I have sat down to write this blog so many times over this past month and every time, I get stuck, stuck and sad. It’s kind of a hard topic to write about. My kid’s rooms are a reflection of who they are. Their personality shines through in all the contents of the room. Ceily is a middle schooler now and the contents of her room are changing, because she is changing. Even though I know it is an inevitable transition, it’s a hard thing for this mama to come to terms with. I went through the same thing with my older daughter, but it seemed easier. She wasn’t married to any kind of specific character or franchise so all that really changed in her room was the color scheme. Ceily, however, has been a Snoopy fan from way back. Snoopy isn’t the most popular character for kids to fawn over these days, décor wasn’t easy to find. And though I’ve never been a big fan of character rooms, this Snoopy room had to happen. It was perfect for Ceily. Friends and family members have given her so many trinkets, statues, pictures, and stuffed animals of Snoopy and other Peanuts characters over the years. Some of the items are fun, cheapie items, but some are collectibles, antiques. She still loves all that stuff but she is ready to move on.
So, where to start, right? In retrospect, I broke it down into 3 Steps to get started. I’ll explain each Step and hopefully it will help you get started on your own project.
Step 1:
Sorting
When taking on any room project, it’s always best to clean it well and purge before you get started. As I mentioned before, Ceily had lots of collectibles. We went through each item and made 4 piles. Pile 1, was a KEEP pile. Pile 2, was a DONATE pile. Pile 3, was a GIVEAWAY pile, and pile 4, was a TRASH pile. KEEP, DONATE, GIVEAWAY, and TRASH. The KEEP pile was a mixture of things she wanted to keep in her new room and things she wanted to keep for posterity. The things she wanted to keep in her new room had to be organized in her new space. The posterity items we put in a plastic tub with all of her other keep forever items and off to the basement storage it went. The DONATE pile is currently at our local Savers. GIVEAWAY items are in a box in our garage waiting to go to their new homes. And, this little hoarder-at-heart filled up 3 large trash bags of TRASH. No joke.
Step 2:
Choosing Colors
When choosing colors for any bedroom the first thing I look for is bedding or curtains. Finding the right paint color is a piece of carrot cake once you’ve chosen those items. It’s much easier to match a paint color to your fabrics than to find fabrics to match a paint color. Trust me on this. Ceily and I scoured TJMaxx, Marshall’s, Homegoods, and Tuesday Morning for ideas and inspiration. She decided on a cactus inspired room and found bedding at Target (Is anyone else as in love with the Opal House Collection as I am?). Her bedding has yellows, greens, golds, grays, and white. She chose On The Rocks SW7063, for her walls. It’s a subtle, true gray that is versatile enough for bedding changes in the future. Great choice, Ceily!
Step 3:
Shopping For Accessories
In our case, we knew her small room was not big enough to put a desk, bed and dresser in without adding a loft bed. She has been jazzed about that idea since day one. The loft bed we ordered has a desk underneath and a couple shelves and few drawers on the side. It’s perfect for her little room and gives her some extra space and storage.
Since this is supposed to be a cactus inspired room, I’ve been looking for succulents, pictures and other fun and unique items. I have to say, I did strike out on my own and buy a few pink items to add another color to her room. I was shot down in a big way. To my defense, lots of succulents have pink flowers. I thought it would tie in nicely, but uh, nope. She ain’t having pink in her room, not now, not evah again!! Okay then.
So, these are the three steps I went through just to get started. Now, of course, there’s much more that goes into transforming a room. I still have to put it all together: assemble the bed, hang the pictures, shelves, and curtains, decorate. We’re not finished, but plan to have her room complete within the next week or two. I will post pictures then so ya’ll can see how it turned out. Until then, I’ll just be over here all sad because my baby is a cool middle schooler now, steamer in my hand, smoothing the wrinkles out of her new curtains.
Don’t forget, if you need help with Color Selections, Design, or Staging, give me a shout (816-500-7759).
