It’s purely coincidental that today’s prompt is to share a room tour and we’ve been working on updating Ella’s bedroom over the summer. The updates have been subtle since we’re hoping to move soon and I didn’t want to spend money on anything we couldn’t use in the new house. The plan was to eliminate the playroom (at the girls’ request) and separate them before school started. After a few really promising showings and positive vibes from our real estate agent, we put a halt on the separation, but that was after we had given what would be Ella’s room a mini update. We’ve decided to keep the girls in the same room for now, so they are enjoying a few small updates together, along with a super cute DIY Book Nook!
Because I can’t resist a little flashback action, here is a room tour I shared way back in 2009. Ella was a little nugget sleeping in a twin sized bed, but many other details in the room remained unchanged.
Here is another shot from last December. Most of what you see in the photo is still going strong, but we have changed the bedding (and finally took down the Christmas trees!).
She knew we only had a couple hundred dollars to spend and I asked what her biggest issues were. She told me she wanted new “big girl” bedding, a longer bed skirt so she could utilize the storage underneath, less “baby” accessories and some kind of pinboard or bulletin board. Easy right?
I found the white geometric bedding and sequined pillows at TJMaxx and the floral sheets were a Homegoods find. We won’t get to use the sheets again (she’s moving to a queen sized bed eventually), but the quilt set will work just as well after our move. I used a vintage chenille bedspread instead of a bed skirt — we just put it between the mattress and boxsprings and it was the perfect length! We added under bed storage boxes for all of the toys she wasn’t quite ready to part with.
She really wanted to remove the valances and switch out the fabric in her closet doors, but we were afraid we were working on borrowed time. She agreed to leave those for now and if the house doesn’t sell before the holidays, I’ll likely swap those out while I’m off work for a few weeks. We did restyle the shelves and move all of her books to another area of her room, leaving us plenty of room for baskets and a few of her favorite accessories. To the casual bystander there isn’t much of a difference, but she feels like everything is more grown up.
This shelving unit got a similar treatment. I removed baby pictures and trinkets that have been there since this was a nursery and swapped them out for a few paintings and other treasures that she loves.
Instead of a pinboard, we grabbed the springs from her crib out of storage and hung it on the wall. I’ve only seen this done with vintage springs, so I was skeptical, but we both really love how it turned out. I need to have a few more photos printed for her, but she loves hanging things with a few mini clothespins. A last minute request was some sort of lantern or hanging light above her dresser and my mom had this old shade skeleton in her attic. I picked up an Edison bulb at Walmart over the weekend and whipped up a cord cover with some sheer fabric and a hot glue gun!
The biggest transformation to her room was this tiny closet. With the exception of one small shelf at the top, this is exactly what it looked like when we bought the house twelve years ago. I have no idea why we never did anything much with it before, but it was such a waste of space! At the beginning of summer, we had this closet stacked high with mini rubbermaid containers filled with tiny toys and an over-the-door organizer full of Barbies. We moved all of that under the bed and got ready for a mini makeover.
I’m a terrible blogger and didn’t take any photos of our progress (you can blame Snapchat), but this is one of those projects that doesn’t really need a tutorial. I gave everything a good scrub before painting the inside of the closet and the door. We had some white melamine shelves left over from the bathroom update, so we cut them down to size and used cleats to attach them to the walls. This made the perfect little nook for all of Ella’s books and she still has room to grow!
The guitar was a Christmas gift she begged for several years ago and although she’s never taken a single lesson, she still thinks it’s beautiful. It’s one of those very unfunctional gifts that you buy just because you know they will love it. Instead of keeping it in the closet, I ordered a white wall mount and we hung it up! The closet door won’t close with the guitar hanging, but I doubt we ever have a need to close it anyway. The ghost chair was a Hobby Lobby find and the pink pillow is from Homegoods.
We added a few frames and trinkets that she wasn’t ready to part with, along with some baskets on the top and bottom shelves to hide little girl treasures. A sixteen inch deep closet isn’t much in the way of clothes storage (thank you, old house), but it works so perfectly for a bookcase. I’m not sure what took me so long to tackle this project!
I know the changes are minor, but she loves her “new room” and will enjoy it for as long as we’re here. We’re already working on inspiration for her room at the new house and it will be very different from what you see here. She wants white walls with black accents and a few pops of color, so I’m going to bask in the glow of little girl rooms for a few more weeks.
I’m joining Bailey for Blogtember, where we’ll be linking up daily posts throughout September. Visit Love Bailey Jean to see a list of the prompts and join in!
