A month ago I was given a challenge by Walmart and Your Zone, Walmart’s teen/’tween home fashion brand. Could I make over my daughter’s room for $500, using Your Zone merchandise?
Walmart and Your Zone provided me with the $500 to take the challenge, and they told me I could give away a $500 Walmart gift card to one of my readers, so I jumped on the opportunity. And here’s how it went.
The Problem
When we bought my daughter’s furniture, she had a room that was approximately 12’x14’. It was a pretty large room. And we bought pretty large furniture.
The bedrooms in the house we bought last year are much smaller. Her new room is 10’x10’, and her furniture seemed way too big for the small space.
My daughter also likes to have friends spend the night. But with a laminate floor, I can’t just have the kids throw sleeping bags on the floor, like they used to do. We have an air mattress, but it’s way too big for the small space in my daughter’s room. And my husband works odd hours, so putting the kids in the living room isn’t ideal either.
The Solution
My daughter and I took the $500 Walmart giftcard and went shopping. We bought Your Zone bunkbeds ($239) and a matching nightstand ($74). The bunkbeds are taller than my daughter’s old bed, but the head and foot of the bed are much less bulky. The new nightstand is also smaller than her old one.
We rounded out the room with:
- Twin Sheets x 2 – $29
- Comforter Set x 2 – $59.96
- Accent Pillows x 2 – $27.96
- Lamp – $12.00
- Pop-It Storage Bin – $12.00
- Curtains – $19.97
- Lapdesk – $12.00
- Rug – $19.96
The total came to $505.85, so I paid the $5.85 that was over the amount of the $500 gift card.
My daughter is now a happy camper. She can have a friend spend the night easily. And when she doesn’t have a friend over, she uses the bottom bunk for doing her schoolwork and her top bunk for sleeping.
Thank you Walmart and Your Zone! My daughter is THRILLED with her new room! Here’s a video of the transformation. (RSS and email readers might have to click through to see the video.
The Giveaway
As I mentioned, Walmart and Your Zone are providing a $500 gift card for me to give away to one of you. To enter, just leave a comment on this post, letting me know what change you would make to your house with $500.
I will close comments next Friday (August 28, 2009) at noon PST, and I’ll draw a winner using a random number generator.
Please only enter once, as duplicate entries will be deleted. I will email the winner, and the winner will have 3 days to contact me with a mailing address. Prizes will be fulfilled by 9/14/09 and will be shipped directly from the supplier.
As usual, my family is not eligible to win. I think that covers it!
So, what changes would you make to your house with $500?
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I would add curtains and new blinds to the windows in my house. My bathroom also needs a bit of remodeling!
Thanks for the chance to win!
I need blinds in my basement and office badly! The ones here are turquoise…verrrrry dated! Need other things too, but that would be the top thing, for sure.
I would get better lighting because it really makes a difference to work under a good light source. I would also get a lighter paint color to brighten the walls and make the room look larger. I also need a more functional desk to do my studying! Thanks for the opportunity from a needy university student!
My study is hot and dreary. I would put up blackout curtains to block the heat and cut down on my electricity use. I would also paint the room in a “sunny” color. We have three people sharing the study. Crafts, writing, gift packaging, Bible study, sewing, and scrapbooking are just a few of the uses for our room. Oh, let me not forget organization… cubbies, shelves, closet, and containers!
I need to hang some vertical blinds for a glass door. Wall decor is also needed and perhaps a couple new lamps to replace my thrifty diy ones.
I would buy paint, window and bed treatments and maybe a closet organizer for my messy bedroom !!! Would LOVE to win !!!
i would use the gift card to do some needed repairs to the structure of my house. paint for the kitchen would be a start! some electrical supplies.shelves & decoration for home office & laundry room,bathroom. a general deco change for the house,
I would love to redo my kids bedroom(they share a room). It’s just a “mod-podge” of decorations. Thanks for the chance to win!
I would buy curtains for both the kids’ rooms, storage shelves for our basement, runner rugs for our basement and cute bedspreads for the kids’ rooms. And any other items that would help with our storage/organization! Glad I found your website and this great giveaway!
I would start with new blinds for the kitchen/dining room. We are making do with the ones we bought 18 years ago when we moved here. ACK!
