Before & After: The Girls’ Bedroom

About a year ago, we looked around and realized our girls were no longer littles, but rather knocking on the teenager door. It was time to rethink the space to accommodate their growing needs.

This was the room when we bought the house. #thatsalotofbeige

And here it is when we decorated it the first time. The walls were a minty green, which was the perfect color. We opted to paint the ceiling since we’ve got a weird dormer situation going on in there. It just helped to minimize the awkward angles.

Gone are those adorable Land of Nod (remember that place?) bedspreads, cute toddler artwork and fairytale light fixtures and in their places – hip bedding, calendars and desks for homework.

Let me give you a tour.

Mr. Whitaker made those desks (I know, he did amazing) and I painted them. Swoon. We worked on them while the girls were at summer camp and surprised them. I wish you could’ve seen their faces. We matched the colors of the wood on the bed frames so they would be a seamless color, but opted to do a darker wood stain on the top to warm it up a bit.

We repainted the baseboards and doors and gave the walls a fresh coat of paint, in the bedroom, the closet and the bathroom. Gentle Violet. Oh, how I love thee. And instead of the brass hardware, we replaced it with black. Much better.

Then, we splurged (mostly it was me begging Mr. Whitaker) on the coolest light fixture that transforms into a fan. It’s the right amount of bling and function, I think. This is a stock photo from Wayfair because I could NOT get a good photo of it in the girls’ room.

What used to be artwork over their beds, the girls transformed into calendars, using paint samples, and hung them over their desks. They turned out brilliantly. We cashed in some Container Store gift cards and bought some clear desk accessories so the girls could organize all their things. Then, we hung small bulletin boards for sweet mementos. The lamps were a fun addition during pandemic after we realized they needed some task lighting. Thanks, COVID. But, also, thanks because I am in love with those!

The girls, after an exhaustive search (also read: drama), finally found the bedspreads they loved and put them on their Christmas wish list. The grandparents all delivered. For a short while there we almost had flowers on one side and Harry Potter on the other!

Home Goods to the rescue on those chairs and bed pillows to tie it all together. It took us four stores but we finally hunted down what we needed. I think I’m crushing on the chairs the most. We went for a navy, lilac and pink color scheme and I think it works well. At least the girls think so, and they matter most.

We kept the girls’ pegboard, just decluttered it a bit. Scott cut a piece of pegboard, painted it in the same color as the walls, then trimmed it and painted it brown. He mounted 1x board on the back and we inserted hooks for hanging. It’s a great way to contain all the knick-knacks.

While we were at it, we decluttered their closet and rearranged some shelves. It’s the beauty of Elfa; it grows with your closet needs. We just rearranged the shelving and didn’t get rid of any. You might remember the initial transformation of that space here. I have no idea whose idea it was to put that kind of closet in a house, but bravo.

Between this room renovation, a spruced up closet and the bathroom, the girls’ space feels completely refreshed, fun and functional. I mean, it only took us a whole year to finally get it all done (and finally photograph it). Why rush?!

Oh, and here’s a look from their door looking in, as well as from the beds, looking back toward the bathroom and door to their room. Their closet is on the left and on the right is a huge storage closet for all our seasonal decorations and extra kid clothes.

For a teaser, here’s a look at the girls’ bathroom. For a full run-down of that complete and total renovation, click here.

There she is! We absolutely love how this space turned out, even if it did take longer than we thought. And, since we’re all distance learning and/or hybrid learning for a while, it’s incredibly functional, too. Holler with any questions. Happy to answer them!

SOURCES
Beds, Bookcase and pink Lamp (similar): Pottery Barn Outlet (we bought these at a huge discount at the outlet mall, but PBKids always runs great furniture sales)
Bedspreads: Anthropologie
Desks: Plans from Handmade Haven, built by Mr. Whitaker (we amended them slightly, taking off the shelves due to space)
Fan/Light Fixture: Wayfair
Chairs & Bed Pillows: HomeGoods
Floor Mats: Amazon
Clear Acrylic Desk Storage: The Container Store
Desk Lamps: Wayfair
Trim/Door Paint: Pure White, Sherwin Williams
Wall Paint: Gentle Violet, Valspar at Lowe’s (satin finish)
Closet Shelving: Elfa, The Container Store