My favorite part of the $100 Room Challenge is here: Reveal Week! I love seeing how everyone's projects turned out, and I love the satisfying feeling of finishing my own project. (As opposed to all the other unfinished projects lying around my house at the moment.)

Before I take you on a tour of the finished office/guest room that I've been working on, I just want to take a minute to thank Erin of Lemons, Lavender, and Laundry for dreaming up such a fun challenge, and for including me in this group of bloggers, each of whom are a complete inspiration to me. If you're new to the challenge, take a minute and check out her website for the background of what we're doing here.
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$100 Room Challenge Office Makeover
I'm always amazed at how much I can get done in a month, with $100 and a little creativity. As I was planning for this month's challenge, my husband asked if I would pretty please finally get around to finishing his office. It's a functional little room that gets the job done, but without much style. (Actually it gets two jobs done: office and guest room.) He's a patient man to put up with all my decorating shenanigans, so I enthusiastically agreed and started thinking about what the room needed.
When we moved into the house almost three years ago, this room was a tiny, dark bedroom with funky carpet. (And by funky, I mean stinky.) We immediately ripped out the carpet, put down vinyl flooring, and added cabinets and basic furniture so he could use the room as an office, and we could turn it into the guest room whenever friends or family stopped by. (It's the perfect guest room because it's right next to this guest bathroom.) But that's where it ended.
Here's what the room looked like before this challenge:

And, in a nutshell, here's what it looks like now:

Artwork
My favorite project of the challenge was this poured acrylic painting. It was so fun!

I made this painting, and then put it in a frame that I already owned. It makes the perfect statement piece to go over the couch on this big, blank wall. You can see all the details about that project in Week 2.
My second favorite project was creating sunprints with my kids. They collected leaves, seed pods, and other bits of nature and we laid them out on special sunprint paper and watched it magically change color.

Once the prints were dried, I framed one in this cool metal and glass frame from Hearth & Home at Target.

Wall Color
Then I painted one wall a vibrant deep blue, called Indigo Cloth by Valspar.

That was a little scary, because the room doesn't get much light, but I'm so glad I did it! The blue makes it feel so much cozier in here, and makes a much better backdrop for the painting and couch.
Display Shelf
After creating the shelf over the computer, I decorated it with one of the sunprints, a photo, and a few other items that needed a home.

DIY Pillows
After putting it off as long as I could, I braved my sewing machine to sew together four cloth napkins from World Market into two pillow covers. They add a pop of color that this couch really needed.

Lighting
Finally, I had one square shaped grayish lamp shade that was really bugging me, so I replaced it with a nice clean bright white shade. Now the lighting is so cozy in here when we turn off the overhead light and just turn on the lamps.
This room finally got some personality to go with it's functionality! Now I feel good about offering this space to my guests, but most of the time, my husband can feel cozy and comfortable while he's working in his office.
$100 Budget
It's always interesting to see which disappears first, the time or the budget. In this case, I definitely struggled getting the projects done in time, but I did pretty well on the budget. Here's how it breaks down.
- $35 Paint
- $10 Paint Pouring Supplies
- $10 Lamp Shade
- $10 Mirror
- $10 Sunprint Frame
- $11 Shelf Brackets
- $5 Pillow Covers
Grand Total: $91
I don't know whether to be proud of myself, or disappointed that I could have bought something else! Oh well, since this is my husband's office, we'll go with acing the budget since that's something he always appreciates. You're welcome Honey!

$100 Room Challenge Office Makeover Resources
If you're interested in trying your own projects, such as the paint pouring, the DIY shelves, the pillow covers, or the sunprints, check out my previous posts for more details. Or if you're just ready to jump right in, here is where you can find the supplies you'll need.
- Wall Paint - Valspar "Indigo Cloth"
- Paint Pouring Art - Paint, Pouring medium, Canvas
- Shelving Brackets
- Sunprint Paper
I'd love to hear from you if you try your own paint pouring project, or have questions about any of the projects in this challenge! Just drop me a comment or question below.

$100 Room Challenge Week 1 ~ Week 2 ~ Week 3 ~ Week 4 (You're here!)
Brittany Goldwyn says
I have never heard of sun prints—I love them! I want to do this.
Meredith says
They're so much fun, you've got to try it!
Ashlee says
I love the blue accent wall! The office turned out gorgeous. The sun prints sound like fun to make. I've never heard of them!
Meredith says
Thank you Ashlee! You gotta try sunprints some time. They're so fun and add a great pop of color!
Beth says
Love this room! The dark blue accent wall is just stunning! What a great space to work in!
Meredith says
Thanks Beth! It's much more fun to be in here now!
Jeri Walker (@JeriWB) says
Fabulous! That shade of blue might be the same exact shade for the accent wall in my bedroom based on my trip to Greece in 2010.
Meredith says
What a great accent for a bedroom! It is very close to Grecian blues, maybe that's why I fell in love with it.
Erin Meyer says
YAY!!! I am SO glad you went with that blue wall despite (maybe) having a little fear. It looks perfect! And the pillow covers just add so much. I agree that my favorite part is your artwork. Such fun, creative ideas... I didn't even know sunprint paper existed. You did a wonderful job in this office. I bet your husband is so excited 🙂 Thank you so much for participating in another round of the challenge. Your rooms are always incredible!
Meredith says
Thanks Erin! The best part is he was out of town when I finished it, so it was a fun reveal when he got back. Thanks again for such a fun challenge. I already can't wait for the next one!
jackiecan says
Nice job Meredith! I really like that deep blue wall and the sun prints. Very cool
Meredith says
Thank you Jackie! The sun prints just happened to be the right color!
Jen @ Jenron Designs says
That blue is so bold and beautiful in your space! Such a dramatic change for $100 nice job!
Meredith says
Thank you Jen! I was nervous about the bold blue at first, but I'm so glad I took the plunge!
Rachael @ This is our Bliss says
I loved your paint pouring art tutorial and love seeing it hung in your finished space even more!! And yes to going bold with that blue wall! Beautiful job all around!
Meredith says
Thank you Rachael! I love how this room turned out, and it just wouldn't be the same without the blue wall!
Tracy says
What color are the lighter adjacent walls?
Meredith says
Hi Tracy, the adjacent walls are Valspar "Bay Sands"