Thursday, July 8, 2010

Big Ideas for the Little Girl's Room

So, all of the rooms in our upstairs have sloped ceilings. Lydia's nursery is a complete triangle, not a vertical wall in sight! It definitely posed a decorating challenge.
One day, when we were only thinking about a baby (and I was thinking where we would PUT a baby, and how I could decorate that space) it hit me like a ton of bricks.....CIRCUS TENT! I suddenly remembered the circus train crib my dad made for us kids when we were babies. I started dreaming of ways to drape fabric to cover the ceiling, create a "wall", and create storage space hidden behind the "wall".
I was so happy with the way the room turned out. You will have to excuse me for being a little nostalgic, but with Lydia's move to a big bed, she has moved out of her circus room. I am not ready to put the crib away, partly because we would like to have more kids and partly because it is big and solid and some work to take apart. So today I packed up the crib sheets with the realization that no one will sleep in there for a while.
So farewell to the super cute circus room and hello new design challenge. The guest room that is becoming Lydia's bedroom does have a few more walls, but it is also in the roof line of the house, so picture a triangle with the two ends cut off. Since we aren't buying new furniture right now, I have been dreaming about new paint schemes, but keep getting stuck at what to do with the ceiling when it makes up part of the walls. Much like the nursery, it hit me like a ton of bricks the other day. A GARDEN FENCE set against the blue sky!
This doesn't have the blue sky, but it has the right feel and I love the tiny piece of fence.
How SWEET is this! PJ would have to help with the construction, but something like this actually IS possible in our weird attic rooms.
OK, so this is CRAZY detailed. I am not even going to try to do this much, but it is a lovely inspiration image to pull ideas from.

So here is my idea. I want to paint the whole room blue. Then I think i will stencil in a wrought iron fence. I have been up in the air about a real fence or a stenciled fence and then about a white fence picket fence, a natural wood fence, or wrought iron. Today I found these hanging planters CHEAP at Hammers. (Do you know Hammers? It was my first trip. Kind of trashy, but a few good finds.) The planters are wrought iron, so I think I am leaning in that direction. My idea is to paint the fence, then hang the planters and use them for toy storage. I really want to paint one corner of the room to look like a little cottage. It will be REALLY small, but should give enough of an idea that a little table and a few home-ish touches should provide a play house feel. So, what do you think. Is it cute or does it look like I just put Lydia in toddler jail?


UPDATE!! After going through NUMEROUS different ideas (here, here, and here) we FINALLY finished Lydia's "big girl" bedroom as a Christmas gift in late December 2010/ Early January 2011.  You can see the painted murals, bedding, tea table, dollhouse, and kitchen area by clicking HERE!  I am really proud of how the room turned out.

2 comments:

  1. A bed frame like this would look cute in the room.

    http://gakoch.com/pictures/woodworking/Bed.jpg

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  2. Thanks for the idea April. Fortunately/unfortunately I have inherited a family bed right out of the old farm house. I can't bear to put it in storage, plus it was free, so my daughter will have to use that instead of a new bed.

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