Real Simple Show Home Kid’s Bedroom

A few months ago, Real Simple magazine reached out to see if I’d be interested in designing the kid’s room in their first #RSHome show house. Of course I was THRILLED to participate, especially when hearing about the other designers working on the other spaces including Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent, Studio McGee, Sabrina Soto, Home Polish, The Decorist, Robyn Henry, Donna Garlough and The Neat Method. Such an inspiring group! And it didn’t hurt that the show home was going to be held in the most stunning penthouse apartment at 550 Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights! :) The HUGE spread on the entire show house is in the new October issue of Real Simple, so go grab a copy to see all of the other spaces! Here are a few more photos of my finished room. If you’re looking for the behind the scenes when we installed this space, check out my insta stories highlights called REAL SIMPLE HOME.

COUNTING SHEEP print  //  WILDFLOWER lumbar

rug  //  bed frame  //  white tufted quilt  //  blue sheet set

wall sconces  //  faux rubber tree 

peg board  //  bone inlay desk  //  caned chair  //  pink fur pillow

faux potted cactus  //  lamp  //  hanging picture frame

Since we didn’t have a real client to work with on this project, I had to imagine up a young girl we were designing this space for. Real Simple suggested a space for a pre-teen girl, which was easy for me, since I have two of those! I imagined this little girl to be an art-lover and a reader. I love using blue in girls spaces and I thought wallpaper would be so fun! I also wanted the space to feel slightly grown up. I talked about this in the article interview, but my biggest tip for designing kids spaces, is to invest in furniture that grows with your littles. It’s easy and inexpensive to switch out accessories and linens as the child grows. If you find furniture that is more grown up but still playful, you’ll be able to keep these pieces forever, like this beautiful inlay desk from Arhaus and the bed  and nightstands from West Elm. I love these pieces in this space, but I’d love them equally in an adult’s room (like my own bedroom maybe?!)

nightstand  //  wall sconces  //  checked pillowcases 

white vase  //  faux white flowers

The sconces were another fun collaboration with Lucent Lightshop and they now offer them (both in neutral colors and these playful color shades!). I love that they are a throwback to Italian midcentury design.

COUNTING SHEEP print  //  WILDFLOWER lumbar

chunky knit throw blanket  //  white tufted quilt  // wall sconces

The floral lumbar pillow is brand new in our shop today! We are calling it the WILDFLOWER lumbar and I LOVE this fabric and pattern!

The wall color was tricky to get right in this space (it is SO important to put up samples!), but I think we got it right the second go-round. The color is called Jubilee by Sherwin Williams. We wanted a warm chambray blue and I think this is just that! How amazing does it look with the blue and white ticking stripe roman shade from The Shade Store? The windows in this apartment were a major challenge, but the sweet designers at The Shade Store really came through for all of us working on the RS Home and everything turned out beautifully!

KNOTS I print // KNOTS II print

chunky knit throw blanket  //  bone inlay desk  //  chair

pink fur pillow  //  lamp  //  pegboard 

The pegboard was an Etsy find. We bought it in a natural finish and painted the board and shelves white. I wish we could have just bought it this way, but I wasn’t finding any good quick-ship options!

pegboard  //  lamp  //  tape dispenser  //  hanging frame

white canister  //  pink marble bowl

It wasn’t hard to paint with a mini roller, but spray painting would have been even easier. We left the pegs natural and I love the warmth they bring! (PS as a side note – I brought one of my sister’s ceramic pots with us to use in the styling here and she straight up cried seeing one of her pieces in a magazine. Such a sweet moment for me!)

KNOTS I print // KNOTS II print

chunky knit throw blanket  //  bone inlay desk  //  chair

pink fur pillow  //  lamp  //  pegboard 

Framebridge was kind enough to do all the framing for this space and they always do such impeccable work! I especially love the proportions of their gallery frames series! We used the natural with KNOTS I and KNOTS II and the white gallery frame over the bed with COUNTING SHEEP (a beautiful photo taken by Cami Parker for Jenny’s Print Shop).

COUNTING SHEEP print  //  WILDFLOWER lumbar

white tufted quilt // wall sconces

Isn’t the wallpaper amazing!? It’s from Muse Wall Studio and the pattern is called Leaf Branches. It is a removable wallpaper and it is surprisingly easy to hang (it’s like a giant sticker!). I love the movement and texture this pattern brings to our room.

 COUNTING SHEEP print  //  WILDFLOWER lumbar

chunky knit throw blanket  //  white tufted quilt  //  nightstands

bed frame  //  black planter

rug // chunky knit throw blanket // white tufted quilt // wall sconces

It was a little tricky to match the wallpaper to a paint color thousands of miles away without a wallpaper sample or without being able to put up sample paint colors, but I think it really turned out great in the end! The wallpaper, paint and roman shade fabric are all subtly different colors of blue, but I think they play together beautifully!

plant stand – similar here and here

The cute little en suite bathroom was tricky to photograph, but I think it turned out sweet! We found that beautiful little Persian throw rug at the ABC Carpet & Home in their basement outlet area (similar here)! I love that coral pink pop!

rug (similar)  //  shower curtain 

We used my favorite Instax camera to take photos of the city while we were doing the install and put them in this frame made specially for Instax photos. I love how this turned out! Such a sweet way to remember a specific trip or day!

mini polaroid frame

Another favorite purchase for this room, was this AMAZING faux rubber tree! Isn’t the color so good? I love that it has large leaves like a fiddle leaf fig, but the coloring is so different and dramatic! I also love the enamel plant stand we found at Homegoods (similar here and here). We needed some serious height in this room with its 15 foot ceilings and this plant stand really helped!

nightstand // faux rubber tree // wall sconces  //  plant stand – similar here and here

I am SO honored that Real Simple invited us to help with this beautiful show home! What a dream! I love designing kids rooms and we had a lot of fun in here. :) Don’t forget to pick up the October issue to see the rest of the designers’ spaces! I know you’ll love them as much as I do!

nightstand  //  white vase  //  brass cube  //  wall sconce

paint color – Sherwin Williams Jubilee  //  wallpaper  //  bed frame  //  wall sconces

nightstands  //  WILDFLOWER lumbar pillow  //  COUNTING SHEEP print

tufted quilt  //  blue sheet set  //  faux potted succulent  //  roman shade fabric

checked pillow cases  //  knitted throw  //  black loop planter  //  rug

KNOTS I print  //  KNOTS II print  //  bone inlay desk  //  caned chair

striped vase  //  pink fur pillow  //  white ceramic lamp  //  pegboard

faux rubber tree  //  hanging frame  //  tape dispenser  //  watercolor notebook

solid notebook  //  faux potted cactus  //  pencil cup  //  white canister

instax picture frame  //  instax camera  //  white vase

DO LESS print  //  brass cube  //  shower curtain  //  vintage rug

turkish hand towel  //  soap dispenser