I think it’s fair to say that I’m living out a fantasy in this room, with my 7-year-old daughter (who dresses herself consistently like that). This room is not done, nor does it necessarily ‘work’ with the rest of the house but we don’t care. As a reminder, I let her take the reigns on the design (I wrote about that process here), acting as her designer and of course helping to guide her choices. She knows that this is my job and that we arn’t going to buy land-fill/garbage (like the purple LED canopy she wants). It is NOT always seamless, but I’m trying so hard to let her feel like she has control because from everything I’ve noticed, read, and personally experienced regarding parenting daughters, my trying to control her won’t be best for our relationship. She’s only 7 so I know it will get even more challenging so I’m trying to create good habits/patterns now. I will say that we don’t butt heads – I’m not saying that to brag, but just know that working together is easier for us than some of my other relationships. We are both huge enthusiasts, love color and just kinda want to go for it. We are generally on the same page which makes it easier (which I don’t think is normal and is not exactly the case with Charlie).
GO FOR IT WE DID…
Months ago I gave up on the sweet and quiet Scandinavian farmhouse bedroom that I had pinned because she was VERY MUCH against it. She wanted BRIGHT colors, and LOTS of patterns so here we are and it’s JUST SO FUN. Again, this is not a reveal, but a ‘here’s where we are today’.
The bed was from FB marketplace and she originally wanted to paint it and now she doesn’t. I kinda want to simplify the room and get a solid upholstered bed (more modern) but she loves this bed. It’s also very crickety and rickety. So this might change. The vintage dresser (also FB marketplace) was also meant to be painted a bright color but we have yet to do that and the wicker side table was thrown there for now.
Obviously, the lampshades are MY FAVORITE ($80 each at an antique mall), but I’m unsure they are working where they are currently hung. I tried hanging them in the corner together at two different heights but they are HUGE. I like the red one over the dresser, but the green one over the wicker table is obviously strange scale-wise.
We also don’t need to use both of them. One could also be over her art table, or over a reading nook. That’s all to say that this is where she wanted us to try the hanging lamps but I’m unsure if they are going to stay there.
Props to my assistant Emily for figuring out how to wire them with a chain and cord (which saved us money and time). We do still need to figure out how to add a switch, so for now they are only on when plugged in.
The rest of the room is very TBD as you can see.
She wants a drawing desk and a reading nook, but I am unsure we have room for both.
That bookshelf is very much falling apart so we’ll replace it with something that will last long term. The kids have just switched to kindles so I’m unsure how many books we’ll keep collecting, but she loves her trinkets, jewelry, gems, etc and collects a lot every time we go antiquing so I want her to have somewhere to display it all.
I considered painting all the trim and ceiling (a light lavender on the ceiling, unsure about the trim) but got the quote and it was $1700 because of all the prep so we are skipping that for now. The ceiling is much cooler than the background of the wallpaper, but it doesn’t bother me enough to do that right now so we’ll see…
But What About The Painting!!
Y’all. I got that painting at Annie’s studio (@shopwilma), by another vintage dealer, Deb Zsori (@fabiusgrange) but it’s by a Portland artist (from the ’80s). It’s incredible. the colors are so vibrant, it has so much energy and the scale is WONDERFUL (48″x48″).
I actually bought the painting for Charlie’s bedroom (I thought it would look awesome with his colorful net chair) as he loves bright primary colors. He said yes to it when I showed him a photo of it, but changed his mind once it was in his room. He said that he doesn’t like it when colors are “mixed together”, which I can appreciate. But I think it’s because it has pink in it and he’s still in an anti-pink phase. So thank goodness Birdie was so enthusiastic about it. Is it a lot going on with the wallpaper? SURE. But I think it’s also awesome.
I am trying to figure out ways to calm the room down a bit. I’m going to put up a huge white corkboard (I might have to DIY It because there is a real hole in the market) and I’m considering adding white curtains just to break up the wallpaper. Stay tuned for that. Also how cute does that Jane Denton artwork look in here! That was originally in Charlie’s nursery 9 years ago, so I’m loving finding a new place for it.
Birdie walked in as we were shooting and wanted to hang her portrait of the pups that she painted during quarantine (2 years ago). Yes. SHE PAINTED THAT, but not without a lot of guidance from Eel Costello (their quarantine teacher) who is a legit incredible artist. It really goes to show that kids can do far beyond what we typically assume. Eel had them do stained glass, threw so many pieces of pottery, mosaic art – all such advanced stuff which made them feel so empowered and confident. It was such a good lesson to us about pushing them beyond their assumed capabilities when it comes to things they love.
So that is where we are right now. We are rearranging weekly and trying out other pieces now that she is sleeping in here. But she LOVES her room and we are having so much fun doing it together.
*Photos by Kaitlin Green
THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED HERE.
