Ahhhhh…….I’m so relieved this post is finally ready to share! And mostly because it means that my girls’ bedroom is finally DONE!!!! (Which I finished before I gave birth to Max a little over 3 weeks ago…..but just hadn’t had time to share yet.)
Yes, we moved into our house here in Oklahoma 2 years ago. So why did it take so long to finally finish, you ask?!?! Well, my friends, I have commitment issues. Ha! No, but really, once I decide to start planning and looking for ideas (for any room that I get excited about decorating)…..I get distracted by all the pretty things. And I just want to try it all! Like, “oooh, but that shelf is so fun” or “oh yes, yes…that fabric would be perfect!” or “oh my gosh, that paint color is so happy!“.
So, how did I finally commit? Well, for one, their room was an unorganized mess and it was finally making me absolutely nuts to walk in there…..so I knew I just needed to move forward with a plan! But next, I chose the one thing that was going to have the busiest pattern in the room (the quilts)…..and then I worked around that, adding in details that my girls loved!
And now Ellie and Chloe have a flowery, colorful, and playful bedroom to share….just like they requested!
My girls used to have bunk beds and actually used them for about 3 years, but we ended up hating them more than loving them. So, we took them apart, removed the rails, filled all the holes, touched up with a little white paint…..and turned them into these single bed frames. Buh-bye bunk beds!
I grew up sharing a room with 2 of my sisters for many years of my childhood and I won’t lie…..while actually sharing the room, I always wanted my own room. But you know, those years were good for me. And hold a lot of good memories of late night chatting and giggling and dreaming! And today….my sisters are my very favorite friends!
So, I kinda like watching my girls navigate this whole sharing a room thing…..because sometimes they get into each others space and irritate each other (like all girls do, right?!). But more frequently, I hear them laughing and giggling and playing all sorts of things together! So, this picture collage and little quote had to go up on the wall!
I added those pictures of Ellie and Chloe onto scrap wood that we had in the garage. Yep, just like Max’s newly decorated nursery, where I transferred photos onto wood —> HERE. This is such a cheap process that turned out so cute up on their wall! (And will hopefully always remind them how lucky they are to have each other!) But if you haven’t tried transferring plain ol’ printer paper photos onto wood yet……you’ve got to! I’m slightly obsessed with the process! :) (These are pieces of thin plywood that I painted with a very thin layer of white acrylic paint and then added strips of wood to the edges to frame it out….that I stained very lightly and then slightly sanded off.)
(Just a tip…..these images are larger than my home printer and are about 11 x 18 inches…just the images alone. So, I printed them out in sections, taped them together on the back, and transferred them like normal. There are slight lines in the image from where the 2 pieces of paper meet….but you really can’t tell. And it kinda adds to roughed up look! But you could always have them printed out at a printing store, on their large paper with their laser printer. Which only costs a few dollars. But just remember, this process requires using a laser printer, not ink.)
One of my favorite things about the room though, are these awnings that we made out of scrap lumber and attached right to the wall!
We did have to go and buy these cedar siding shingles from Home Depot….but they were only $10 for a whole bundle. But didn’t they turn out so fun??
(I’m kicking myself for not taking pictures to show you how it was done…..agggh! But I was trying to hurry and we made them late at night. But we followed this tutorial for the most part….but added a flat piece of thin plywood along the face of the awning, instead of metal….and then nailed in the siding shingles one at a time, on top of that. As far as measurements go, we made them as wide as the twin bed frame.)
Want to see a few more details of the room?
Okay! :)
Over on the small section of wall between the window and their closet door, I did another photo transfer onto wood. It sits above this little house shaped wall shelf that I bought, that still allows them to have a very small “doll-type house” in their room. (They used to have a very large doll play house in their room but not only did they not use it very often, it was HUGE. So, once we detached the bunk beds, there was no longer room for it. This has been a fun substitute for my little animal loving girls…..and because it’s up on the wall and at eye level, they actually play with it.)
The photo transfer is from a little floral design I put together with photoshop….with a little reminder for my girls!
On the wall opposite their beds, we had to maximize the space for storage. Because yep, these girls have lots of little things that all needed a home.
To the left of their dressers and in the corner, we installed a vertical book shelf that holds a good amount of books. Because yes, these girls are always reading!
To the right of the dresser, we created what the girls now call their “Creation Station”. Because these girls LOVE making things! And that’s why I knew it would be okay if we removed the big ol’ doll house (that I mentioned above) because their interests have started shifting and these girls are constantly drawing, cutting, gluing, taping, etc. Which I’m totally fine with them doing in their room now that they’re 10 and 6 years old.
Below the cork board is a Murphy Desk that normally hangs flat and out of the way but can be propped up when they decide it’s “craft time”! Then they can pull down supplies from the shelves above….and get to work! :)
Something else that I really love…..is that cute stuffed unicorn head up on the wall above their awnings! I kinda went crazy with these cute stuffed animal heads that I found at Target and now all my kids rooms have them somewhere in their rooms because I just couldn’t stop. Ack! But I love them! And below the unicorn are just some silk flowers that I bought at Michaels and glued onto some twine.
I added a little storage box to their night stand so they could keep a few books handy for night time reading. Oh, and they think that gold lamp is magical because you just touch the base and it turns on and off. Ha!
And that’s about it! A room that’s finally finished for these 2 girls…….who were SO EXCITED with even all the littlest of details in this room!!! Makes it all worth it. :)
But I’m glad we finished when we did…….because it won’t be long before they decide that whatever I do is super lame and so un-cool! Ha!
Anyway, hope that helped give you a few ideas for a shared girls room of your own!
And if you don’t have girls, don’t worry….I finished the boys’ shared room and will be sharing more details soon, hopefully tomorrow!
-Ashley