From Pickles to Pretty

We have a new student moving in with us Sunday. She is 15 from China. We're exited to have her. I'm also excited to get her room ready. She will be moving into the upstairs student room, next to ours. It's the "Black and White" Room. It's called this due to the black and white bedspread. Original, I know. 

Unfortunately we don't have a ton of furniture in black and white, and what we did have has gone downstairs to the brown room - it needed the white furniture badly. So we're left with my parents old bedroom suite in brown. They're good solid pieces that my Dad built, but they aren't super modern looking. I'm trying to tie the room together with decorating but need to use what we already own since we don't have a budget for the room. 

I found some cookie and chocolate tins and an old pickle jar and turned them into pieces for the new room using spray paint and washi tape. 

First up was the pickle jar - I cleaned it out and cleaned off the tape on the outside. Then I spray painted the lid with chalkboard paint and added polka dot tape to the jar. Simple but nice. 

Then I took a chocolate pretzel canister and spray painted it with chalkboard paint as well - twice. I added some Chevron Washi Tape to the base for some flavor. Its lid became a tile to lean on the jar and the base became a holder for pens and pencils. 

And lastly I grabbed a chocolate tin and spray painted it white, then wrapped it in Zebra Washi Tape to spice it up. I slid that under some candles to add appeal to the dresser. 

I grabbed some canvases that I'd painted black and added mirrors to a few years back and added those to the wall above the bed. 

At some point I'd like to make a black or white headboard but for now this will have to do. I'd really like a chalkboard headboard - I feel like that would be super cool.  And I am on the look out for a large black and white piece of art to go in the center of the wall, between the two dresser and above the desk to help fill up the space. If I can't find something I might make something...but I'm not sold on what to do yet. 

And that is the transformation of our new student room.