A vacation or bedroom redo? That was the question I asked one year ago.

Last summer, my husband and I were debating between remodeling our bedroom or going on a vacation for a few days. I posed this question to the GG community on FB:

Wednesday's WWYD: Money is tight. You can either go on a vacation with your spouse or redo your bedroom, which is badly in need of updating. What would you do?

The question brought in 103 responses. Many commented on the "money is tight" part, noting they'd do neither, in that case. Here are some other takes on the question:

Jamie said, "Vacation, nobody's ever died thinking man I wish I'd picked different drapes!" while Suzi wrote, "Redo the bedroom. We'll be making our own little vacation in that room." I like the way Suzi thinks!

Kristen added, "Vacation. Memories matter, not things." And Donna agreed. "Vacation! The relationship is so much more important than new furniture." Same with Kelly: "Vacation. Material things can be taken care of anytime. But memories are priceless.

At first, it looked like the vacation option was going to win. But then, the bedroom redo fans started chiming in:

Stephanie saw through the generic question and addressed me personally. "Redo the bedroom and have a staycation, Green Grandma." Others like the staycation option. "Redo our bedroom and have a romantic weekend in there!" wrote Stacy. Tonya liked that idea as well. "I'm in the minority," she posted, "but I would redo the bedroom. You see it every day. Redoing it would be like an extended vacation." Elizabeth agreed. "Redo bedroom! I've skipped vacations before and put the money into renovating the house, and fit in a few fun things in between like day trips to the zoo."

Well, as Stephanie implied, it was not a generic question -- we were trying to make a decisions and I wanted to the community's input.

I was overwhelmed by how many of you offered your opinions. While money was tight, we had enough to do one or the other. Both were badly needed.

In the end, we opted for the bedroom remodeling, which basically involved repairing the walls and ceiling (paint was chipping off and pooling on the floor), painting, and having new carpeting installed. We did not replace any furniture or bedding. I had a $100 budget to buy some new things to update the look and, taking the advice of many on HGTV, I grabbed stuff from other rooms to complete the look.

Here are some before (gasp) pictures:

See the clutter? That's the door to our 16'x20' balcony where we grow our vegetables.

I loved the Marjolein Bastin Nature's Sketchbook theme back in the mid-90s.

 

Note the peeling paint.

The need went beyond cosmetic.

Stress crack along ceiling.

Crowded space behind door.

 

 

Some of the pictures were taken last summer at the completion of the project and some were taken today. Here are the end results:

Moved things from other rooms: picture (with new frame), runners on dressers, "hat" with hooks, vase with silver mini lights.

Picture above wardrobe is a card I received framed in a wooden frame I already had. Clock from Goodwill.

I love this runner (a gift from my sister years ago). I "stole" it from the dining room.

 

Hat boxes were in other places in the house. Hamper and bench were on clearance at Home Goods for really cheap.

Same bedspread (from my mom's house) and same pillows. New shams were bought at a thrift store for 50 cents each. I reframed the Van Gogh picture with a $69 frame from Joann's. It was 60% off and I had a 20% off coupon on top of that!

Same cafe curtains. Gray curtains purchased at Kmart for cheap.

Love the design on this cloth hamper with comfy padded seat.

Matching wastebasket was only $7!

Area behind door is the new clutter-free home of this bookshelf that I moved from my office. It was made by my father-in-law over 50 years ago. Isn't it lovely?

Carrying on the hatbox and roses themes with boxes previously used elsewhere.

Am I happy with our choice to bypass a vacation in lieu of a bedroom redo? Absolutely! It's been a year now and I'm still loving it every time I walk into the room. It's a calm sanctuary that feels like an ongoing vacation. We make the bed and and clear clutter on an almost daily basis, so the benefits go much further than the temporary fix of a vacation. So for us, this was the best choice and I don't regret it one bit. 

Thanks for offering your opinions. I really appreciated your input.