I am so happy that we have finally finished this room. It was fun but it took so much longer than anticipated. My daughter’s bedroom is everything she could have ever hoped for and more. It is so important that children have their own space that they feel relaxed and comfortable in, especially as they get older. We planned this space together with my 10 year old and it reflects her personality perfectly. It helped that we have the same taste but I did listen to her when making some major decisions, like the dark feature wall. Designing a pre-teen room has been fun and rewarding. Everything we picked has been done with longevity in mind. The pre-teen stage is such a short period but it’s an important one as lots of changes are happening. It’s the perfect opportunity to create a multifunctional room for study, relaxation and friends. Most importantly it should be something they absolutely love and that will put a smile on their face as soon as they walk in!
BEFORE
I think it’s safe to say the room needed a bit of TLC. The wallpaper next to the bed was ripped and stained and the walls were in a desperate need for a lick of paint. As children get older they tend to have their own preference when it comes to the finer details. I would always listen to them and allow them to express themselves (within limits). My daughter wanted to get rid of the pink walls and I was relieved as I knew this room wouldn’t date quite as quickly. Thankfully, the built-in wardrobe was fine and I didn’t even need to change the furniture layout. It was just a case of getting some new paint on the walls, wallpaper and a new desk. Easy peasy!
AFTER
So, what do you think? Did we make the right decision by changing the wall colour? I’d like to think so anyway. The room looks and feels more grown up, but still fun and playful. The bay window also gives this room a lovely additional feature. My daughter has, without a doubt, the nicest view from her bedroom window. Although it’s a north facing room, thanks to the big window, there is plenty of light coming through throughout the day. And thanks to the new paint and wall mural it now appears even brighter than before!
WALL MURAL
We found the perfect wall mural for our feature wall from a Swedish company called Photowall. I had the pleasure to collaborate with them recently and you can read my full review here. The cradled in clouds wall mural (in pastel) blends in perfectly with our triple bunk bed. It’s a timeless design which is exactly what we wanted. It is probably the most grown up cloud wallpaper I’ve seen on the market which makes it suitable for any room really. I chose premium (vinyl) paper which means it is very hard-wearing and easy to clean. It looks just as good as regular wallpaper and I love that I don’t have to worry about stains or little marks.
PAINT
I loved picking the paint colours for this room. We chose Apollos Moonstone (dark grey) by Proper Good Paint for the dark feature wall and Maples Cloth (off-white) to replace the pink walls. I wrote a detailed review of all the paint colours a few months ago, so do check it out! The dark accent wall adds interest and personality to an otherwise neutral space. It also goes really nicely with the cloud wallpaper, don’t you think? Both have a hint of grey which brings the scheme together. It was a brave move to have two accent walls in the same space but I think it works because they are quite different. And because everything else is so neutral, it adds just the right amount of drama to the room.
BUILT-IN WARDROBE
We were so lucky to inherit this built-in wardrobe. It has a huge amount of space inside and has a great selection of storage options. The open-shelving adds more interest and allows you to display your favourite ornaments, books etc. I always tell my daughter to put only the things that add to the aesthetics to the shelves. I don’t want too many things gathering dust, so keeping things minimal makes sense. Of course that doesn’t always work out like I had planned but there’s no harm in trying, right?!
UPCYCLED DESK
I love an up-cycle and couldn’t believe my luck when I found this preloved Laura Ashley desk on gumtree. It was in a great condition and already had a primer on. We transformed it with Proper Good Paint’s Maples Cloth (eggshell) paint to match the rest of the room. The great thing about wooden desks is that they can be sanded down and repainted if needed. I was a little tempted to paint this a darker colour but we can always do that later on if we change our minds. It does look fantastic with all the other white wood in the room so I’m sure we made the right decision.
CRYSTAL SUNCATCHER
The elegant ‘Salute to the sun’ Crystal Airplant Suncatcher is by a talented jewellery and homeware designer Xander Kostroma. It is gold plated and includes 7 healing home decor crystals. The idea is to place it close to a window, so you can see how the beautiful crystals reflect light around the room. It works particularly well in north facing rooms which have loads of indirect (natural) light. I think you are supposed to place an airplant inside it but I love it just the way it is, so I haven’t gotten around to buying one (yet). I’d also like to think the crystals help you clear your mind and ooze positivity, which lets face, it is very much needed in a preteen room.
RADIATOR COVER
Old radiators just never look good, do they? So rather than painting our old ugly radiator (which is a lot of faff) I decided to buy a radiator cover to hide the hideousness of it. My husband didn’t love putting it together (major understatement!) but it does look good. It also doubles up as a side table and prevents children from touching the hot radiator directly. I have no idea how long it will last but it will certainly do the job for now.
STORAGE
I love to give items multiple functions when possible. Especially when doing room makeovers which already cost a lot of money. My daughter’s old toy box is still in use but instead of using it just for storage I bought two seat cushions to turn it into extra seating. Older children like to have lots of friends over and you can never have too much seating in my opinion. Chairs take a lot of room but seat cushions can be moved around to suit your needs. I also love how they add a little bit more colour to the neutral colour scheme. Baskets and hanging wall storage are also great ways to hide all the clutter!
WINDOW TREATMENTS
We didn’t bother changing the curtains or blinds because they go quite nicely with the new paint and wallpaper. The bay window curtains are from Ikea and I took them to our dry cleaners to have them altered. It’s a great way to get bespoke curtains without spending a fortune. I quite like that they match the dark feature wall as well. The made to measure blinds are from Make My Blinds UK , and although this was my first time buying bespoke blinds online, my experience has been good. We did manage to break one of the plastic parts in the first year but the company quickly sent me a spare part to sort it all out. I would like to get a new track and proper pencil pleat curtains for this room at some point but I’m in no rush. For now, I think the room is perfect as it is!
I’d love to know what you thought of our makeover. Let me know in the comments below!
* Post contains gifted items.
