Orange Girl's Bedroom Reveal!

This room had a tall order:

1. It must be orange

2. It must have Nemo

3. It must grow into a teenager's room (the little lady is not into her tweens yet!)

4. It must have space for a desk for homework time

5. It must be very soft to touch

6. No overt girliness

7. No ruffles

8. Open windows (i.e. no drapes or curtains, just wooden slat blinds)

9. Pandas and polar bears should feel comfortable alongside the Nemo collection

10. Bamboo (for the pandas, of course!)

11. Storage

12. More storage

Wow!  Well, we started with the orange base, and I felt like a black and white print would be a good choice to encompass the animal side of things.  A zebra print on the pillow and throw blanket (which can double as a cozy rug) took care of that!  A bright orange furry pillow at the back of the bed is perfect for reading.

Plain black bedding became the base and a selection of fun pillows brought in everything else, plus a good supply of fuzzy friends brought in for a cuddle.  The photo collage frames on the wall above the bed show some of her favourite things, with some frames repeating the zebra print.

The first thing we utilized in the way of storage was this memo board, made from white cotton canvas and black grosgrain ribbon with white stitches on the each side.  The tiny glass beads even tie into the room.  Click on the photo to enlarge it and you will see what we hid in the glass beads!  {Tutorial on the memo board coming soon.}

My friend's dad refinished her childhood bedroom furniture in black and it has lots of shelving which was a bonus!  All those Nemos and other friends needed a place to live, after all.  We hung some zebra prints here also.

There was just enough space here for something.  Some new shelves were built, and a desk added into this tiny nook for a homework centre.  Furry friends have a good view of the bed and windows. 

And last but not least, a tiny corner for one of her bamboo plants and her bow holder that I made a couple of years ago.  I love how it still fits her and her personality!

This room will be easy to transition into a teen room as {some} of the animals are replaced with older girl things.  The orange, black, and white will still be fresh and, best of all, it will continue to grow with her.

She loves it, and I am so happy we were able to give her a room that is perfectly her!

Linking up with some great  parties!

Figuring Out the Bed Situation

AKA The Nursery to Big Girl Room Transformation

While I am busy collecting images, dreaming of gathered silk and endless strands of pearls, and wishing I had about $10K to do this bedroom (hello, vintage Chanel necklaces framed in shadowboxes would be more than lovely!!), I have one little thing in the back of my head... a bed.  We are going to need a bed.  Since our sweet little girl is potty-training (YAY!), she will need to be able to get in and out of bed.  Taking a flying leap over the crib side rails is not an option here. Haha :)

Her room is the smallest bedroom in the house at about 10' x 11' which rules out anything larger than a standard twin.  (I was in a double bed by age 3 and a queen bed at 12, so I am not used to smaller beds.  Here's to hoping she doesn't fall out!!  Fingers crossed!)  I suppose if there were no other furniture in the room, a larger bed might work, but we want some statement furniture pieces as well.

Here are my top two ideas (and yes, they are at opposite ends of the design spectrum) and my pro/con list for each.  (Slight Rory Gilmore reference there, lol!)

IDEA ONE

Okay, so I love the idea of a trundle bed.  And I love the look of daybeds too.  I found this super gorgeous one at Posh Tots, my favourite eye candy mini-me site. 

pic from Posh Tots

Pros:

Light pink/gold option

Trundle Daybed

Only one side to fall out

Love the intricate detail and vintage flair

Looks expensive

Would go with existing paint job, which is NOT CHANGING!!!

Fit for a princess

Cons:

$8,200 price tag

Too many roses (they remind me of the Princess Bride)

Not enough glam (Swarovski rhinestones are extra!)

Too shabby-chic for me

Fit for a princess, but maybe not a Chanel princess

Here is a similar option at $5,700.  

I think I may like it a bit more than the one above, 

but I am not quite decided on that.

IDEA TWO

Again, how much do I love Posh Tots?  My second idea is a more modern take, with padded upholstery, nail head details, and luxe suede found here (ignore the fact that it is blue!):

 

pic from Posh Tots 

Here is a close up in black faux leather (again, ignore the black):

pic from Posh Tots

Pros: 

Sleek and modern

Could be pushed against a wall or left out

Double as a modern chaise/couch in the future

Nail heads!!!!

Upholstered, so no tears over bumped heads

Did I mention nail heads!!!!

Image this in a classic black/white boucle tweed!

Cons:

No trundle (although adding one would be okay)

Maybe too boyish?

Can we inject enough glam into it?

$3,120-$3,365 (faux leather - suede, respectively)

Girly-girl factor is lacking

So lots of things to think about...  I should mention that I am not trying to recreate a whole "31 Rue Cambon" style.  Gild, lions, etc., is not what I am going for.  I am aiming to pull together a very cohesive look using blush, ivory, white, black, and soft golds (with possibly some silver/steel thrown in as well), and of course, utilizing the logo.

Cross your fingers for me!  I am working on an idea board for this room, and hope to finish it this week.  :)

Lightning McQueen Bed

For his Lightning McQueen room, my son needed a race car bed.  I wanted a bed that would fit a twin mattress, and the molded plastic car beds from Toys'R'Us and the like were all made for toddler mattresses.  Plus, they weren't really Lightning McQueen, just red race car beds.  

Hubby to the rescue!  He probably was wearing his Superman shirt that day haha!  He laid out a large sheet of 5/8 inch MDF and I covered it in wax paper.  The wax paper became my pattern paper.  I used my son's large talking McQueen toy, the DVD cover, and a scene from the movie (which we left on pause), and I drew out the entire side of the car.  The only area I redid a couple of times was where the driver and passenger window go.  It had to be high enough so he wouldn't fall out of bed, but low enough to allow easy bed changing access and for him to easily get out of bed.  Plus, it had to look sporty without looking like a convertible.

HubbyWe did two layers of MDF in some areas: all 4 tires and large and small lightning streaks.  My hubby cut it all out with his table saw and then went over each edge and side to round them off.  If he wasn't asleep right now, I would ask him what the tool is called.  I can't remember.  We used the red accent paint from my son's room and bought some new paint in yellow, orange, black, and silver.  A paint gun helped hubby us get the blends on the large lightning streaks.

End result: We all love it!  And, most important, when my son walked into the room to see it for the first time, he said, "Lightning McQueen!"

For the matching artwork we did, click here!

Linking up with some great parties!