Storage-Packed Bedroom From Scratch

With the drawers on the floor, fuss, fit, and fudge until the arrangement suits your headboard space. Don't hesitate to use fillers or leave openings where the wall can peek through. Secure together with screws and cut plywood doors to fit a few openings. Use hinges to install the doors. Paint the assembly; if you want, wallpaper the drawer backs and doors. Hang the headboard using a few 1x4-inch cleats.

DIY Tip: if you're having trouble finding oddball drawers, rescue them from dilapidated dressers.

To complete our lovely room, we prettied up more thrift store finds and gave windows and walls plenty of attention, too. We bought an extra curtain panel and used it to add ruffles to the bottom of the two panels at the window. For wainscoting, we cut beaded board on an angle and trimmed it with 1x3-inch planks. These easy and inexpensive custom touches make this bedroom anything but ordinary.

To contain tiny treasures, fashion a keepsake box from discarded or damaged books. Apply crafts glue to the inside back cover and close the book. When dry, apply glue to the book's edges and let dry. (Place waxed paper between the first page and the front cover to keep them from adhering together.) Mark a rectangle on the first page about 1 inch from all sides. Use a crafts knife to cut along the mark and through several pages. Remove cut pages and continue cutting and removing pages to desired depth. Seal the cut pages with glue.

For stowing sheets or seasonal apparel under the bed, we cleaned up a few old suitcases, lining the insides with fabric and painting the outsides white. Added casters make for easy mobility.