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Monday, February 25, 2013

Painting a tween room: color update

In my last post I shared a design board for my younger daughter's room. Now a tween, her room needed an update. Repainting the walls was the easiest and most budget-friendly way. That was all she wanted, anyway. She was pushing for a shade of purple; the louder the better. I wanted something more mauve or a darker lilac.

We tackled the project this past weekend. I have some touching up still to do and of course, the cleaning up. Here is a peek.



The color we settled on was Benjamin Moore's Hazy Lilac.

 
 

After buying a sample and testing it on the walls I had initially decided to lighten the color by 50%. I also decided to use Home Depot's BEHR Premium Plus Ultra (paint and primer in one) in order to keep this budget friendly. By computer, the store is able to match and lighten or darken colors to other brands based on the formula.
 
Somehow, perhaps because it was a busy afternoon when I visited Home Depot last week, I came away with the original shade of Hazy Lilac. It was not lightened. I chose to use the color anyway. It had been my daughter's original #1 choice.
 
I love how it looks and more importantly, so does my daughter.
 
Of course, we removed the tree wall stickers from the walls before painting.
 
 
These are the stickers she chose to save and reuse in the newly painted room. They were easy to remove.
 
 
 
Her favorites are the owls, the porcupine, birds, a few flowers and leaves. Where they will go is yet to be determined.
 
Over the next couple of days I will put the room back together. There are a couple of elements that will need a little time to be worked on.
 
It sets off the floral chandelier beautifully.

This is before.

 
 
And now.
 
 


This is a great color for a tween/teen. Fresh and modern and girlish. I love the contrast with the white trim. It will work well with the other elements in the room. 

Click here to see the design board for this room.
 
I shall be back with more updates.
 

If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.
I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.
 
Please Note: I have not been compensated in any way by the owners of this shop. The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely mine and are based on my experience with the shop and on my purchase of products.


 

Friday, February 8, 2013

Updating A Girl's Room - Design Boards

If I had created a basic design board for my youngest daughter's room a few years ago, this is what it might have looked like. She was about 8 years old then.
 
Source List: 
1. Scroll Tree Wall Stickers - Wall Sticker Outlet
2. Bed by Young America - local furniture store
3. Dresser and mirror - the same store above
4. Table lamp - PB teen
5. Kids' artwork inspired by Maria Carluccio - made by my kids
6. Curtains - west elm
7. Bed linen - PB teen
8. Paper table lamp - PB teen
9. Jenny Lind night stand - Land of Nod
10. Desk and hutch - local store
11. Blue Bayou - Benjamin Moore
12. Shag carpet tile - Flor
13. Bean bag - Pier 1
14. Bungee Office chair - The Container Store
 (Please note - Some of the items listed above are no longer available).
 

The room used to be my study. Blue Bayou by Benjamin Moore was already on the walls. When she moved to that room we kept  the color and worked with it to bring in additional colors and pieces which she was excited about. We already had the bed.

Now she is 11. It is time for an easy update with a reconfiguration of the same furniture. I strongly believe in the power of paint to transform a room. She is into shades of purple - the medium tones.
 
There is a purple in the linen as well as the chandelier. This color will also go well with the golden yellow curtains from west elm. The butterfly artwork done by the girls will tie in beautifully.

 This would be the design board with the new plan for the room.
 
Changes to Source List:
1. The Tree wall sticker will be "edited" - we shall keep the owls and some of the other cute animals but not the whole tree.
5. The artwork done by the kids in a Maria Carluccio style.

11. The new wall color from the 3 below.
 
 
 
 
(The bean bag has been removed so #13 is the Bungee Office Chair from The Container Store).
 
The furniture has been reconfigured and the room looks bigger than before. That will be shared in time. The next step is to paint samples of the 3 shortlisted colors (above) on the walls and pick one.
 
As you can see, this is no major overhaul. In a couple of years, she might want something different. A new paint color on the walls is the easiest and most cost-effective way to update and to change the look and feel of a space. And yes, a new layout of the furniture, if possible, works wonders, too.
 
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and if you, like us, are heading into inclement weather, stay safe and warm.
 

If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.

 
I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.


 

Friday, February 1, 2013

Creative and inspiring kids' rooms

While I consider what I might do to redecorate my youngest daughter's room, I have been looking at some truly inspiring pictures to see what others have done.
 
Creating a child's room, whatever the age, should be about allowing one's imagination and perhaps that of the child, to run wild. This is where they will spend time relaxing, perhaps doing homework, reading, dreaming, tapping into their individual creativity. It should reflect their personality. If you can, give them what they want.
 
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I love all of these - the color, the artwork, the imagination. For such a space I believe there should be no rules in terms of designing. Are you inspired?
 
I will share further details of our room makeover next week.
 
Enjoy your weekend! Where did January go, I ask!
 
If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.
 
I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.