Like many kids, I loved when school was out. Sure it was bittersweet to say goodbye to teachers and friends, but looking back, I really enjoyed my end of year "room refresh" ritual. I cleared out old assignments, made space for special mementos, and rearranged EVERY thing around to celebrate the success of another grade.
The end of this school year definitely deserved a celebration.
I was using pockets of time to work on both my girls' bedrooms, but my kindergartener finishing her first round of school gave me the overdo nudge to get both rooms done! I'll be sharing the process with you over the next couple of posts. First up is my now first grader's room, then I'll feature my younger girl's space and how it still doubles as a guest suite.
start with furniture
Back in 2017 when I stumbled upon the #myRoom line from smartstuff, I was immediately drawn to the two-tone finish. Off-white and gray wood was a combo I could see growing with my girl, and the matte black hardware tied in with the style my love and I were dreaming of in our future home.
We bought the suite before moving to our current home, and have since split the pieces (double bed, bookcase, dresser) between our two daughters' rooms. It’s worked well with their different room shapes and closet capacities, while also saving us money and time to find additional furniture.
add quality linens
Admittedly, I first focused on finding a comforter in a color and pattern my girl would love for longer than a couple of years. I struggled and soon realized I was doing my search wrong.
Like furniture, quality linens are an investment, but this time it’s for your health. Sleep is super important and your bedding needs to support the sleeper you are. Something about choosing bedding for my kids made me realize short-term savings on sheets weren’t going to help any of us rest or live well later.
With this new mindset, I took my time researching textiles, styles, and brands. I landed on an all-cotton textured white duvet that’s dreamy, classic, and adaptable to any decor. I paired it with organic cotton sheets patterned in retro rainbow hearts. So soft, breathable, and a fun reason to get in bed at night.
style for now and then
Choosing the decor style for your child’s room can be fun, challenging, or both. You may find yourself doing mental gymnastics between what your child wants (it's her room), what you want (it's your house), and how much to involve them, all the while knowing they'll grow out of their favourite thing as soon as their next favourite thing comes along.
Honestly, most kids under three have minimal opinions about what their room looks like. It was around age four when my first daughter’s love for rainbows became obvious, and since then "rainbow" has been her go-to color, thing to wear, and part of every drawing or craft she makes. These observations along with what books, toys, or general objects your child gravitates towards may provide the theme inspiration you need to create a room that resonates with them.
Ultimately, your child's style will evolve as they grow, so my biggest tip for making it a worthwhile experience now and down the road is to make decorative accents easy to remove. All of the decor on my girl’s gallery wall is mounted with 3M picture hanging strips. Layout each piece on the floor and start mounting from the center point of the gallery. It takes a bit of patience to level and mount each piece, but once they're up they can easily be repositioned and removed without damaging the wall.
Another removable idea? Peel-and-stick wallpaper. This is the way to go if you want an accent wall but want to skip the time, effort, and monetary expense of paint. I applied this delicate gold cloud-like pattern to the book nook. It ties in with the style, adds interest to the repurposed closet, and serves as a beautiful backdrop for her current and future wall decor.
My sweet girl reading in her book nook.
do you remember your childhood room?
My first bedroom also happened to have a rainbow theme going on (hmm...coincidence?).
I'd love to learn about yours and whether your style has changed. Tell me in the Comments below!
Always,
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