With $500 I would buy new energy saver lightbulbs, “green” cleaning supplies, new kitchen towls in microfiber and maybe a set of new dishes. Then I have to say I would do the same for my parents. Our electric company is raising our rates so we are trying to cut down on electric use and be more “green” but it takes a bit of green to go green! :)
Oh God! I’d like to give away $500 too if I get the same amount, promise!
Anyways, I started remodelling my house last year with a whole new modular kitchen and even changing the closed kitchen into one seamlessly joining the drawing hall; new wall finishes, POP stuff on ceilings, a new Bed and two set of new mattresses and then -> money stopped growing on te tree :(
Here, I am waiting to upgrade my bathroms which are ancient and I’d like to replace them with atleast a mini bath-tub and a mini shower panel with floor and wall tiles replaced. Also, I badly need a comfy “for 4″ Dining so that I can stop keeping my laptop on my lap.
Amen!
I could really use a redo in our living room. I would paint the walls and put an area rug on the floor. I need some sort of art to go above the mantel. Additionally, I could use a sofa cover. It would be nice if I could find something more functional to store the kids games and the large books we use to store DVDs (preferably something with some doors so it does not look unsightly and still has an adult feel.)
Perhaps it would inspire the hubby to move the TV where I want it(requires some drilling and such for cable wires) and set up the entertainment center I bought on clearance.
I would freshen up our dining room… to help encourge use of it!
I would finally buy some furniture for my room. We have gotten everything for our kid’s rooms and now its time for us. A night stand would be nice.
For $500 from Walmart I could do A LOT. Since storage is always an issue, I’d buy an armoire ($140) and some pop-up storage bins ($12 each): as you know, kid’s rooms collect ’stuff’, so they’d used to store all of that.
In our family, we take TONS of pictures so I’d buy the collage photo frames ($28) and some general frilly decor for our little girl.
WalMart also has some great window coverings (which we desperately need) and some
I’d also love to get be able to get some baby gates and safety equipment for the house as she begins to crawl. We live in a townhouse so it’s very important to get the stair-gates ($70 x 2 = $140). We’d use the rest of the money for the miscellaneous safety equipment like kid guards for electric and toilet guards.
I could REALLY make $500 go a LONG way.
I think that I would use the $500 redecorate my master bedroom. I need a new comforter, mine is ripped and a new lamp and dresser would be great!
OMG! I would love to take down the wallpaper in my kitchen, and paint the colors I have been dreaming about! Nothing says home like a nice and inviting kitchen!
I’m just moving into a new place so I could use it in so many ways… I would put up bookshelves in this little reading alcove. Also curtains would be nice. And a dresser.
I would love to refurbish my guest room!
area rugs to brighten my kitchen ,curtains to match and fresh coat of paint
The big thing would be curtains, heavier ones for the winter. Fabric to redo the seats of my dining room chairs would follow.
New shower curtain, towels and accessories.
I would love to win a $500 gift card from Wal Mart to add new window coverings in two rooms, paint for two hallways, a bathroom, and a bedroom, and additionally to purchase storage bins. Thanks for the opportunity to enter.
I would finish my family room. We have cushions that need recovering, lamps, a table, and artwork.
I would hang some nice pictures in the living room and throw some nice pillows on the couch.
Holy cow, I want someone to make my house or even kiddo’s room over then let me give away $$ on top of it. You are very blessed.
With $500 I’d let the littlest diva get a whole new bedroom dealio since that’s the intention of the giveaway and some of their stuff is really cute.
Not sure how well it is made or how long it will last, but I would love to find out.
I woulduse the gift card to update my kichen/family room with paint curtains placemats AND A RUG
Your article on this blog is fantastic.
Well done! I’m a big fan of your blog and be sure to keep up the great work.
I plan on returning and linking to your site.
Sincerely,
Alan H.
http://www.alanhaft.com
I would use the gift card to update my bedroom into a more relaxing and romantic space. I would love for my bedroom to look closer to a hotel room and much less like a morgue for “HAND ME DOWN” items (useful, but not my style). It would be lovely to have a romantic room since I am a newlywed. Thanks!
I would paint my bedroom, kitchen, and my daughter’s room. Then I would buy blackout curtains for our homeschool room and our living room. It really gets hot in those two rooms. I’d put new shelving in my pantry, to help organize things better.
