Home renovations are a bittersweet mix between exhilarating new things and complete mental exhaustion from the actual process. I think most would agree, that once you've completed projects, you really hope that you won't be having to revisit the paint shop or see another bucket of spackle for bare minimum a millennia. So personally I find children's rooms the most critical when designing. Much like fashion and quite frankly most things in life, trends are fleeting. If you go by your child's new favorite hue, in approximately a week (give or take a day) you find out that it's no longer pink, now its green. And don't get me started on characters! As they get older and more "cool", it only gets worse as their once beautiful room is now "BASIC".
Pardonne-moi?
In our case, we have three little fashionistas to account for.
Granted one is still in diapers, so that was actually a HELPFUL thing for once,
we still had to deal with two completely different girls with completely different styles.
One wanted the room purple, the other wanted hot pink...AGAIN! My husband still has PTSD from the amount of hot pink there was in their bedroom in our previous home. So how did I find a compromise between Purple Rain and Pinkalicious? Well the ONE thing they both agreed on was they wanted their room to be and I quote "totallyyyy fancy glamorous" and "sparkles and diamonds everywhere".
That is 100000% my little ladies.
I'm naturally an extra person, and they have by far surpassed me at this point.
I created these little glam monsters and I wouldn't have it any other way!
But maybe everyone say a little prayer for my poor husband, he's overrun by
all the estrogen in the house.
Creatively we don't just go overboard with decor or fashion, we also love a good party, which is what inspired their new bedroom theme.
It's a tradition that every year a few months before their birthdays, we go "Pinterest Shopping" for a birthday theme. I collect pins throughout the year and have them scroll through to see what they like. Well for my oldest daughter's 5th birthday she had 3 main requests : 1.) She could "wear a gown" 2.) it had to be super fancy and 3.) we could have plastic champagne glasses for everyone to drink out of "like at Christmas with our Sparkling Grape Juice". She is the original diva and by far my most dramatic child. Well when she scrolled across a little fashionista in a big black tulle dress, big round sunglasses, pearls, and tiara, she had felt heard by the internet! I love old hollywood ANYTHING and of course Audrey Hepburn, so a Tiffany's theme was right up my alley too. Needless to say, we had the most fabulous time creating things for that party and I will definitely post that at another time. My middle daughter even loved it and years later they still play with all the faux pearls, tiaras, sunglasses and bring up how fun the party was. I realized THIS was one of the only things that they do agree upon, and so was the birth of their Breakfast at Tiffany's themed room.
First order of business was finding that perfect Tiffany blue shade and doing a little research for the mood board - there is alwaysss a mood board! Thanks to Hulu (it's also on Amazon -link below), I was able to find the documentary "Crazy About Tiffany's".
Not only was I inspired by the aesthetic of this documentary, but I also fell more in love with the brand itself. In all honesty, I've never owned anything from Tiffany's, nor was I ever particularly inclined to. I'm an artist and a visual person in general, so the branding was what I have always found most engaging; that and the mass global appeal of that "little blue box". But after watching the documentary, I really came to admire the creator of the brand Charles Lewis Tiffany. The film goes more in depth on his work ethic and passion for the brand as well as the reasoning behind his choice of that particular shade. The actual Tiffany's shade is a proprietary color that is under lock and key at Pantone LLC. So quite literally, no one will ever have the exact shade, but bless Pinterest because people we have a perfect dupe!
Let me introduce you to Scuba Green by Benjamin Moore
When placed alongside the little blue box, it is an almost exact match. This shade looks lovely in every lighting; which I find most important because how irritating is it to pick a shade at the paint shop and get home and see that it is not at all what you envisioned? One of my greatest hacks for finding a shade is spending the money on a peel-n-stick paint sample from Samplize. This company is phenomenal! It has saved so much time, money, and energy in our home renovations! The money saved alone is enough reason to try them. You pay around $8 for a peel-n-stick vinyl of the EXACT shade you would purchase and place on your wall for a visual reference. More over you can try it on every wall to see how the lighting changes, which is especially important if you are painting walls that are part of an open floor plan. Nothing is more annoying then finding the perfect shade for one area of an open floor plan and then realizing it becomes a completely different one in another area. That completely breaks up the even flow you're going for. Now compare that to a yes slightly cheaper sample paint for $4, but also one you have to paint a minuscule swatch 2 to 3 times to eehm & uhm about before you eventually have to repaint over anyways. NO THANK YOU! Samplize has so many different paint brands to choose from, but our pick has always been Benjamin Moore. Here is a link to Samplize's sample of Scuba Green.
Their room is literally a perfect square, so this color truly made it look like you are inside a little Tiffany's box. Instead of doing a classic "white ribbon" paint border around the room, I decided to incorporate the classic white into the curtains and rug.
White rug.
I know what you're thinking - we were thinking it too.
