Girls' Room Makeover

After we moved into the new house, we appreciated having a King-sized bed because our two young kids slept more with us than in their own beds for the first 6 months.  They were spooked by every noise, being upstairs while we were downstairs, and just the newness of the whole experience.  Fortunately for me, I am a heavy sleeper, and I didn’t really notice the stowaways, but my husband is the opposite.  He tried everything to keep those kids in their beds and to get a good night’s sleep, but they just didn't like it up there.

We knew that we had to work on the kids’ rooms next and generate some excitement about sleeping in their own beds and in their own rooms.  Like every other wall in the house, the walls of their rooms were dingy, off-white, and lifeless.  Add in the fact that their toys didn't really have a “place,” and their closets didn't offer much in the way of organization, so everything was just piled up and stuffed wherever it could go.

I started with the girls’ room because I had already been buying things here and there; new matching comforters that went on sale at Target just before we moved (but before the youngest was in a twin-sized bed), organizers for hair accessories and jewelry, etc.  The girls (ages 11 and 3) helped me pick out the perfect paint colors (2 different pinks and a bold purple).

In the actual bedroom, we painted a darker pink under the white chair rail and a lighter pink above it.  The plan is to eventually install crown molding, but again, more prioritization of dollars had to happen!  We did not put any purple on the walls, and there is a reason for that … Our oldest daughter received a canopy above her bed.  It could probably use some "girl-ing" up a bit, but we've left it alone for now.

I went around every baseboard, chair rail, and window sill with white semi-gloss, and I even took down both the bedroom door and the closet door to give them a fresh coat.  When soap & water won’t wash off the funk, you just have to paint over it!

In addition to pink and purple, the plan is to accent the room with black & white patterns like damask, polka dots, zebra print, florals, etc.  Our oldest daughter has zebra sheets and a pink comforter.  I found zebra print duct tape and used it to dress up the outlet and light switch covers.  I don't really recommend this, but it turned out alright, I guess.

Once the room was finished, we moved to the closet and got the clothing situation under control.

If you already know about my severe distaste for wire shelving from reading about our Pantry re-model, then I will spare you another rant.  If you did not already know this … just know that I hate them to the point of NOT giving them to someone else once I rip them out of every closet in my house.  I will not knowingly continue the cycle of terrible shelving.  I would rather pay more for REAL shelving and be able to actually USE the full horizontal and vertical space of my closet than cheap out on a single wire shelf that holds maybe a few boxes on top.  I paid for the space in my house, and I intend to use it!

BUT – a girl’s gotta prioritize her dollars, and it just wasn't in the budget to replace any wire shelving just yet.  <sad face /> 

I painted the short walls purple and the long walls pink.

Instead of replacing the wire shelving, we added organization to the lower half of the closet where both girls could reach most of their own clothes and shoes.  We waited until the next Target shelving sale and scooped up some of those 3x3 square shelving units, which fit nicely on either side of the closet, one for each of them.  Add in a couple of those canvas totes for socks and undergarments, and the mess became immediately more organized.

 Our 11-year-old's side of the closet:

Our 3-year-old's side of the closet:

For shoes, we hung up a coordinating pink, black, and white organizer.

There's a lot more to do in this closet, like hang hooks for bags, purses, belts, scarves, etc.

Once the room was painted, I mentioned that our little one graduated from a toddler bed to a twin-sized bed ... It's a good thing too, because it's REALLY hard to find matching/coordinating bedding sets for a twin & toddler!

Stay tuned for my next post where the Playhouse Bed project will bed revealed...