Awesome choices – her room looks great! With the gift card I would make over my dining room. A new table and some decorations would be great.
My daughter is wanting to redo her room with a “desk under the bunk/raised bed” if possible, to make more room, and get a new dresser. Some new curtains,rug and bed linens would also round out the repainted walls. :-)
What a nice gift. Thanks for the chance!
The kids rooms need curtains, storage, comforters, rugs, maybe new pillows, too.
I would redo the room of my two toddler daughters to give them more play space and organization. Thanks for the chance to win!
I would love to be able to give my new bedroom a make-over. I recently moved and the mismatched hand-me-down furniture is starting to get me down. I have been very frugal with my furniture, but I think $500 would be a great start to get some matching nightstands and some luxurious curtains (so I can stop waking up at 6am on the weekends).
I have a 31 year old son who is permanently disabled from a rare illness that started 20 years ago. We had to makeshift a bedroom for him as he got older, because he will live with us forever.
If I had $500.00, I would paint his room, replace his old worn out blinds, and get some insulated drapes to cover the atrium door that is his “windows”. It gets too hot and too cold in there, depending on the season! I would also buy him some matching bedding, since all he has is old mismatched bedding. Finally, if I had any money left, I would buy him a free standing closet since his room has no closet.
I would love to win this giveaway and do something special for my “special” son.
I would use it to redo my girls’ bathroom. They are short on towels and the rugs could use an updating!
After 30 years of marriage and 4 kids, many items are worn out. I would start with new dinnerware, the plastic just isn’t cutting it. New mixing bowls, curtains, area rugs; I could go on and on. The kids are young enough that all are still at home, we would make good use of a gift card.
I would love to repaint my living room, my husband decided that a rosey pink would look good and I feel like someone’s poking me with needles when i am in this room.
I would love new towels for the bath and new quilts for
the bedroom…..some window treatments, a few organizers
and I’d be all set!
I would like to put up some window treatments in a couple of rooms to help block the sunlight – and save on our utility bills.
Such a nice give-away! Most needed in my house: curtains for our windows (since we don’t have any in any rooms except one), furniture for our living room, and a small desk for my daughter so she could have an easier (and fun!) time working on her elementary homework.
So many ways to make $500 uplift a family’s spirits–whether mine or someone else’s in need! Home is the center of family and each room in my house would get a little something, probably along these lines:
Kids’ bedrooms: new comforters, sheets, and curtains that match their current interests i.e. trucks, Pokemon, Bakugan, Star Wars, etc.
Kids’ bathroom: new fixtures, shower curtain, towels
Kitchen: A toaster oven
Dining room: new table or have I exceeded $500 by now?
Living room: some pillows and new lamps
I’ll leave the Master Bathroom and Bedroom alone for now but they too could use a bit here and there!
I would definitly have to get new blinds. Between dogs and kids, they really need to be… well … redone. I would also see if there is a toddler bed for my 3 year old. She is sleeping on a small mattress on the floor right now. Maybe a carpet cleaner to make our carpet clean again. Thanks!
I would make over my sewing/guest room so my family had a comfy place to stay when they visited. I have an ancient futon in there now that is so flat and hard. And the closet is huge but really isn’t set up for proper organization so the room is cluttered with bins of fabric that would be better stored in the closet.
If I won this $500 gift card the first thing I would do is get a new tv stand for the living room. My fiance’s had it for years but it is on its last rolling caster and it is too wobbly. I’m always afraid the tv will fall off. After that, we would have to redo our guest bedroom so it can actually be a bedroom and not just a junk repository.
Thanks!
mysbc27-web at yahoo dot com
I would love to go to Walmart and make over my dining room with new curtains and a dining room buffet or stand to store my dishes in . Corelle ware from Walmart. I would love to be able to do that. New silverware plus , I could really make it go at Walmart . Make a place for my scrapbooking. Thank you Sharon
We’ve been in our place for over 2 years and I still haven’t decorated the walls of either bedroom or bathroom. They are VERY plain. I would also buy a new floor lamp or two, as I can’t sit on the one end of the couch in the evening because it is too dark to read. I also need to stock my kitchen—the pans we have SORELY need replaced for as much cooking as I do and none of our dishes, plates or cups match.
Lots of things… but I think I would get some seating for my basement to make it less of the kids toy/play storage room and a little more cozy!
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