This is what I see now when I walk out of my bedroom door. The little girls’ bedroom—freshly painted and freshened up. It makes me wanna dance a jig. Or to quote Pioneer Woman, it ‘makes my skirt fly up’. And it’s every girls’ favorite color: tiffany blue. I know, I know–I’m teaching ‘em early. I’m not sure what I love best, the tiffany blue walls, the currant-red beds, or the very large vintage multi-colored lights. Oh, or the vintage butterfly prints. I can’t decide. I love it all.
Here’s what you can do in a week with $150, a wonderful inspiration photo and numerous cups of the best coffee ever. I saw this amazing guest bedroom {first featured in Domino magazine} on the Little Green Notebook blog—and fell in love instantly.
Jenny did a copy cat design of this room, giving tips on how to get the look for much less. And though her tips were extremely helpful, I settled on an even cheaper/less authentic version than her copy cat version. But it turned out beautiful and my girls love their new ‘grown-up’ bedroom. And if you don’t already read Jenny’s blog, you should. You’ll love it and her and you’ll learn stuff.
Domino guest bedroom
I started this project by painting the beds. These are actually bunk beds that I ‘debunked’ many years ago. I also previously painted, distressed and glazed them about 8 years ago.
In the Domino guest room photo, those upholstered beds can be found at Target online—and I LOVE those beds. But alas, painting our existing beds red was not a bad alternative. I chose ‘Currant Red’ from Benjamin Moore and after sanding the beds twice {to remove the previous finish} I painted them in semi-gloss with two coats of paint. I actually used Behr Paint and Primer and just had them look up the Benjamin Moore color in their computer. I adore this paint—it’s thick and luscious and goes on like butt-ah! And as someone who paints things frequently, I say that with a fair amount of personal experience.
I then used this little rub and buff product {from Hobby Lobby} to give them a more antiqued look. I used my fingers to rub it on and then used a damp cloth to wipe most of it off. It’s kind of subtle but I like the beds much better with this addition. The color is called Spanish Copper.
By the way, I painted the beds in the room. I just put butcher paper on the floor underneath them went to work. It’s a little tricky to paint the very bottom of the bed posts but it can be done.
Next, I started on the walls. I chose ‘Robin’s Nest’ from Benjamin Moore and again had the paint mixed at Home Depot using Behr Paint and Primer {did I say thank you to my friend The Nester for this tip? I owe you a debt of gratitude}. This paint goes on so well that it covered in one coat on these walls!! And those letters on the wall that spell GRACIE—-those must stay forever. When I tried removing them, sheetrock began to peel as well—so I just painted right over them—again. My painter Rick—whose number I have on speed dial—helped me with the 20 foot ceilings in this room. And my somewhat-afraid-of-heights-self was thankful.
I then took Jenny’s advice and printed these vintage butterfly prints from Village Printables and framed them in my $6.99 frames from Ross {a lot better than the $625 each for the prints in the Domino room}. They are exactly the perfect complement to this room and it reminds me of the metamorphasis that will all-too-soon take place in these little girls. I want to cherish the days while I have them.
Scooter, our 4 year old Maltese, sleeps with the girls so we found him a coordinating dog bed–which will, I hope, prevent him from rubbing his dirty paws all over these white quilts {Target–shabby chic collection}. The zebra print pillows are also from Target {$14 on sale} and are a fine and enormously cheaper substitute to the beautiful IKAT pillows on the Domino guest room beds ($240 each I think). I also just happened to be moving this winerack—which I’ve been using as a nightstand—out of my bedroom, so I moved it in here because it was just the right size and shape. Any ideas for what we could store in there, aside from wine bottles of course?!
I then finished it off with a beautiful Christmas cactus, some pine garland and the big-bulb Christmas lights.
This room has the softest glow at night and is the perfect spot to snuggle up with some good reading and our Advent devotionals. I have to take turns sitting on each little one’s bed {“you were on her bed last night”} and have to make sure to give each one the same amount of kisses. I will hold on to that as long as possible!
So there it is: the sort of grown up little girls room—where butterfly kisses and tooth fairy visits are still welcome! But pink is not.
I should also mention that moving the beds toward the center of the room has been a huge advantage. The girls can easily make their own beds. And for now, they LOVE the job.
Before After
What I still need to do:
1. Add a brass-type rub onto the side table/winerack.
2. Find a cheap black and white striped rug.
3. Keep Scooter’s grubby paws off those white quilts.
4. Tackle the very messy closet.
5. Find the perfect ‘thing/s’ to store in the winerack.
6. Read a million more pages together—before they get tired of me.
You can see more photos on my flickr photostream.
Thanks a million to Jenny for making this room seem possible for the average mom.
Oh and come visit me at Blissfully Domestic today where I’m posting my sweater stocking tutorial.
I listened to this episode on Issues Etc—on Luther and Calvin and how you know you have true faith–while working on this project. It’s well worth a listen!
p.s. I’m adding this project to Kimba’s DIY day. Visit the most fantastic DIY’ers here.
