The time has finally come to makeover Emma’s bedroom. Now that she is officially a ‘tween’, it’s time that her room grew up a little too.
I can’t believe that not so long ago I was picking out a cot for her room, and now it’s time to upgrade Emma’s single bed to double. I’m getting emotional just thinking about it.
Emma loves her current room. I’ve always allowed her to decorate any way she sees fit, and her walls are a riot of colour covered in artwork, posters and souvenirs from special events.
Over the past few years she has been letting go of toys that she no longer enjoys playing with and has grown out of, and yet, there is so much stuff!
Honestly, how can a kid have so much stuff? All made even more cluttered by the fact that Emma likes displaying EVERYTHING. It’s overwhelming, even for a maximalist like me.
Here’s what Emma’s room currently looks like now.
What prompted me to decide it was time for a major room overhaul were two very practical reasons, one of which was that this room needs more storage. But more importantly, Mr Man has some extended leave from work, so he can help me with the big projects.
What Emma needs – Bedroom Makeover priorities:
- More storage – Emma’s current room has nowhere near enough storage for all of her stuff. She loves to collect and display treasures, so hopefully storing the utilitarian stuff will help her meaningful items shine.
- Clothing Hanging space – With no wardrobe her only hanging space is a mobile clothing rack which looks kind of messy.
- Sturdy bed & Comfy Mattress – Emma’s current bed is quite wobbly and the mattress springs are kind of lumpy. It wasn’t really an issue when she was smaller and lighter, but now that she is bigger, she has been complaining about the mattress being uncomfortable.
- Curtains – I hastily made these ‘curtains’ from block out curtain lining fabric when Emma was a baby, with the intention of upgrading them when I had some time, but 10 years on they are still just 2 bits of fabric hastily clipped onto a wire.
Aesthetic and decor updates aren’t a big driver for this room redo, but since we had to purchase furniture, I thought it was important that we made choices that would be suitable both practically and stylistically for a teen’s room.
While we are at it, I thought it was a good opportunity to patch some cracks in the walls (our house is old), and repaint the room (because I’m not moving wardrobes to paint later!)
Here are some mood boards I’ve put together to give Emma an idea of what her bedroom makeover might look like.
The room is quite dark as it faces south, so I’ve yet to decide on the colour scheme. Emma is quite keen on a soft green, but I’m worried it will make the space feel too cold.
I quite like a warmer color in there like a soft terracotta or peach.
My next job is to get some paint samples so we can choose a paint colour that works with the light in the room. I’m hoping to get started on the wall prep and painting this weekend.
I’ll be keeping Emma’s current drawer units, desk and chair. We have purchased two Pax wardrobes, and a double bed sized base with drawers for storage underneath, from IKEA.
So excited about all that under bed storage! Hopefully it will help keep things like shoes, costumes, bags and bedding out-of-the-way.
We haven’t bought a mattress yet, I’ll wait to sort out the soft furnishings till after we’ve painted and put the large furniture in.
The black and white striped rug is currently in our lounge room, but doesn’t quite work there, so I think putting it in Emma’s new room will be a better fit.
Emma is quite excited but at the same time anxious about the big change. Hopefully it will all turn out as I’m imagining it in my mind, and that this room upgrade will serve her well till she decides to redo the room herself (or leave home).
I can’t believe that this may be the last bed I buy for her – sob!
Anyway, what do you think of Emma’s bedroom makeover plans? Would love to hear which colour you prefer.
Stay tuned for the progress report and final reveal.
I’m glad you are letting her be in on the decisions for her new room makeover. I say that because a long time ago when I was her age, my mom, bless her, surprised me with a brand new set of furniture and decor..without warning me ahead of time! I walked out of my comfy room to go to school, and came home to brand new everything…and it was overwhelming. I really never quite liked that new room..just too much of a shock…where was all my stuff kind of feeling.
I love the mint green, fresh and bright and compliments the white furniture and the rug.
We painted my Emma’s bedroom “Garden Spot” (Behr) several years ago when she was around 10. The color was completely her choice, and I had my doubts, but after it was done I loved it. She chose lots of black & white accents. Room faces Northwest. This summer, at 17, she’s decided it’s time for a different direction and next week we’re painting three walls grey and one a deep purple.
https://www.behr.com/consumer/ColorDetailView/430D-4
Sounds lovely.
Good luck with the paint colour…..its probably the most difficult choice (which is why I seem to have “antique white USA all over my house!)
Cant go wrong with Ikea -practical and neutral when it comes to furniture.
I’ve fallen in love with Kip & Co’s velvet range of bedding – great colours and soft textures…and couldn’t help notice the “field of Dreams” linen on your mood board- very much on my wish list.
Also love the “rag rug” style cushion cover – just started doing this myself thinking I’d make a rug, very time consuming so I think the rug will become a cushion!
Understand how you feel about the overall…we’ve just upgraded our 9 year olds bed to a tri bunk ( double on bottom, single on top with ample head space between the beds) picked it up secondhand as they don’t make this particular one anymore. great for friends sleepovers and/or extra guests when you don’t have that spare bedroom and don’t want to drag out the inflatable bed.
Good luck and have fun!
Yes, I think I’ve been to the paint shop for sample pots maybe 3 times now. All the Kip & Co range is beautiful, but I might use it as inspo for making our own bedding out of vintage fabric.
I’ve spent the whole weekend patching and prepping walls – always a bigger job than planned.
I vote for what others are calling Mint Green. I’m going to show your before pictures to my granddaughter and let her know she is completely normal to have too much stuff displayed. These young people are so creative and they need “stuff”.
I agree the pinky one is warmer but i like they minty one more sorry 🙂 good luck!