We were adventurous in their room in our old house and gave them beige rugs. In all seriousness, it stayed beige for years! I know shocking! We only had one hiccup when a stomach bug hit the house and our little princess turned into The Exorcist. Not to place blame, but it would've been a simple little clean up it someone ::cough cough:: Daddy ::cough cough:: hadn't panicked and bleached the microscopic spot ... I digress! Because it worked so well, we decided to live dangerously (mom jokes galore) and get white carpet. We used our local carpet shops Fred's Carpet and I honestly can't say enough nice things about them. They are a family run business with equally charming customer service. They are just lovely and they helped us pick out the perfect carpet! To answer my middle one's request of "sparkles and diamonds everywhere", we chose a diamond shaped finial curtain rod :
We bought them in the shade Nickel because as usual I believe in using mixed metals in designs to balance the warmth and coolness in every design.
But the "diamonds" didn't end there! When I say pictures don't do these these absolutely beautiful tie backs justice, I truly mean it! They shine so lovely but also look so elegant and just add a nice visual touch when the curtains aren't being held back. I'm even thinking of incorporating them into our Master Bedroom.
The lovely sheen of these White Faux Silk Curtains, added more to the luxurious feel.
I am a self-proclaimed "GLAMazon" because I practically LIVE off of Amazon. "Where'd you get that Dani?" "Amazon" - is in constant conversation in my life. Let's be real, whether you're a mom, a student, or just constantly busy, anything that will come in 2-3 days makes the day just easier! So most products I buy are from Amazon. But I do also shop with Overstock and Wayfair too. For the beds, I found this Jude Platform Bed by Viv + Rae on Wayfair. At the time they were already 22% off listing price but the Teal version happened to be on clearance. I was able to get them for 50% off on top of the Wayfair sale price. With needing to purchase two, I technically got a twofer!
Anyone who has ever stepped into a Hobby Lobby has seen these Wall Crowns, except in black. We used these same crowns in their last room and had sprayed them hot pink, so this time around they got a fresh coat of paint in silver. Hobby Lobby tends to have them on sale throughout the year so I was able to get them for $10 each at the time. The metallics continued on to the Aqua Mermaid Scale Bedding. This bedding's comforter has a rich teal lining and came with a matching Aqua polka dot sheet set and toss pillows. I love layering patterns in a similar color scheme to add more visual interest.
Money Saving Tip: Rakuten FTW! I have to apologize to my cousin, because she had been telling me about Rakuten for years and I never got around to checking it out. Now I use it non-stop! If I'm shopping online or even on my phone, I always check Rakuten first. The idea is you shop the stores you normally do but through Rakuten and you get cash back. Not bitcoins or rewards points - an ACTUAL CHECK IN THE MAIL. They have a great referal program too. When you refer a friend and they make their first purchase you BOTH get $20 in the process. To my cousin Anna, I'm sorry you were totally right, I love you!
Below is my personal link if you'd like to get started with Rakuten:
Now to the REAL pièce de résistance, the Custom Wall Vinyl courtesy of Made by Michelle 4U .
Michelle really helped the vision come alive with this art piece!
I've mentioned before, I truly feel your home should feel like you live in a boutique hotel, no matter what design style you're into. As you'll come to see, that reflects in little elements throughout our home. One of my favorite fun design elements are door plates. Every room in our home has a distinct feel and coordinating doorplate. Their custom "Tiffany Suite" Doorplate comes from the same Etsy user I have always used for my designs. He does beautiful work and has extraordinary customer service considering he's out of the country. I will definitely continue to work with him in the future!
Another piece that I think really sent the design over the edge were the Audrey Pillow covers. I originally purchased them on AliExpress but unfortunately the seller isn't active anymore. That's one of the only annoying things about AliExpress, but sometimes the deals are really worth the risk. I found these from another seller on Ali -BUT DISCLAIMER I have NOT tried these out myself so try at your own risk! You will find that I post as many links as possible to help give you the resources you need to create your design and some of my links are affiliates but I only post things I truly believe in or have tried myself UNLESS OTHERWISE indicated ...like right now with this link :
The 16" Chrome Flush Mount Chandelier was an Overstock buy but seems no longer available. This a similar one :
Money Saving Tip: If you're going to be furnishing a home or at the very minimum purchasing large items on Overstock you should absolutely sign up for Club O. There is a free trial period and then after there is a small yearly fee, but you get cash back in rewards. I was able to get one chandelier for the dining room completely FREE because of the cash back rewards. Plus if you leave honest reviews on products you will also get cash rewards $2-$40 per review, depending on the item.
We still have a few more things to add to the room but I'm happy to say its 90% done and the girls absolutely ADORE IT!
Going back to my original argument about children's rooms being critical in design, it's the fact that they change their minds so often that you can't just ask them for permanent input. But you also don't want to go too simplistic and take away from the fantasy and fun of it all. Their bedroom isn't just the place they sleep, it's where they dream out loud. It's their own private little hideaway and it should look and feel special and surround them in more creative energy. What I love about this theme is the fact that it can grow with them. And I know this sounds like when every bride goes to their bridesmaids "you can shorten the dress and wear it again" (... I mean ours were awesome so I stand by this lol) but truly this theme does give all the fun but also a sophisticated edge at the same time. It can go from toddler to teen. Meaning you can put the paint roller aside for a few more years.
Win, win all around darlings!
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