Behind the scenes, we have been playing musical beds ’round here. First Greta’s room had a king sized bed and Faye’s had a queen and the guest room (in the basement) had a queen. Then Chris’s brother’s family came to stay with us and with three little kids, it made more sense for them to have a room with two beds, so we bought another queen and moved the king into Faye’s room and Greta’s room had two queens. Besides family staying with us, the girls have a cousin near their age that sleeps over frequently so two beds in one room works for us. To be honest, that’s when this room arrangement really started making sense–of course there should be a bed on either side of the window!
I ordered two of these queen gray Jenny Lind beds and we just dressed them in bedding we already had on hand for now, but the style is timeless and the color is warm. After I ordered them, I immediately second guessed myself and regretted not going with black–but once they arrived I was so glad we got the gray. It’s soft and subtle and peaceful.
We weren’t planning on working on the girls’ bedrooms this year, but the carpet in here is so jarring and unrestful and we hit our head on that light every day–that we thought maybe we could do a little something in here. And then, you know, one thing lead to another and I started talking about wallpaper vs planking the walls in here and started pinning some inspiration images.
So how do I start designing a room? I start by finding inspiration. Sometimes I’ll search “cottage bedroom” on Pinterest. Or “wallpapered attic bedroom”–an idea or feeling I want to implement and start there. When I do pin an inspiration photo, it very rarely if ever means–I want to do this exact thing! Sometimes a photo has a feeling I want to embrace or a note I want to take.
For instance, this bedroom below has a very similar ceiling line to Greta’s room. I love the wallpaper in here! Although this is a little more color than I’m into for my home, I love the mix of patterns. The vintage rug, the heirloom chest, a quilt! I definitely want her room to have some traditional vibes mixed with more modern pieces.
I also pinned the photo below because in Greta’s room, the ceiling comes down on the sides like this one (marked by the same texture). To me, it feels like the walls should go up to the flat part, but it was cool to see a version of it coming down. I’ve also been teetering between planking her walls vs. wallpaper and this photo is a gooorrrggeeous example of paneling done right.
And then sometimes, I pin an image like the one below not for the style or colors or shape of the room, but for an idea. A little dresser, mirror, vanity situation like this would have been my dream growing up and I’d love to give her something similar.
We’re still flushing ideas out, and my next step is making a mood board for this space and nailing down new carpet. Can’t wait to take you along!
I think you guys in the comments need to remember two things:
1. This room is not only Greta’s bedroom, but will also be the guest room when they have visitors, so it’s only natural that Julia would be picking out the furniture etc
2. Greta seems to love the things Julia chooses (for example today on her stories, Julia showed Greta the new tile on her bathroom and she was so excited about it! Also, I remember when they first moved in Greta got a rug from their old house and laid it out in her room and Julia said she could tell she had room pride)
I do understand where you’re coming from but I think Greta’s fine with it and Julia makes appropriate design choices for her family and for the overall use of their home.
Yeah, I agree with Katie. I generally like your stuff, but maybe let your kid design their own room a little more. First the bathroom art and then a grey spindle bed? My daughter has the same bed, but didn’t they used to also come in aqua and hot pink? Kids are only kids for a short while. You have a giant “cottage” to play with.
I really did appreciate this post. I love what you write about “the process”!
Love those beds! I remember my mom letting me go hog-wild designing (and re-designing a couple times) my bedroom. Looking back, I really appreciate she did that—it helped me learn how to put spaces together! When I was in high school I drew our a whole design (including red walls ????) and we got a rod iron bed and hanging plants. I wanted it to be “Spanish-themed.” ???? The rest of our house was done by interior designers but my mom always let my three sisters and I do whatever we wanted in our bedroom (within reason, and maybe every 5-7 years). Our house was so beautiful and then our rooms were TOTAL eyesores ha. All that to say, I don’t know if I could give my kid that freedom myself! ???? Interesting things to think about. I’m sure about one thing—I’m in LOVE with those beds.
I let my four year old pick his own bed off Wayfair in an effort to get him to sleep in it, which seemed like a great idea except that he picked orange and blue with an orange and blue airplane themed quilt. It is a LOT! It is still not my favorite, but he loves it! Literally nothing in his room matches anything else in the rest of the house. Design fail/sleeping in his own bed win.