Baby’s New Room Reveal

Growing up, I happily shared a bedroom with my older sister. When I had kids, I wanted them to share a room, too — or at least while they were little. I imagined them reading books with flashlights after bedtime and having to yell at them to go to sleep.

They would respond in fits of muffled giggles and conspire on new ways to have fun together without getting in trouble. I hoped the close quarters would foster a sense of camaraderie and sibling love that would persevere long after we, their parents, were gone.

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

It was a sweet thought.

The reality is that my son has one volume (loud!), and as a sleep-deprived mom, I could not risk disrupting the baby’s sleep schedule. So when we bought our house last year, the kids each got a room of his/her own.

Our sweet little girl, however, inherited her big brother’s crib (that was like new because he hardly slept in it), his old changing table and a squeaky rocking chair. I bought her new sheets, but she predominately got the second-child-second-hand treatment. There were no pictures on the walls, no fancy lighting, no new nursery for the new baby. She had a basic room where she slept and got her diapers changed.

Now that she is growing into a lovely little girl, she is more than ready for a room that reflects this next stage of her life. Welcome to baby’s new room!

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

The first thing we did was install a board and batten accent wall. The classic wainscoting gives the room such beautiful character that will endure even as she grows into a teenager.

We built a taller-than-traditional wall, which left the perfect space above to highlight a few of her newborn photos. They were taken by an incredibly talented photographer, Michelle of Oeil Photography and are so near and dear to my heart, especially now that my newborn days are over. I love being able to see these sweet moments at a glance.

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

The chair rail we used to cap the board and batten has a bit of a lip, so I can set choice knick knacks along the top. I love incorporating diy decor for a more personal touch.

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

I guess I have a thing for accent walls because I color-blocked the opposite wall in Sherman-Williams Mellow Coral, Creamy White and Repose Gray. To know me is to know I’m not into girly, pink things. To know my daughter, however, is to know she absolutely adores it. We compromised with a touch of pink to balance the grays and whites.

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

Are you wondering how we got such clean, crisp, straight lines? One word: FrogTape. Seriously, that stuff is worth the investment. You can learn more about how to paint straight lines from our experience painting stripes in the laundry closet. We are pros now.

A section of the color-blocked wall worked well to mount the shelving unit we built to store and display books, toys and stuffed animals.

Get a designer look at a fraction of the cost -- just $70 for materials! Visit the blog for a step-by-step tutorial.

The bookshelf currently houses this pin board I made by covering cork with one of her receiving blankets. Did you know you can receive a welcome note for your little bundle of joy from the President and First Lady?

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

I just sent a birth announcement to this address:

The White House
Greetings Office, Room 39
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington D.C. 20500

(Looks like you can do it online now, too, for a variety of occasions.)

I then received this sweet greeting that I can add to her baby book. I hope she’ll aspire for greatness when she’s older.

And one of my favorite features of her new room is her toddler bed. Lovingly built by her dad, the bed was made by repurposing parts of the changing table.

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence (no sanding necessary) and sealed it with the clear wax. I love the pop of color it adds to the room.

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

To complete the girlish charm, we added a mini chandelier and a pink ombre butterfly mobile. I made the mobile with scrapbook paper after being inspired by this one from Pottery Barn Kids. I’ll post a how-to tutorial soon, but it’s also available for purchase in the shop.

This beautiful pink ombre butterfly mobile is the perfect touch of whimsy for a sweet little girl's room.A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

So what do you think? Isn’t it lovely?

Mind you, not all the ideas for her room are finished. I still need to properly dress the window and her bed, frame and display a few more photos and artwork, replace the squeaky rocking chair and refurbish a second-hand dresser. Quite frankly, it could be months (years, even) before I get it perfect… if ever.

But isn’t that some of the fun? Decorating doesn’t have to be wildly expensive or done all at once, in my opinion. It’s fun to find and create things that add value and beauty to our home, bit by bit and as time and budget permit.

In the meantime, this little girl’s perfectly happy with her new room. (Except now she wants it in purple!)

A simple and sweet bedroom with girlish charm and personal touches for an equally sweet little girl.

For more creative ideas and inspiration, I invite you to visit Shutterfly’s collection of 75 Delightful Girls’ Bedroom Ideas. You’ll see Baby’s New Room featured on the site as well!

SOURCE LIST

toddler bed:  built by her dad by repurposing the changing table; painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence and sealed with Annie Sloan Soft Wax in Clear

mini chandelier:  Tadpoles three bulbs in white diamond; also available in four bulbs and more colors

wall-mounted bookshelves:  Restoration Hardware look for less — check out the diy tutorial

butterfly mobile:  handmade and available in my shop

board and batten accent wall:  less than $100 over a weekend — read the diy tutorial

8×10″ parenthesis frames:  Michael’s pinewood frame painted in Sherman-Williams Mellow Coral

pink ombre butterfly wall art: Colleen Karis Designs; no longer available from T J Maxx/Home Goods


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11 thoughts on “Baby’s New Room Reveal”

    • Aw, thanks, Sarah! The ruffle curtains still aren’t done, but that will at least give me another post! Thanks again for your uplifting comment!

  • This is a very beautiful and still usable room! A combination you don’t always see…

    I had to laugh about your wish for one room to build closeness. I’m one of five and my younger sisters, who shared rooms for forever, recently admitted to my Mom that at night they would fight viciously, but silently… so that she and my dad wouldn’t hear and stop them!

    • Ha! That’s a great story! Do they bond about it now later in life? Share stories around the Thanksgiving table that weren’t funny back then but are now? My sister and I had our share of quibbles, too, but I now look back on that time fondly {not sure what she would say about it, however!}. Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Kathleen!

  • You are truly gifted. Your blog’s are beautiful. I really like the weekend entry way and have been figuring how to fit that in our home. I really like the idea of creating something new for your little girl with her own room instead if hand me downs. It just inspires me its never too late. For our little one we did her nursery up with new items along with family made decorations and accents. Yet now we have a foster daughter we hope to adopt and her room is just a Hodge podge of things. Yet, it’s not too late to make her room extra special for her in this stage she is in now. She didn’t miss out on a nursery, we can make her feel she has a place all her own now with the room we can do together now. Keep going with you passion, you can hear the love you have for what you do in how you write. Thank you for sharing it with us.

  • I LOVE this! And I Love you!!!
    Where did you find such a striking model?!?! ?
    I need to rent you for about a month to help me with all my unfinished, desperately needed projects around our house!
    Thank you for your inspiration! ❤️

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