Last Fall I was inspired to be more transparent in what our Home Movie Theater cost us and provide a budget breakdown. They say you only get 2 out 3 for fast, cheap and good. I feel we keep managing to find a good balance of all of those things but budgets and cost are subjective to every family and income level. Especially in the IG world, where the focus is the images and rarely the nitty gritty discussion of how a room came to be (I’m still a blog girl, can you tell?). I think it’s important to remember that people sometimes spend real money to get these looks. Or real sweat equity, and many times both. But you don’t see all that when you swipe right for a quick before photo. The need for instant gratification can be an issue, and I think it’s important to remember this stuff doesn’t materialize out of thin air.

If you’ve landed here from the One Room Challenge, Welcome! We’re currently working on our second home, a gloriously 80’s contemporary, located in Upstate NY. She just needs a little TLC to bring her back to her former glory. If you’d like to see some of our past work, start here.

Need a refresher? Week 1 ~ Week 2 ~ Week 3 ~ Week 4 ~ Week 5 ~ Week 6

So even though I’ve provided links through out my posts for a lot of the stuff we bought, I’m breaking down the budget in one easy resource post, just in case you want to know what we really spent taking this room from 75% to 100%. Anything we were able to return you’ll see in red parentheses (accounting is my day job folks). And yes, many of these are affiliate links (but nothing was sponsored). We’d be doing these updates and renovations no matter what, but if you see something you like, and use my link to purchase it, as it helps me to justify all the time I spend writing and photographing our home for your entertainment. And remember, it’s no additional cost to you!

The Expected / Final Products:

White Flat Paint $30

Glitter Additive $15 x 3 = $45

Laminate Shelf  $6

Wall Brackets $7 x 2 = $14

6 Inch Hanging Plants $14 x 2 = $28

Mounted Staghorns $60

Rope (I only used a fraction of the 3mm string and 5 mm rope hanks in Guava, Maple, Pine and Dark Denim) $125

Various Hardware (swag hooks, dowel rods, screws)  $8

Upholstery Fabric 3 Yards (I bought way too much but I’ll find another use for the leftovers)  $27

Stoneware Windchimes $50

Ceramic Half-Moon Planters $33

The Unexpected / Unused:

Test Pots $3 x 3 = $9

Wall Stencil $61

Rustoleum Glitter Paint in Iridescent $22

Estimates for Things We Had on Hand / Purchased Previously:

Chandelier  $1,595 (Similar knock off $299)

Table & Chairs Similar (Craigslist score at $90 – new $500-$1000?)

Mirror $149

Various Plants & Pots (these little biddies add up!) ~$150

Painting supplies $20

Stapler & Staples for Reupholstery $35

Kids’ Watercolor Prints, String, Mini-Dowel Rods $5

Framed Watercolor Print (Similar) $40

No one is more surprised than me that I came in at only $435 for the recently purchased products! I know we weren’t ripping down walls or buying major furniture, but between a reupholstery job, a wall treatment, and some small DIY projects and some major accessorizing, I’m pretty impressed with myself. Sure, if we had to start from scratch with a new table and chairs and the chandelier at market price (we got it at a sick discount) you’d be looking at more like a completely decorated dining area in the range of $1200-$3000, which I still think it totally reasonable. The plants pack a big punch at breathing life and interest into this room.

I always have a rough number in my head and basically challenge myself to keep things as low cost as possible. This time I wanted to do everything for less than $500 if we didn’t redo the blinds, and under $1000 if we did the blinds (I knew we would need custom lengths and widths which jack up the price real fast). We didn’t get to the blinds YET but I’m hoping by the Fall we better understand how much protection we need in here and can pull the trigger on something.

I’ve actually been out of commission the past several days from some pulled muscles that have rendered me completely useless. We still have a few more mini projects we need to take care of this weekend and I’m hoping my back can suck it up enough to get stuff done!

Ahhhhhhh. Can you believe its Week 5?? Big reveal in T-7 days!

Thank you again to Linda at One Room Challenge.  Spread the love and check out the featured participants other guest participants HERE!  If you are here from the ORC – drop me a comment and let me know where to catch up on your progress too!

Psst: This post may contain affiliate links (read more here), at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting I am Kilo Bravo!