Cheap decorating ideas for preteen girls rooms
Kids grow up way to fast! It is amazing how fast they go from being a baby to be almost grown. Luckily, my kids are not actually grown yet but they are sure getting older fast. My daughter is at an age where things change quickly. For Christmas last year she was still asking for dolls, doll clothes and accessories and things of that nature, by February, all the toys and other "little kid" things were packed up and put in the closet. It happened so fast! Occasionally she will still play with them, if she has one of her younger friends over, but for the most part she has outgrown them. We decided since she put her toys away and gave away a whole bunch of her wall decorations we would update her room. It is still a work in progress, we just buy things as we see them. I like to shop sales and use coupons whenever possible, that way we can get more for our money. Who does not love that?!??!
I took some pictures of some of the items my daughter has picked out for her room, she turned 11 in June so she is not yet a teenager and I know her tastes will change several more times. Most of the items were either on sale or on clearance and many times I had coupons. For the Scentsy, we did a bundle deal so it was a little cheaper but still expensive, but since it works as a night light and a scent warmer I figured it was acceptable to splurge on it. Plus it is something she will have for years. I also do not mind spending more money on furniture, I have made the mistake of buying cheaper furniture in the past and it was not worth it. I had to buy new a couple of years later. I look for furniture that has a lasting style and for things like dressers, I make sure the drawers are big, the first dresser I bought my daughter ended up having much too small of drawers once she started growing. Having kids is a learning process!
These are some examples of thing we have bought recently to make her room more the way she would like it. For the most part, she gets to pick what she likes. If it is too expensive we either wait for it to go on sale or we find something else comparable.
The purple, pink and teal letter K came from Micheal's and she painted it. She loves painting and decorating so it was perfect!
The next picture is a Scentsy warmer, she loves loves loves having her room smell good so while it was not cheap, it was one of the best buys. My friend started selling Scentsy so we were also helping her out.
The next picture is her pillow from Costco, it was a good deal and she can use it to sit up in bed or on the floor, she gets a lot of use out of it.
The last picture is her mermaid tail blanket, she bought it with her birthday money from Justice and it is one of her favorite blankets. It is very soft and pretty colors.
My daughter has blinds in her room, but she wanted something pretty so when we found these curtains on clearance for only a few dollars at Walmart, we had to get them. The top section is fuzzy and the bottom is satin, they are very pretty and give the room a warm feeling to it.
The next picture is another Micheal's buy, she did not know what she was going to do with it but she had to have it. I have to say, it is very adorable on her wall!
Next is her collection of sprays, lotions and bath items. I would normally not say this is decorations but she has so many and loves to have them on display, her and her friends are obsessed with Bath and Body Works and Ulta.
Next is one of my personal favorites, we got it from Shopko, it was on clearance. It is a chalk board on the top and has hooks on the bottom to hang things.
My daughter loves anything with her initials so she has several Ks in her room, this one has a few hooks on the bottom that she can hang jewelry from.
The next is a chalkboard, she loves chalkboards and whiteboards. This one has a different look to it because of the wood around it. It is very cute!
Next is her large whiteboard. This comes in handy because I can write her notes on it and she can write reminders on it for herself. It is hung above her desk so she sees it often.
My daughter inherited my Sharpie obsession! We love them and are always looking for new colors. She got creative and hung some from ribbons on her wall.
My daughter likes to have her week planned out so she has several white board calendars and chalkboards. This one is a things to do list, she can put things on it she wants to do during the week or reminders for school.
Next is her emoji pillow, it is from Micheal's, her and my son insisted the had to have one, they are cute!
Next is a wooden box that she can put random things in, it sits on her shelves and adds a nice color.
Here is another K, this time it is a pillow from Justice, she bought this with her birthday money also. It looks nice on her bed.
My daughter loves pillows, she has a ton, here is a few of her more recent ones. She has a unicorn pillow, a pillow that says love, a star pillow and a heart pillow. She also has some body pillows and many other decorative pillows. She has a bunk bed so the extras go on the top bunk.
Next is her new comforter and some more pillows. She picked out her comforter, I got plain sheets to go with it so they can be used with her other comforters also. She loves blankets as much as she loves pillows so she has a lot!
Next is a lamp that sits by her bed. We found it at Justice, it was on clearance and we had a coupon so it ended up being a great deal. It is very pretty when it is lit up.
Next is another white board, this one has the days on it and a small cork board area at the bottom. She uses this one to keep track of different things and also to put pretty pictures on it. It is functional and cute!
Redecorating can be a fun experience and not cost an arm and a leg if you take the time to look around and wait for things to go on sale. Sometimes my daughter likes something at one store but the item was expensive so we would not buy it and find the same or similar item at a different store for a much better price. She is learning how to use money in the best way and she has also learned that if you look around first, you may find something you like better. We did buy a shelf for her room that was not cheap, but we looked around at several stores, found the one she wanted and waited for it to go on sale. We got it at Fred Meyer and not only was it on sale, but there was a bonus coupon to get an additional percentage off and also, they did not have any more in boxes so we got the floor model, which meant even more money off and we did not have to put it together! Most of the time, it really is worth looking around and comparing prices, but some of the items we bought when we saw them because they were on clearance and we knew they would not last.
Another way to save money while updating a child's room is to not buy new everything, save anything you can that can still be used. My daughter has a bunk bed so that means two sets of sheets, blankets and comforters. When she outgrew the cartoon character comforter she had for the top bunk, I let her pick out a blanket for it instead of getting a new comforter. It was much cheaper and it is barely seen since she has so many other blankets and pillows on top of it. I also kept all the sheets, I can use them for her bed or other things.
My daughter kept a lot of her dolls but decided she did not need many of her toys, I had her bag them up and first we offered them to people we knew, then we took the rest of them and let a family member sell them at their yard sale. We also donate several times a year since both kids seem to outgrow clothes and toys monthly.
