For the past two months I’ve been sharing various furniture makeover projects with you. And finally after all this sweat and toil, I am ready to show you the girls’ mostly black and white bedroom in full.
I’ve included links to all the projects at the end of the post.
It was quite a tall order. And I’ll be the first to say I am not a decorator, but I know when something doesn’t look right…or more importantly, I know how a room makes me feel. So I went with my gut on this one.
This is not exactly what you expect from a young ladies room but that Hemnes dresser was the starting point. We painted the walls white….
At first I was against the idea but then after a read of the DIY Home Planner I relented and decided to free myself up. After all this is their room, I shouldn’t be fighting them! Why not go along with their idea.
And this was the result. A reverse ombre wall with a space there on the top! My youngest painted the wall in two days and to say that my jaw dropped is an understatement. It turned out so much better than I expected. It was a win-win for everyone especially since the older daughter loves blue.
Now you may think the placement of the beds is a bit odd, but this was their choice and since I had freed myself to go along with their ideas, I went along with this radical for me furniture placement. It may seem a bit tight when you walk in but then you have this space that is anchored by the blue rug.
Each girl chose her own duvet cover, so that the room was not too matchy-matchy. Aww, I would have loved matchy-matchy, but I have to respect their differences. There was no way my blue-loving girl was going to go with a gray striped pattern.
The lamps were also given a makeover and look nice and fresh to fit in the room.
At this point they have deliberately not really hung anything on the walls (except for some fairy lights above the bed to the right you see below). My younger one uses the wall as a backdrop to make her videos so she wanted a blank slate. This side of the room is very calm.
This came about when I went to the basement and found the Cinderella dresser, as I fondly call it. It was in very bad shape but I knew if I gave it a makeover and placed it between the two Billy bookcases I’d have a huge amount of storage. The mirror was the crowning glory.
Covering all those boxes in toile contact paper servers to unify the whole thing. Otherwise there would have been so much color, it would have defeated the purpose of the room – remember tranquil and calm.
We’ve placed a very simple black desk next to the bookcase for the computer and the shelf on top is for a few necessities. Actually, the shelf was there from before and we thought we would just work with it. It turns out we really like it there.
For seating the girls are using an old ottoman that has storage but this is just temporary. Although it does look rather good.
I just had to share this photo of my Cinderella dresser, notice how nice and shiny the top is? And it is hard as a rock now that the paint has cured. You know it is going to get a lot of abuse with all those beauty products!
By the way, I just found out this dresser is called a Campaign dresser. I was looking through the internet and saw another one from Crate and Barrel priced for $699. Not a bad upcycle!
I think I did pretty well considering that we had to start from scratch.
But the most important thing here is that my girls absolutely love their room. It came out much better then what they expected. And it was all the result of teamwork and of this mama keeping an open mind and really paying attention to what they had to say. And if we have a bit of color peeking through, well that’s okay, I promise not to freak out. You can also see lots more ideas on how to get a fun bedroom here.
I hope you have enjoyed the tour of the mostly black and white bedroom and maybe you too have come away with some ideas. Even if this is not your style it always helps to look at things from someone else’s point of view, even if it means painting a whole wall in ombre!
I’ve included links to all the projects below.
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This blog is for entertainment purposes only; my DIY tutorials are not professional advice. Read my full disclaimer here.
I love it when I get your comments and I will try to reply to every one of them. Please do not add a hyperlink to your comment, otherwise it cannot be published.
Christina Makri
Tuesday 8th of May 2018
OMG Mary! What have you done here! It is a gorgeous space for both of your girls. Chic, girly and with a little drama! You did excellent work my friend! Hugs and kisses to you and your girls!
Patti Estep
Monday 23rd of April 2018
Beautiful. It's amazing how chic black and white can be in a room and the add touch of blue (my favorite color) added a little something extra. Props to you for making over such a beautiful room with a tight budget.
Mary
Monday 23rd of April 2018
Thank you Patti. It is ever evolving but for now, it is my favorite room in the house. I'm curious to see what they do to it in the coming months.
Debrashoppeno5
Monday 23rd of April 2018
The bedroom looks fabulous. It is so tranquil, which a bedroom should be. It is a great escape to do all the things young women are interested in.
Mary
Monday 23rd of April 2018
The older girl loves to read her books in there. The younger one makes her videos and it was really important that she have a space that was a blank canvas for that. Sometimes I even go in and shoot some projects because the lighting in there is amazing.
Debbie
Monday 23rd of April 2018
Hi Mary, what a lovely uncluttered and simple room. Perfect for resting and relaxing. The ombre wall does add a nice touch of colour to the room and as for the stars? They're a touch I like, my two had something similar when they were small, but are too old and jaded (cool) now admit to liking them. Covering alll those boxes were worth it too, they look really neat on the shelves. xx
Mary
Monday 23rd of April 2018
The stars was their idea and I guess they just want to express themselves. The truth is that in the winter it is tough here so having a space of their own was very important since they spend so many hours in there. It had to be just perfect for them.
Michelle
Monday 23rd of April 2018
Mary you have so many great ideas. I love the black and white floral storage boxes on the shelves. So pretty!
Mary
Monday 23rd of April 2018
Those boxes are so practical and with the same covering it looks like a garden in there.