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I don’t love the outdated paper, but it’s not completely offensive because it’s so simple… unlike that bed.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!! :)
Can't wait to see what you do in the girl's rooms! I'm currently in the process of decorating my first house and I know how overwhelming it can feel to think about it all at once! I just keep telling myself, one room at a time, and then it seems more manageable! Looking forward to all the renovations!!
So funny about the Princess bed! But if anyone can make it chic- it's you! I'm SO excited to watch your home evolve!
Casey
http://www.brassarrow.com
How did you all decide which sister would get which room?!
I know you are going to do great things with this rooms. But I was wondering how did you do the distribution of the rooms? Did the girls choose them themselves? They are very different in size and features. At least in my case wouldn't have been an esay agreement! :)
very excited. i'm still working on my little girl's room and it's been almost a year since we moved to our new home. can't wait to see what you do to these rooms!
I can't wait to read how you blend the desires of kids into awesome bedrooms that grown ups love too. That's a great challenge..
And, re: the wallpaper on the ceiling that would be really hard to get off, – do you think you might try to whitewash it? and connect it visually to the walls so it looks on purpose? I REALLY look forward to your solution! xo
I had an insta flash of the castle bed in gloss white, with a hot pink stripe at the top of the "crown"…the back column in black chalkboard paint (with bricks drawn on), and a black and white stripe slide. Not the whole picture, but maybe a start. What ever you decide to do with it, I know it will be fabulous as always. Congrats on the move!
You have an amazing amount of energy…. love the windows in this house…. whatever you do to the princess bed it will be beautiful (we just got rid of the ikea slide connected to my son's bunk bed two years ago… he's ummm 14!)whatever you do time flys when you are having fun…just remember to close the bedroom doors when guests arrive
– so the girls can have their privacy… wink!
I agree that the Princess bed is hideous, but if Gracie loves it, I think that's most important. She'll grow out of it soon enough, but she's going to make so many cool memories on that thing!
http://www.fullbellywornsoles.com
I can't wait to see what you do. The four year old girl in me would have loved the princess bed.
Can't wait to see the girls rooms! Keep the bed I think that if you paint the bed it will look awesome and you might even learn to love it:) Plus with some really awesome bedding it could look so cool.
oh … what a great house … let your daughter enjoy the princess 'fort' bed and just go with it … she will remember that bed FOREVER and she will outgrow it so fast your head will spin! I'd suggest painting it white and/or letting her and her sisters 'decorate' it themselves. It will be fantastic and original and she and her sisters will LOVE it.
I am letting my daughter completely design her room (within limits … no black paint) for the first time, she is 11 and will help me prep and paint and it's so much fun … my mom did the same with me and I've enjoyed decorating every place I've lived ever since! You are amazing and I so wish you lived closer … your interiors are FANTASTIC!
Love, love, love the sink you're thinking of for the girls' bathroom. Can't wait to see how it all turns out. (Your comments about the princess bed made me laugh. You're a good mom for thinking about keeping it for awhile.)
Don't apologize for the photo barrage! I'm LOVING the house tour! (No, seriously, I'm completely hooked! It's like the beginning of a great story, and I seriously hope you are documenting all of it for your future book!!)
How fun that each of the girls will get their own room. I love the wallpaper in Evie's room and while the princess bed is a bit kitschy, I know I would have loved it at her age. Just think how awesome her childhood memories will be… of that pink princess bed with the slide and her cool mom who let her keep it ;)
Haha! That bed made me laugh out loud. My daughters would love it too – gah! But I think you're right – a paint job will go along way.
Love your blog!! Literally laughed out loud at your commentary on the princess bed! Ha! So excited to watch you transform the house to beautiful!
Love your blog!! Literally laughed out loud at your commentary on the princess bed! Ha! So excited to watch you transform the house to beautiful!
haha, I love your enthusiasm over that bed :)
haha, I love your enthusiasm over that bed :)
Now that you are in a warmer climate, I am dying to hear what you think about ceiling fans! I personally think they are completely offensive… 10 months out of the year. July and August here in Dallas are so hot, fans really are a necessity. I am very excited to see what you do with the ones in the Valley House!
a
I love the girls rooms, their own little domain! The mom in me took a deep breath when I saw those pointy castle towers on the bed. That's jus me. One thing, maybe pick out a nicer light fixture for the stairway – you can the the bulbs from the second floor and ill bet that's really bright.
Can't wait to see what you do! I'm decorating vicariously through you.
Best,
~Pam in Austin
Three very different rooms – that must have been tough to decide who gets which one! I'm wondering if the previous owner knows about your blog? While I agree there are some not-so-great style choices in the house, I would hate for the previous owner to read your/our criticisms. Can't wait to see what you do with the place!
