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Posted June 30, 2009 by Mary Dixon Lebeau

Once upon a time, my husband and I -- mere commoners -- prepared a bedroom for our baby-to-be, one filled with yellow and green and blue and adorned with dancing John Lennon animals.

But you all know the rest of the story. Our baby girl turned out to be a princess, and as soon as she was able to string together a sentence, she started asking us to transform the nursery to a Royal Chamber fitting for someone of her stature.

Now, reality check: Libby's room is the smallest in the house, and our budget isn't much bigger. Still, we wanted to let the room reflect Lots-of-Lock's personality. So we agreed to make some changes -- as long as they fit into our limited square footage and our budgetary constraints.

"It's absolutely beautiful," our daughter proclaimed at the "reveal." And the room -- dressed in purple tulle and princess memorabilia -- was certainly that. (It didn't hurt that we did the whole thing for under $100.)

So if your little royal highness is requesting a royal re-do, here's how to make the change -- for a minimum of dollars!

• Create bedroom magic with a canopy.

I think this was the key to the entire transformation. After all, what girl wouldn't feel special when she was surrounded each night by a gauzy curtain of sparkly tulle? There are a lot of different and sometimes confusing directions on the internet about how to create a canopy. I think King Scott tried all of them, and ended up with his own (more simple) method involving four barbecue skewers (with the points sanded off), a bolt of ribbon, a plant hanger and ten yards of purple tulle. We lucked into a half-off sale at JoAnn's fabrics (ask the cashier for the latest coupon; there's usually something you can save) and paid a little more than $8 for the fabric. The entire canopy costs less than $15 (although, if you're not a do-it-yourselfer, you can buy a pre-made one at Target for $24.99) and it really did wonders at changing the whole feel of the room.

• Make the bed feel royal.

In most bedrooms, the focal point of the room is the bed. So why not give the bed a major princess-y feel -- one that will set the mood for the entire room? We had a head start on this one, as Libby received some Disney Princess bedding from Santa last December ($24.99 for a comforter, $4.49 per pillow case at Kmart or other similar discount stores). But an entire bedding set isn't necessary. To cut costs, just buy a pretty princess throw (we found this one for $15 at the Christmas Tree Shoppe) and a couple of throw pillows to cover the bed. We added a bedside organizer made of princess material with plenty of pockets for notebooks, pens, a remote and whatever else your little royal would need.

• A girl needs her space.

Now that she's in the "big school," our princess needs a space for homework and crafts. Unfortunately, there's no room in her room (or in the house) for a desk, so we usually meet at the kitchen table to complete the day's assignments, cut construction paper or fingerpaint. But while we were searching for princess paraphernalia, my husband and I found this great princess folding table and chairs for $30 at ValuCity (check your favorite outlet store for similar bargains). Now we can set up the table whenever Libs is doing homework or creating her latest masterpiece, then fold it up and store it afterwards. (Of course, if your daughter's room is more spacious, you can buy a princess desk or vanity as well.)

• Decorate from top to bottom.

The canopy takes care of the top, and it catches the eye and draws attention to the beautiful princesses gazing from your pillows. But you want to make sure the rest of the room reflects royalty as well. We replaced the ambiguous teddy bear and Mickey pictures with a Cinderella poster. We found two great frames at Christmas Tree Shoppe for $9 a piece and used one to frame the pictures of Libby meeting with the princesses at Walt Disney World and the other for a caricature a local artist drew of Lots-of-Locks in princess gear last National Night Out (free!).

Then to give the room head-to-toe royalty, we added a castle throw rug (this one was $20 at WalMart). Just the place to keep her glass slippers at bedtime!

• Use what you already have.

Like any MOP (that's "mother of princess"), I've accumulated a lot of bling throughout the years. The best -- and most cost effective -- way of decorating is to use the things you already have. First, we placed the princess cradle at the foot of the bed for her beloved Kit to sleep in. Then we arranged Libby's collection of princess dolls on a shelf, added a couple of Aurora and Cinderella banks to the bureau top, and lined up the colorful princess story books and board games to add a splash of royalty throughout the room.