Pretty Rooms for Lil’ Girls.

Well, how was your Christmas?  Was it restful or crazy busy like ours?  With about 8 gatherings to attend to, we did a lot of dumping and running to the next event so yesterday I took on the mess.  All the remains of Christmas are boxed away for another year.  I got out some of my urge to be creative and styled my mantle and all other surfaces in our main living area.  I filled 3 boxes for the second hand shop.  And it now feels like we can officially start 2011.

My girls share a room which leaves our third bedroom free to take on the role of a playroom and it works really well.  Most of their toys stay in there and I can just shut the door when I can no longer stand the mess.  We spent a good part of yesterday organizing it and finding homes for their new toys.  All that cleaning got me thinking about their bedroom and the playroom.  Both rooms need a little character and so I spent some time searching for inspiration.  The only request is that pink and purple need to be involved somehow… This room designed by Tobi Fairley is by far the best example  I’ve found that represents both pink and purple beautifully.  Don’t you think?  I love the all the colour on the walls instead of the bed and the white accents keep the room looking really fresh.  The modern touches make this a very sophisticated room that a little girl could grow into.

I’ve had the following two rooms in my file for awhile now…before the realization that my girls just might have an opinion of how they might want their room to look.  And I still love these rooms for the same reason why I loved them in the first place.  They are sweet, cheerful and have a great vintage feel.  And all the odds and ends that end up on shelves and on the floor just might be camouflaged a little more with this primary colour palette.

The cozy vintage look of these rooms is great for most of us who are on a tight budget and environmentally conscious.  A coat of paint can produce miraculous results. If you were to purchase a new dresser or bed of the same quality you might find at a thrift shop, you will pay dearly.  And cheaper knockoffs just can’t compete with the time tested quality of vintage furniture.

Just to make it fair, here are a couple rooms that keep the boys in mind too.  I think whomever designed this shared room came to a great compromise between this brother and sister.  I don’t think either one would be offended to call this their room…for a little while anyways.  And the classic Jenny Lind turned beds are my fave.  My girls had the crib version and if I ever came across a pair of vintage twin Jenny Lind beds, I’d have to spring for them.

This charming room would easily suit a boy or a girl. Don’t you think?  I love what the red does to this bed.  It just makes it so much more special than if it were left in it’s original wood stain.  You really can’t go wrong with a bunting and the mid century style light fixture fits in well.

I don’t know why I haven’t noticed this bedding before at Dwell Studio…it’s pink and it’s purple and it’s nice!  Dwell Studio has an amazing selection of textiles for your home, if you haven’t come across them before.  And if you happen to be expecting a baby and are in the market for a glider rocker, they have one that is so very chic.

This cozy room makes me realize that maybe the bedding doesn’t necessarily have to match and that the toys won’t be picked up most of the time.  And that “real” art will hang on the walls.  And that this room really isn’t my room, so maybe I should get it out of my head that there will be any red involved.  It’s pink and purple all the way.

If you’d like to share your child’s room, we’d love to take a peak.