My niece, Naomi, recently turned 8 years old. One of her birthday wishes was to make some changes to her room. As you can see from the before photos, there was little about her room that said “8-year-old girl.” Her room housed a rarely used family computer, a toddler table set, Hello Kitty bedding from years ago, and an outdoor mat.
Naomi’s Nana offered to sponsor a makeover (within a budget of course!) so I set out help make this birthday wish come true. These are the photos I took of her room as we discussed what type of design she hoped for.
Naomi chose the bedding on the Pottery Barn teen website which gave me a jumping off point for the colors and feel of the room. She was drawn to the oranges, blues, and yellows of the bedding and her main request was a bed canopy. She also asked for some paint on the walls (including chalkboard paint), but they are in the process of putting their house on the market so we decided to only change what can easily be moved to a new house. This also meant that I had to somewhat design the room to stage the house… so less is more! My goal was to turn the room into a cozy, bright, girly (but not too girly), functional room that Naomi would want to spend time in.
Naomi’s artwork hangs in the bedroom entrance, brightening up the corner, and setting the tone for the colors of the room.
To stay within the budget, I purchased a worn used desk, repainted it, and added new knobs that Naomi picked out from Anthropologie. The bottom of the desk pulls out for extra surface space.
I made this bulletin board by upholstering a plain cork board with fun, Amy Butler fabric.
I added the shag rug and low chair so that Naomi would have an inviting space to hang out with family and friends on the floor. The soft blue blanket (another request from Naomi) adds a final cozy and luxurious touch to this tween room.
