If you think designing homes for adults is a fun gig, don’t EVEN get me started on decorating for children. The only reason I had four tiny people of my own was for the pure delight of decorating their rooms. It wasn’t because they are going to take me out for pie when I am old because they don’t even like pie and I can just picture the whole “Awwww, mom. PIE?” and there you have it.
Because of a nasty water leak, we revamped the main floor of Mark and Allison’s home and now their space is fresh and fun and functional and everything a family with young kids and busy parents needs to be. After we finished on the main floor, Allison thought Maren needed a new room. She is, after all, the ripe old age of two and you know how those pesky trends change while you're busy learning to hold a cup or count to eight.
But wow, were we ever thrilled because Maren is one of the spunkiest little girls we've met and Allison is that favorite kind of client who determines a budget, goes out of town and lets us do our thing. Heaven.
Maren was moving out of the crib and into a real bed, which is the first step to getting a place in the city and meeting friends for happy hour.
Here's a peek at Maren's room before:
The wall color, chair, ottoman and a select VIP list of stuffed animals made the cut. The rest of the space was ready for a refresh.
This Audrey Hepburn artwork was our inspiration. We ordered a high-resolution version from Etsy, enlarged and printed it on sticky paper and stuck it to a slab door from Home Depot. (That's how you get BIG art on a little budget):
We used Audrey's bubble as a guide for our ceiling color, Tidewater. That's CC Blackford's hand - she was on her way to lacrosse practice and I was on the way to Sherwin-Williams:
We removed this light fixture and donated it to, um, nobody:
And added this gorgeous Pottery Barn Kids fixture and a framed version of 'A Letter to Sophie' above Maren's new bed:
We created a reading nook by adding a canopy in the corner:
We love this little lamp and dressed up this nightstand from Target with antique knobs:
We couldn't resist these adorable tie-backs which gave our inexpensive IKEA curtains the perfect boost:
And Voila! Maren jumped up and down when she saw her new room, which is something we are considering writing into future contracts because it makes us feel all bubble-gummy inside:
In the words of Ms. Hepburn: "Happiest girls are the prettiest." We couldn't agree more.
Photo credit (only the good ones): Ashley Weldon.
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