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Clinton’s Carefree & Bright Room

Description

A few weeks ago, I became fed up with the beige-beige-beige combo of my three-year-old’s bedroom.  It's a tiny space, so my goals became to make the room appear larger, add lots of color, and just make it more fun and reflective of C’s personality.

Design Inspiration

I was inspired by mid-century and Scandinavian design, with a lot of color thrown in.  I really love eclectic kids’ rooms with white walls, as you can see from my Pinterest board.  BUT I really didn’t want to paint the walls in this room.  So the challenge was working around the beige/brown color of the walls.

Decorating Style

My decorating style is constantly evolving, but I tend to favor modern, mid-century, and vintage pieces.  I love color, and I'm just now trying to bring more of it into our home.

Project Details

Here's what I did:

Moved the bed into the closet and the dresser to the opposite wall.  This made the room seem huge!  I also hung curtains around the closet to soften the lines.  C calls it his “bed cave,” and closes the curtains every night just like a four-poster.

Replaced the existing beige chair with a mid-century Craigslist find that I reupholstered myself with some fun, bright fabric.

Swapped out the bookshelf for some DIY book ledges, which really opened up the space.  And they cost only $15 to make!

Painted the closet nook a yellow-green color (California Dreaming by Behr).  I know, I know.  I said I didn’t want to paint.  But this was such a small area, and I was desperate for color.

Added some fun art in some Ikea frames I had lying around (see product guide below for sources).

Purchased a Scandinavian-style rug and pillow.

Made some pillow covers from fabric at Joann’s.

Created these DIY Ikea-hacked toy shelves, and added a wire basket for C’s lovies.

Added some wall-mounted lights to make reading our books easier.

Created an easy-peasy garland with my sewing machine and some extra felt I had lying around.

 

Product guide: Half Shell Rug in Grey, Land of Nod // KRÄMARE Wall Spotlight, Ikea // Mr. Cat Cushion, Ferm Living // All fabric, Joann // Hudson Crib in Grey, Babyletto // Nice & Knit Blanket, Land of Nod // FÖRHÖJA wall cabinets, Ikea // MERETE curtains, Ikea // Chair and dresser, Craigslist // Ingela P. Arrhenius, Balloons Tivoli Poster, The Kid Who // Frames, Ikea // Fox Print, My Dear Fellow // Faux Sheepskin, Ikea // Wire Basket, HomeGoods // STOCKHOLM Mirror, Ikea // Owl Nightlight, Land of Nod (discontinued, but there is a similar one there now) //

Favorite Items

I love the Ingela P. Arrhenius poster, and so does Clinton!  This year he has become obsessed with dogs, and he likes to pretend that this is a picture of him and our puppy, Ruby.

Advice

Don't be afraid to experiment, and to veer from your original plan.  And use your child's toys to decorate! C's blocks and animal figures look adorable in the toy shelves.

For more decorating ideas and more about designing this room, check out my blog at Annabode.com.

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