My girls have always shared a bedroom. I was a little worried about finding a new house that we could grow into, but one where the girls still felt close to one another. I remember when I was a kid, I wanted my own bedroom so bad. And then I was about Gracie’s age I did get my own room after a move to a new house. I was so excited that first day – until it got dark. And by bedtime I was terrified of the idea of sleeping alone in a dark room and begged my little sister to sleep with me. :)
When we found this house, I was so excited about the layout. There are three small bedrooms at the top of the stairs. Just a landing, a bathroom and the girls bedrooms. No dark hallways or connections to other parts of the house. I think it will be a perfect situation for their first ventures into private bedrooms. :)
(Here are the photos of their rooms. Apologies in advance for the photo overload. Trying to get this house tour over with!)…
Grace’s room is the smallest and most awkward. That little window (which can’t be changed because of the roof line) is going to present a little bit of a challenge, but we’ll figure it out. She wants pale blue walls in here.
Next door is Claire’s room:
If you ask Claire what her favorite colors are she’ll say mint green, hot pink, indigo and violet. Music to my ears every time. :)
She requested mint on the walls and a neon pink bed. The combo reminded me of this room, which she loved when I showed her:
The next door down is a small bathroom at the top of the stairs. Boring and needs some sprucing up, stat. How perfect would this sink be in here?
Evie’s room is going to be a little on the tricky side.
Wallpaper is on the pitched ceiling. Scalloped trim everywhere.
I don’t love the outdated paper, but it’s not completely offensive because it’s so simple… unlike that bed.
Evie was actually with Michael and I when we saw this house for the first time and she completely freaked out over the princess bed. (of course, ugh) The seller was so, so generous and nice with leaving things she thought my girls would love and use. She left some seriously amazing toys and play structure type things in the backyard that I really love. She knew Evie was obsessed with the bed and decided to leave it for her, which was so sweet.
The bed has this sort of fort thing in the back and a slide on the side that Evie (and every other kid that’s been over to the house) absolutely loves. It makes my head spin to think about keeping this thing in my house. But, then I think about how much she loves it and I feel like I should at least try to make it work for like a year or two? A paint job would go far here, right? I feel like a glossy white would be best. Also a little trim moulding on the edges would help it look less homemade I think.
SO MUCH TO DO EVERYWHERE!! :)
I would paint that bed to look like stone. My girls are 8 and 10 and would be THRILLED to have a Hogwarts fort. Or paint it light gray and wallpaper one or two surfaces with a great looking faux stone. Gray would not be as obnoxious and boys would love it too for knights and dragons play.
That bed is so much more than a Princess Castle…it is a lesson in generosity. There was a little girl who once loved that bed and she shared it with another little girl who loved it too…that is the sign of a TRUE princess. Ask your daughter who she will share it with next, then allow her to enjoy it for now…seems like a blessing in disguise.
Ok, so I agree that the bathroom is a little blah but for some reason I love the brick floors and the black framed windows. I feel like they could be a jumping off point. Unless they're great in the pics and super ugly in person. I can't wait to see how you put your touch on this house. It seems gargantuan compared to your place in NYC which I couldn't get enough of. I know you're going to be closer to family and have a ton of new adventures in AZ but I'm a little sad we won't be seeing all those amazing pics of NYC, brownstones, window boxes, other people's chandeliers in the windows at night, trips to the park with your super cute girlies…change is hard but usually a good thing in time. Thanks for taking us all on the journey with you.
Thanks for your input guys!
We let the girls pick their own rooms. Evie sort of got first choice because she was with us when we toured the house and she fell in love with the princess bed. And between the two other rooms, the older girls sort of figured it out on their own. My Gracie is a bit of a tomboy so she liked the dark green walls and Claire is a little more girlie and gravitated to the canopy bed and pinky purple wall color. Easy peasy! :)
The wallpaper in Evie's room is tricky. It's not horrible, but it's very dated – little pink rose buds that were everywhere in the 80s and early 90s. I think it might stay for a bit, but it's definitely on my to do list to either paint over it or repaper.
Thanks for your input guys!
We let the girls pick their own rooms. Evie sort of got first choice because she was with us when we toured the house and she fell in love with the princess bed. And between the two other rooms, the older girls sort of figured it out on their own. My Gracie is a bit of a tomboy so she liked the dark green walls and Claire is a little more girlie and gravitated to the canopy bed and pinky purple wall color. Easy peasy! :)
The wallpaper in Evie's room is tricky. It's not horrible, but it's very dated – little pink rose buds that were everywhere in the 80s and early 90s. I think it might stay for a bit, but it's definitely on my to do list to either paint over it or repaper.
What great spaces! Love all the shelves for toy storage and organization.
Even though I hate that princess bed (just like you) I think you should leave it exactly like it is. I'll bet your DD loves it not only for the shape, but for all the "princess-y" things you hate about it–the frou-frou stuff. Every designer should be "brave" enough to have something like this in their house–something that says, "Design isn't everything." The older kids are, the more things they'll add to our lives that would not be *our* choices (Justin Bieber posters? Check!) Why not just start now, and keep the bed as-is, and then pass it on to someone else in a few years? She won't love it forever ;-)