Alpacas, sequins, and fur, oh my!

I'm beyond excited to share this room with you today.  We planned it all out and then when my client went on a trip with her grandparents, we did the installation.  

She was turning 10 and this room redo was her birthday present!

I'll begin with a few befores and then show you around the finished room.  At the end I'll give you more design details, and tomorrow (click here to see!) I'll share all the furniture rehabs--let's just say nothing was left untouched!

This space includes so many of my favorite things: white linen bedding, hanging rattan chair, walls the color of water, an alpaca, fur, sequins, a canopy, bamboo, natural wood, collaborative abstract art... I could go on, but how about I show you?!

A couple of before pictures:  you can see it's a fun room, but the client wanted a fresh new space.

Here is our final design board.  After meeting in the girl's room, I typically give 2-4 design board options, we tweak them a bit and then land on one.  

I chose Tidewater by Sherwin Williams for the walls.  

Here we are having no fun at all...shopping, Starbucks, talking...it's actually one of my favorite things about designing girls' rooms.  

After deciding on the design, I always give the client the option to shop together for some of the key pieces.  I either find the other items online or continue the hunt for the perfect thing!...or make it myself as you'll see below. 

Ok, I'll quit talking for a minute so you can look around.  Make sure to scroll all the way through so you can see an inexpensive plant hack idea!

Can we please have a moment of silence for this cute alpaca.  I smile every time I look at him!

I also give my client the option of painting an abstract with me to hang in the room.  It's so important to encourage these girls in their creativity and show them they can create something beautiful!

When brushes don't do the trick we use flashcards...

...or our hands....

Here's the finished art!  

This canopy was an idea I had, and my client said go for it! I'm thrilled to report that it worked!  I used bamboo for the two rods.  

   

Using several different textures on the bed is always a good idea.

I love the non-presumptuous look of this white linen.

Ok, how about a few more details---

I bought this pom pom beaded garland before we started on the room design but I knew it would be a great inspiration.  The wood beads relate nicely to the other wood tones around the room--the headboard, bamboo rods with the canopy, lamps, and rattan chair.  

Once again, these battery operated candles saved the day--you can put them on "timer" so they only stay on for 5 hours and won't destroy the battery life. 

coasters...

a sloth, naturally...

rose gold...

If you follow me on instagram  @thenotsoblankcanvas you've already seen this plant.  

My client had the gold pail and the faux twig/branch/plant (what do you call this thing??) was half off.

Thanks for stopping in today.  Tomorrow I will share all the furniture rehabs we did for this room, including my favorite headboard redo ever! 

Eek! Adorn Room Design Reveal

I'm thrilled to share this space with you! But before you start scrolling, let me tell you about my client, Sydney.  

She knows what she likes, she's smart, creative, determined, full of personality, loves to act, sew, draw--so pretty much you'd all like to be her BFF!  Working with her and her mom was such a treat.  Her parents gave her this room makeover for her 13th birthday. And since she also likes to shop, she went with me to purchase a lot of the things you see in her room.  We had the best time!

Her room before was cute, but was ready to grow up a few years and needed a cohesive look to which she could easily add as much quirk as she wanted.  She had a precious doll house she wanted to move out,  stuffed animals that were ready to pass along, and a hubcap collection she wanted to feature.  

I gave Sydney two design boards and she chose this one.  In choosing the color palette, there were a few things that guided our decisions.

  

*They wanted to keep the khaki upholstered headboard.

*They were willing to change the wall color but would rather not paint a lot.

*She had a dark jade/turquoise pillow she wanted to work around, which I think only ended up in one of the pics, but it's there.

*The bed would stay in the same place because there really was nowhere else it would fit.  

The wall color above the chair rail was agreeable gray and the bottom was a darker color.  In an effort to lighten the room I decided to carry the lighter, agreeable gray, all the way down the wall. Not only did this lighten the room, but it also required less painting and helped the lighter color read more like a warm gray and less like a light brown.

After deciding on the wall color, I picked the bedding.  

Aww, the bedding.  

The embroidered details and tassels are divine!  The color is perfect too.  I used the color of the details on the bedding for the closet/desk nook (keep scrolling to see).  

it's called deep sea dive

We later discovered this color is similar to Sherwin Williams 2018 color of the year. For the rest of the colors, I added blush pink, white, and gold.     

When I asked about the hubcaps, Sydney said, "I found some on my walk home from school" and then a friend gave her a couple at her 13th birthday party (which was an 80's murder mystery party!). 

After choosing the colors, it was an easy decision to paint the hubcaps gold.  I hung them with simple pushpins so if she decides to move them, no biggie. 

Since she had two closets, I made one into a desk nook.  Her dad removed the doors, reconfigured the shelves and painted it the same color as the dark details on her bedding.  Have I told you how much I like this color!?   

I used a clear acrylic chair so the color would remain as visible and unobstructed as possible.  The light wood legs tie in with her corkboard and with the small side table between the bed and wall. 

The canopy was something she knew she wanted from our very first meeting--hanging it was simple and I think it's her favorite part of the room.  She can interchange any of the throw pillows from the bed.

  I added a piece of bamboo wrapped in white twinkle lights to the corner for added glow and interest.  

I replaced her curtains with these white tassel panels.  They are soft and calming and still allow plenty of light in when the blinds are open.

The polka dotted heart pillow was one of the things she instantly grabbed on our shopping trip.  I love that it ties in with the colors and look but still adds a smidge of quirk to the room.

I can't say enough about this chandelier.  It's a plug-in light with hanging shell-like discs that make the softest wind chime sound when her ceiling fan is on high.  So dreamy.

I like this "hello gorgeous" pillow as a subtle reminder...something every girl needs! 

...a close up of those divine details.

The second-hand dresser I found was fine the way it was, except that the yellow undertones looked wonky with the wall color so I painted and distressed it and added new golden knobs.  

I love to use small dressers for side tables.

We found this wooden side table on our shopping trip--a definite score.  Probably the hardest part of designing is finding cool stuff that I want to keep for myself!

In its former life, this light pendant was a wire trashcan.  I bought it for myself months ago but never used it so I turned it into a pendant light for Sydney's desk nook.  Her dad sprayed it gold and attached it to a simple plug light. 

Oh tassels.

Two other favorites in the room--the pink throw is the softest I've ever felt, and the gold bedside lamp is a touch lamp.  (Touch lamps are the best--I have one on either side of my own bed (circa 1980), I don't know if I can ever go back to using a switch lamp.)

Well, friends that's all for now.  I had so much fun hearing from mom and daughter about what they'd like, dreaming a bit, designing, shopping, and now seeing it all come together.

Creating a space that's a reflexion of Sydney's personality and ideas, and then knowing that she has a refuge that feels like "her" is pretty much the best gig around!

Interested in an Adorn Room Design room? Click here for more information and details!