My friend Jill is redoing her tween daughter’s bedroom. Does that not sound like a fun project?! Here are the specs we are working with – and by we I mean you, so listen up! (clap clap) Work with me people!
The room is a fairly standard bedroom — 11×13 minus a few inches. There is a window on one wall, a closet on another and the door on the third. This leaves only one unobstructed wall. She has 8-ft ceilings with popcorn, which she is not interested in scraping at this time and who can blame her really. There is no crown molding. The carpet is kind of an off white and she is interested in possibly replacing it.
She has come into some furniture for this room which she plans to paint - a full-size bed with a headboard and footboard, a small chest of drawers, a small vanity with a mirror and padded bench (I would have died for this when I was a tween).
So far, she has purchased this fabulous bedding with extra sheets to make curtains and pillows and possibly cover existing cornice boards.
So then, what we need to figure out is what color or colors to paint the walls and furniture, what to put on the floor, window treatments and art! And all budget friendly of course!
What do you think? What shall we do?
I’ll be back with a plan on Tuesday.
I just learned of your website from orgjunkie, and I am LOVING it! I totally know I won’t come up with the cool ideas you’ll have, but in my own desire to practice the art of decorating I thought I would throw my ideas out there. If she’s going to be painting all the furniture, I’m thinking a crisp white. This allows the walls to be some cool bold color that a tween would like. I also can’t help but think of stars and shining, shimmery things when I see this bedding. I think she could incorporate cool light fixtures with crystals-even crystal fringe on the curtains would be cool (or crystal tie backs). Thankfully, she’ll be listening to you and not me, and I can’t wait to hear your plan!
March 8th, 2008Furniture: I agree with Alicia - white (maybe an off-white–it’s less stark)
Walls: Chocolate with the blank wall a mid-toned pink like in the bedspread. The chocolate will make the furniture pop more.
Floor: If the carpet isn’t icky, I’d keep it and find some funky rugs (cool ones abound for tweens anywhere from Target to Pottery Barn) in pink
Window: If walls are chocolate and she’s making curtains out of the patterned sheets we see here, I’d top them with a creamy sheeroverlay and some pink beads (think 70s–like a beaded curtain) hanging over the top of that. The top two layers should be able to be swept aside for a dramatic look.
Decor: Even though the vanity has a mirror, I’d find some cheap little round mirrors to mount to the wall in a geometric pattern. They will really pop against chocolate. Or…I bet she could find some pretty sweet art she’d like at Etsy. Also, if the trim is white, I’d add crown molding. It can really finish a room, and it’s relatively inexpensive if you paint and install it yourself.
March 8th, 2008I agree with Heidi. One or two walls a chocolate color and the other walls a mid pink, darker than the light pink in the spread. The light brown on the headboard might make a good carpet color. I like everyone’s ideas.
March 9th, 2008To go along with Heidi’s suggestion of wall colors, find a fabric that could go with the bedding and cut out diamonds. Spray them with spray starch and adhere to the walls as a border- it’s one of my favorite, cheap, design solutions. We did my niece’s nursery this way, cutting out large pictures of Winnie-the-Pooh characters and balloons and sticking them to the walls. It’s really cheap, very quick, and can be taken down in a flash! They just peel off, and use a damp sponge to wipe the residual starch off the wall. Or, instead of putting it around the room as a border, perhaps take about 12 of the diamonds and put them up in a grid pattern above the bed as graphic art??
March 9th, 2008About the starched material diamonds….
March 9th, 2008Have you ever done that in a bathroom? Do you think the moisture of a bathroom might make them peel on the edges?
I agree that finding a pattern similar to the bedspread would be a nice complement somewhere in the room.
I just did my 10 year old daughter’s room in pink and brown. She has the comforter that is leopard print with pink trim. We got the leopard print w/pink trim area rug from Target.com and Wall Pops from Lowe’s. We painted her room Vanilla Cherry. We used the large circle Wall Pops and cut smaller circles from square Wall Pops (We used pink and brown Wall Pops) It makes a huge statement with a temporary bang. If she outgrows the circles (Polka Dots) they can be removed easily with no residue. Her curtains are pink and brown striped. He futon cover is pink and brown polka dots (she has a bunk bed with a futon on the bottom (I know…..Yuk! but she loves it) w/pink and brown plaid throw pillows and small pink and brown polka dot throw pillows. It really turned out gorgeous. Her furniture is a creamy white.
March 10th, 2008