The Velvet Chair I Bought Twelve Days Before a Birthday Dinner
Somewhere in my Denver apartment there is a velvet accent chair that I bought new, at full price, in a panic. It was 2018. I had just moved for a job into a corporate-furnished apartment that looked like nobody lived there, and I had twelve days until a family birthday dinner and a budget of $600. The chair ate most of it. That week taught me the thing I have been writing down ever since: the number you do not look up in advance is the one that decides how the whole project goes.
My name is Simona J. Crigler, and I write every post on Roomblr. I am writing this page as a letter, because I picture you standing in a doorway with a tape measure and a budget, and that is the person I would like to talk to. The easiest way to explain how the site is organized is to walk you through the rooms where I learned each lesson.
The living room, where I got the curtains wrong
In 2020 I ordered a “1-panel” curtain set for my living room window and assumed it meant a pair. It meant one panel. I lived with mismatched temporary curtains for four months before I sat down, worked out the real math and wrote myself a panel-width formula that I still use today.
That is why Living Room is the biggest category on the site, and why it is mostly about windows. You will find how to install blinds with brackets, how to pull blinds down and lower them, how to hang curtain rods, whether curtains can cover blinds, and how blinds, shades, cellular shades and vertical blind alternatives compare. It also covers interior lighting types and ways to display art without drilling into every wall.
The bathroom, where I stopped trusting the word “easy”
I recaulked one bathtub three times before it held. Every guide I read called it a one-hour job, and each of them left out the step that mattered. Bathroom is where I keep that kind of job: replacing and redoing tub caulk, porcelain versus ceramic tile, cleaning a faucet, how often a bathroom really needs cleaning, arranging accessories, shower curtain alternatives, making a guest bathroom welcoming, and whether bathtubs are on their way out.
The bedroom, the one room where I let the numbers rest
Bedroom posts lean on taste more than math. They are idea-led roundups on bed frames, wall posters and decals, shelf styling, plants, green curtains and color moods from pink girls’ rooms to dark green and coastal. You will find fewer price tags here than anywhere else on the site. If you want to see what a room could feel like before you spend anything, start here.
The yard, where the quotes get bigger
Outdoor is where the numbers grow. It covers pergolas, including the best options, whether one can go on pavers and how luxury brands compare, along with what installed outdoor lighting costs, backyard playsets compared, landscaping versus lawn care, and mid-century ideas for a small patio, plus a little gardening. I have priced pergolas for two summers and have not bought one yet, which makes me a decent guide to what the quotes actually look like.
The credentials I do not have
I am not a contractor, an interior designer or a licensed installer. What I have is four homes since 2018 and a spreadsheet I started in 2019 to log every purchase, quote and return, after I could not remember which store had been cheaper. I used it to compare contractor bids with DIY costs across three rentals. Friends and coworkers began asking me to check window quotes and furniture prices before they bought, and in late 2025 I started publishing what was in it.
When a post has a number in it, I try to say where it came from: something I paid, a quote I was given, or a manufacturer’s spec. I mark estimates as estimates. Prices change and vary by city, so please treat every figure as a starting point and get your own quotes.
If a number here is wrong or out of date, write to me and I will check it.
What Roomblr is not
It is not a gallery of finished rooms with the price tags removed. Some of what is here is unglamorous, like labor breakdowns, per-window costs and maintenance routines nobody puts on a mood board. I would rather show you the boring number than the beautiful photo that hides it.
Outside the spreadsheet
I live in Denver and work from the same desk where the spreadsheet started, which I share with Pepper, my rescue cat. Pepper handles most of my durability testing, which mostly happens by accident and always on whatever I was trying to keep clean. On weekends I go to thrift stores and estate sales, less to decorate than because used furniture is the quickest way to learn how a material ages.
Before you drill, hang or hire
Everything on this site is general information from my own experience. It is not professional advice, and I am not a builder, electrician, plumber, structural engineer or licensed installer. Please treat these points as the minimum.
- Walls and anchors: before drilling for blinds, curtain rods, shelves or art, check for studs, wiring and pipes, and use anchors rated for the weight you are hanging.
- Window cords: cords on blinds and shades are a strangulation risk for young children. Choose cordless products where you can, keep cords out of reach, and follow current child safety guidance.
- Bathroom work: caulks, adhesives and cleaners give off fumes, so ventilate the room, and never mix cleaning products, especially bleach with ammonia or acids. Plumbing, electrical and waterproofing work should be done by licensed professionals, and mold that keeps returning behind caulk or tile is a sign to call one.
- Pergolas, lighting and outdoor structures: check permits, setback rules and homeowner association rules first. Anchoring, wind load and snow load vary by region and by product, so ask a licensed installer or engineer, and only install on pavers if the manufacturer allows it. Have a licensed electrician handle outdoor wiring, and call 811 before digging.
- Playsets: follow the manufacturer’s age, anchoring and surfacing guidance.
- Plants and wellbeing: growing conditions vary by region, so check your local extension service. Posts that touch on wellbeing, such as gardening for older adults, are general information and not medical advice.
- Costs: every price on this site is an estimate. Ask for written quotes before you commit to a purchase or a contractor.
Affiliate disclosure. Roomblr is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy through one of my links I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what I write or what I tell you to skip.
About Simona J. Crigler:
- Full name: Simona J. Crigler
- Role: Founder and writer, Roomblr
- Email: [email protected]
- Contact page: roomblr.com/contact
- Based in: Denver, Colorado
- Background: Four homes since 2018 and a purchase, quote and return spreadsheet kept since 2019. No formal design or trade credentials.
- Focus: Window treatments, bathroom repairs, bedroom style and outdoor projects, with real costs where they exist
- Writing since: 2025
- Pinterest: pinterest.com/roomblr
The velvet chair is still in the corner. Pepper approves of it, which is more than I can say for the price.
