Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Little Girl's Bedroom Makeover


I had to put on my decorator suit one more time as the  DIY makeover bug had struck me again.
This time it directed me to my little girl's bedroom.
The before makeover photo of Little Girl's bedroom
A Disney Princess themed room just decorated by yours truly 2 years ago

The past week therefore was all about wallpaper stripping, wall painting and wallpaper hanging.
Wallpaper stripping this time was uncomplicated. Even wallpaper solution was no longer needed.
I just simply tried the corner of the wallpaper, loosen it and peeled it with my hands or with my putty knife.
Sometimes the whole paper came off in one piece or  just the surface layer with the bottom layer still in the wall. This,  I just sponged it with a warm soapy water and most of the time it just peeled away by hand or with the aid of my putty knife.
Wallpaper stripping in progress.
Allotted 2 hours a night when little girl was asleep in our bed

As soon as all the walls were bared ( side walls stripped with the wallpaper and the feature wall mural removed) came the wallpaper and paint colour selection and finalisation.

This time I wanted to decorate my little girl's bedroom with something she can grow into.
I scoured for different wallpaper prints in the internet. Once my top choices were narrowed down I let my little girl picked the one she likes best.
Next came the paint colour selection. Her old room was very pink so we made sure it wasn't in the list of choices.
With her new wallpaper in mind I know green would be the perfect match for the side walls.
But never did I imagine colour Green could have so many shades it could possibly get!
In the end we settled with Guava Green by B&Q for the side walls.
Bare walls ready for decorating.
Several shades of paint testers on the wall.

Finally,  after a week long  of hard work with sleepless nights spent on painting, re coating and wallpaper hanging, I can finally share with you my little girl's bedroom.

Here is my little girl's green and pink vision of an owl themed bedroom with white furnitures.
The pink and green owl on a white background wallpaper is from A.S creation.
The matching Duvet set and the pink novelty owl shaped cushion are both from Just Kidding.
They were all ordered from Amazon.
(Just a warning though, an extra £3.50/per roll on the wallpaper was charged for p&p).
Her furnitures are the same ones she had previously except for the bed.
Since she travels a lot while asleep we decided it is best if she sleeps on a double size bed this time.

I wanted to keep her bedroom simple, cosy, feminine, inviting and relaxing yet still in keeping with her age at the same time.
I also wanted the feature wallpaper as the focal point of her bedroom so keeping the side walls simple and barely decorated would be fundamental.
Fabric bunting from a local toy shop with her name on it.

Furnitures for storage necessity as a basic for every girl's bedroom.
Windows dressed in pink roller blind with a matching soft pink curtain with flower details on it by Mothercare.
And a dress that serves as a wall decor yet perfectly spells the theme of the room - pink and green!

Books for bedtime reading decked her drawer chest.
Royal Doulton Bunnykins wall clock to help her learn in telling the time


The view from the opposite end of her bedroom

I only allowed her doll house and a baby in the cradle wooden toys in her bedroom to instill in her the idea that bedroom is for relaxing and sleeping only.
I don't want her to get into the habit of playing before bedtime.
There is her adjacent playroom anyway for her toys and study materials which is topping my list for my next DIY makeover projects.

Halloween is just 2 days away and I am still very busy catching up with my laundry and ironing  that piled up during the makeover days.
Pumpkins are still uncarved but hey at least as I still have tomorrow to get the house Halloween ready.
My little girl is loving her new bedroom and that's the most important thing to me at the moment.

Happy Halloween everyone.