The previous owners must have been lovely people even though their taste is much different from yours. I don't know any little girl who wouldn't love that bed, and as others have said, she will outgrow it in no time. My daughters had rooms on a separate floor much like yours. They loved their individual rooms by day, but at night always ended up sleeping in the same bed.
I can't tell the condition and design of the wallpaper print, but I think you should keep it or update it with new wallpaper you love. It actually looks really pretty and graphic from what i can see.
OF COURSE you have to keep the bed. Oh, the joy for your baby girl. What a great house-so much potential.
You have so many projects throughout the house, don't bother with the bed. She'll outgrow it in no time! Kids trump design aesthetic every time.
Ditto Jo @ 9:21 "Kids trump design aesthetic every time." and Pam in Austin re: pointy towers…maybe you could re-do castle into thatched roof cottage :) you know, Princess Cinderella's Starter Home.
Mint green was my favorite color as a girl! It's great to have the girls' input in their spaces.
delurking here – she'll grow out of that bed soon enough. Don't paint it either, unless she's ok with it. It might break her heart! It won't be around for that long.
So much character already. I can't wait to see how you decorate them — with the girl's help, of course ;)
I bought a rug for my son's room and the colors were totally off. I was going sell it or return. My son saw it, fell in love with it, wanted it and had a fit because he had a "vision." He said his opinion wasn't valued. The kicker is the fact that he didn't want it in his room. So now it is in the den off the living room. I let him execute his eclectic vision in there.I threw up a curtain and consoled my self with fact that I have the rest of the house.
Love the girls' rooms! I know you'll make them über chic! I agree with LG about painting the bed. Let that sweet baby decide. ;)
In our house the previous owners had wallpapered not only the walls, but the kitchen ceiling too. I think we called them every bad name in the book trying to remove that. Not fun, good luck to you. Definitely paint the princess bed, you can make it work!
Can't wait to see what you'll do with their rooms. That first little one does look awkward but you'll come up with some fantastic ideas for it. You have my sympathies with the princess bed. I'm sure you'll be able to make it look great. My only worry would be someone getting impaled on those very pointy turrets at the top. Yikes!
Let her keep the bed! She loves it and she'll grow out of it quickly :)
OMG so beautiful! :O
That sink is amazing!! Oh and I think the wallpaper is cute. I bet you could make it really work. I also love how individual each room is. No boring beige boxes here!
When I was doing a kids bathroom last year, we *almost* used that sink! I can't remember why we didn't now… We ended up with a very shallow trough sink! under mounted into carrera marble, it is beautiful… :)
Can't wait to see what you do here! Those bedrooms sure do provide a challenge, but that's what makes them fun!
I love the sink you're considering for their bathroom! So perfect!
I actually think the room with the princess bed is lovely — and the bed is every little girl's dream come true. I don't think it is hideous either — then again, i am probably thinking that if i got that exact bed when i was a young girl, i would have been ecstatic.
Sometimes, just have to let go of the notion of getting everything "design perfect" to let the kids be kids and let them have a say in how they want things.
Hilarious about the princess bed. Paint will do wonders:)
that princess bed is scary at first glance, but the lines are clean and i think a paint job would definitely do wonders! it's hard to tell what the wallpaper is in the pictures, but i kind of love it. yes, all that scallop trim must go though. :) thanks for this tour…it's been so much fun and i look forward to seeing the hard work you put into it!
I'm sad you don't like the scalloped trim and shelves, and I like the dotted ceiling wallpaper. On the other hand, I completely sympathize with not agreeing with your child's taste. My 10 year old daughter wants to paint her room hot pink with pink zebra pattern bedding. Ugh! I'm pretty sure there's no way to make that chic.
That bed! I'm not going to lie, when I was little my friend had one almost exactly like that and boy was I jealous. I totally get where Evie is coming from :) I'm sure some DIYing would make it look a lot chicer!
You can absolutely make that princess bed work. In fact all the surface cries for texture to me and the bunk beds Cynthia Rowley decorated with calking would be an amazing DYI for you. Good luck!
I love Evie's room and the wallpaper on the ceiling. The bookshelves over the doors in the other 2 rooms are interesting. This house definitely has some quirks! Also, we used the Brockway sink in our bathroom remodel with 2 faucets and so far we are happy with it!
Nice post
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I was the same way with my room. I wanted my own bedroom but I didn't want to sleep alone in the dark.
And I laughed when I read about the princess bed but I'm sure you can paint it and make it work better for you ;)
OKAY JENNY, I am going to contradict things I have even said when I say…just leave the Princess bed…this period, the princess time, is gone so fast..and she loves it, so honestly, throw yourself into the 8 million changes you have on your list to do, let the bed go, and IF after everything else is done, and she is still a Princess and you still hate it…well then,,, go for it..I think the room is actually quite darling, and I know you are amazingly talented and could transform it even more…but from the looks of it..you have a TON to do as it is….have fun!!!!