Fern’s Big Girl Room Redesign

No matter how much parents insist otherwise, decorating a nursery has little to do with a baby and more to do with a parent. We basically just decorate how we want to decorate, but really, who can fault a parent for that? When you’re decorating a nursery you’re decorating a room for a tiny, little person you don’t even know yet. You have no idea what their color preferences or interests are, so you just go off of your own aesthetic.

This is what I did when I was creating a space for Fern (see some of her nursery photos here).

I really did like the space, but as she got bigger, it became more and more clear that the space didn’t suit her personality or interests. As a nursery, Fern’s room was very gender neutral, because that’s how I decorate the rest of our home. I’m not into flowers or shabby chic prints…it’s just not my thing. That said…pure and unadulterated girliness is most definitely Fern’s thing. Her favorite colors are pink and purple and she loves all thinks “park-uh-lee” (sparkly). She loves smelling flowers and spinning like a “ballina” (ballerina) and taking care of all of her little “friends” (i.e. her dolls and stuffed animals). As such, I knew it was time to create a space that was all her own and that would appeal to her aesthetics and interests…without creating a space that looked like a Barbie dream castle exploded.

I knew there had to be some pink, but it had to be done in a way that wasn’t overly girly or baby’ish. The entire room inspiration was based off of this Rifle Paper Co. wrapping sheet I purchased while on a trip to Seattle. I knew it was destined for something special.

After I had a jumping off point for inspiration the rest of the room sort of fell into place. I was lucky enough to work with some really great companies on this project including The Land of Nod, Target, MUR and a ton of great Etsy shops and I’ll be mentioning them throughout the post as well as including a comprehensive source list at the end of the post.

So without further ado…here is the “big girl room redesign”…

Here’s the overall view of the room – I never realized how hard it was to take photos of a space! …Especially when the lighting is so terrible like it is in Fern’s room. We live in a super wooded area: tall trees + an overhang = no good natural light. I like that the white accents (the walls, the doors on the book shelf, and the rug) help to brighten things up and balance some of the darker elements in the room (like that grey comforter that I just had to have).

{storage book shelf: c/o Land of Nod, rug: c/o Target}

{comforter: c/o Target, sheets: c/o The Land of Nod, sham: c/o The Land of Nod}

Fern’s first response when she entered her new room? “Pink bow pillow Mama!!!” Apparently I’ve been depriving her of the color pink or something with my pink-hating ways. I really like the pink when it’s grounded with more neutral colors and clean lines though. It almost makes me want to extend pink into the rest of my house! I also love the little pops of whimsy and color brought in with items like the tassel garland and the deer bust (which she thought was super cool: “Mama! Deer is lookin’ at me!”).

{tassel garland: c/o Graphique Bazaar on Etsy, faux deer taxidermy: c/o Near & Deer}

The cool, modern book shelf storage from The Land of Nod is such a great example of bringing style and function into a space. I love that it’s a lovely piece of furniture that can grow with Fern over the years, but that it’s also super practical. It holds a ton of stuff and it’s really well-made to stand up to toddler antics.

{Portland print: Lark Press, bunny light: New Seasons}

{matryoshka set: Fred M}

This little reading area is probably Fern’s most favorite part of the room. She’s totally obsessed with that wire basket for her books and I adore that little vintage school chair I happened upon. It was exactly the perfect shade of pink, so I knew it had to come home with me.

{wire wall basket: c/o Land of Nod , chair: Vintage Pink, coat rack: c/o Land of Nod}

{custom glitter name banner: c/o Graphique Bazaar on Etsy, scallop closet decals: c/o MUR}

I love this glitter name banner and I probably could’ve DIY’d something similar, but I truly despise working with glitter. I just don’t do it, which is why I’m thankful for people like Sara at Graphique Bazaar who make them for me. Oh, and those scallop decals at the top of the closet were simply the polka dot decals cut in half. A friend came up with that idea, so I can’t take any credit for its cleverness.

This cute, little, cozy area is definitely my personal favorite part of the room. I loved putting together the gallery and all the little details! Also, Fern is totally obsessed with the wall decals. She just loves polka dots! I think it’s because she’s such a big Minnie Mouse fan and Minnie wears polka dots. Whatever the case, she was a fan and was especially excited that they were “park-uh-lee”.

I just want to hang out and cozy up with these pillows all day long. The carpe diem one is so cute!

{polka dot wall decals: c/o MUR, carpe diem pillow: c/o Bright July on Etsy, blanket: thrifted, other pillows: made}

I’ve wanted to create a cool art gallery wall for Fern for a really long time, but I wasn’t sure how to make it safer for a toddler, since they are prone to destruction. I kind of just envisioned all those frames falling off the wall on top of her. But, I was able to use these super cool 3M Command velcro strips  to secure them to the walls. Some of them are so strong I can’t even pull them off the walls! If I ever decide to rearrange, I’ll definitely have to have Craig help me with that one. But they definitely make me feel safer knowing that everything is securely stuck to the walls.

{“mama said” print: Ashley G, fern botanical prints: 1001 Treasures on Etsy, pink girl + cats print by Ashley G: c/o Land of Nod, chalkboard: Michaels, wood cookie heart: DIY, desert print: painted by Craig’s Grandma, floral wrapping sheet: Rifle Paper Co., others: photos/gifted}

And of course, no space for my girl would be complete without ample storage for her dolls and stuffed animals. These baskets from Target are totally perfect and I love the little chalkboards.

{woven storage basket: c/o Target, doll bed: IKEA, mirror: vintage}

And there you have it! I’m so happy that I was able to create a space that reflects who Fern is and the things she enjoys, in a way that didn’t compromise my design aesthetic. I’m really pleased with the final result and so thankful for all of the wonderful partners I had in creating this space…along with my friend who got 8,000 picture texts from me asking her opinion on the set-up from afar :).

Thanks for checking out Fern’s new space!

Love and home decor,

Lauren

 

P.S. Here is the complete source list for items that weren’t DIY’d or vintage:

Polka Dot Sheets: Land of Nod

Pink Bow Pillow Sham: Land of Nod

Comforter: Target

Rug: Target

Woven Storage Basket: Target

Storage Bookcase: Land of Nod

Coat Rack: Land of Nod

Wire Wall Storage Basket: Land of Nod

Carpe Diem Pillow: Bright July on Etsy

Faux Taxidermy: Near & Deer

Tassel Banner + Custom Glitter Name Banner: Graphique Bazaar on Etsy

Art Gallery Mounting: Command

Wall Decals: MUR

Pink Girl + Cats print Ashley G print: Land of Nod

“Mama Said” print: Ashley G

Fern botanical prints: 1001 Treasures on Etsy desert print:

Floral Wrapping Sheet: Rifle Paper Co.

Doll Bed: IKEA