6 comments:

  1. The room is definitely fit for a grown up girl, I love the green and pink, that was the color of Madison's old bedroom,although mostly very light pink. I think its a very lovely room! Simple and not too busy. I am definitely in awe of your efforts on those wall paper...I love the owl element. So another question...do the bedrooms there do not need closets? Just wondering, I know in the Philippines they don't require one and we always have to buy a dresser and wardrobe closet. Here in the US, for the room to be considered a room, it needs to have a built in closet within the walls/ or walk in and at least one window. I just learned that recently as I was wondering why we have 7 bedrooms in the house yet they only considered it as a 4 bedroom when we bought it...when either of those two things mentioned is missing, they don't label it as one. weird right? Anyway, great job on this DIY!
    I'll post Halloween blog soon!:P

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  2. Thank you. I am happy that my little girl really warmed up to her new bedroom straightaway. That was my goal anyway - at least all the efforts/ hardwork paid off.
    I have never heard of a room pre requisite here of a built in wardrobe. I think it is because houses here are not as a big as their American/Australian counterparts. (Well, of course America and Australia are a continent of its own and UK is just a fraction of Europe) I think it is due to the land. UK is keen on preserving its greenbelt area and given that Philippines is even bigger in land area compared to that of the UK can you therefore imagine the house sizes? And there is a bigger greenbelt area than the housing.
    UK houses varies from cottages, terraces, flats, semi detached and detached and there is no standard room sizes really. But those who can afford to build their own houses or do renovations sometimes do have their walk in wardrobes. But built in wardrobes I think are common especially on the master bedroom. I've got a double his and hers, respectively in ours.
    You said you've got 7 bedrooms and only 4 considered as rooms, so you mean to say those other 3 has a separate entrance door? Then, if they are big enough - they can be as good as individual rooms then!
    I am not really particular on house size anyway as long as my family is warm and comfortable especially on winter, that is all that matters!
    I will be posting on Halloween as well but I am still doing the cleaning now, lol.

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  3. Yes they do have separate entrances and doors, they will call it a den, an office space, a play area, anything but a room because it must meet certain requirements. Interesting. Just curious. As I have never been in Europe before and thus, I appreciate this blog so much more as it gives me a window as to how other people in other countries live. There is a certain house to lot ratio that we can built our houses on, in our case, the house has to be 40% maximum of the lot we own. Everyone has to have a front and back yard unless they are condo or townhomes due to certain property line set backs. I am very particular about lot size! I wish I could live in a big land so I can have my kids run around a forest or something, not so much about the house, as long as each one can still have their privacy, including guests, I am fine. I wanted to get a house with a pool and a big yard, but that is not happening if I want to stay in Los Angeles! or if I win the lottery! :P

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  4. I just came across this interesting facts about American bedrooms through Wikipedia

    "Many houses in America have at least two bedrooms—usually a master bedroom and one or more bedrooms for either the children or guests.
    In some jurisdictions there are basic features (such as a closet and a "means of egress") that a room must have in order to legally qualify as a bedroom. In many states, such as Alaska, bedrooms are not required to have closets and must instead meet minimum size requirements."
    May be California is part of that jurisdiction.

    I know European houses are on a smaller side especially in the urban areas again due to the space.
    That's the good thing about America, you have got so much space so it doesn't limit you.
    Bedroom sizes in the UK have become even smaller lately. I know this for a fact when we went to have a look around in the new estates. The single rooms are hardly single on our standard. Our en suite is bigger than it.
    Most often here, when renovations are done the most common way of adding space is by going up. Meaning they open up the attic as another bedroom or put an extension by adding another floor say on top of an integral garage.

    I am with you on the land size especially as I grew up with so much space around me being on a farm with only coconut trees and farm animals surrounding us. That is why I can fully understand my parents sentiment when they came here. Our garden is nothing compared to the acres of land they are used to waking up to.

    Well if like you I also win the lottery, I would move to the countryside straightaway. May be in a castle in Scotland, lol.
    I think the only closest possibility of achieving a big house with so much space with a pool is by building a house in the Philippines. That's one thing in our wishlist, hopefully. I know someday I will get my share of land inheritance and it would be nice to invest on it a house with a pool surrounded by trees. I will then invite you,lol.

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  5. another good job to you mummynors! i like the new look of Emilia's bedroom..
    everything looks great and i think the design is perfect for the growing girl..

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