and it was so satisfying!
"Once my family started complimenting my room, I felt so proud of what I had done, and I appreciate all the nice words everyone says.
"I'm so happy I didn't end up buying an expensive walk-in wardrobe and I actually challenged myself so that in the near future when my son needs his room decorated I will do it with a bit of experience and passion!
"I absolutely loved decorating my dressing room. I love spending my time there.
“It’s just my own little place where I can do whatever I want, especially since being a makeup artist I love having all my products laid out so I get inspired by seeing them on what look I want to create next."
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “If you look for quotes for walk-in wardrobes online, these can cost thousands and thousands of pounds online.
“Instead, Monika managed to create a state-of-the-art space by savvily upcycling furniture she already had and by making strong shopping choices from Amazon, The Range and Argos.
“If you’re keen to follow in her footsteps, inspire yourself on Pinterest and Instagram, and stock up on bargain materials from brands such as ebay, B&Q and B&M!"
What to read next?
This is really helpful can I just say it looks absolutely amazing you should be so proud of yourself and this is just exactly what I’m looking to do but again doing it on a budget it would be brilliant if you could suggest anything any recommendations best places for bargainsOnce again you look stunning