To the Nines by Design: August 2016

I thought I'd start my first blog post with my first job! A friend of mine asked me to create a sweet and shabby bedroom for her daughter's 10th birthday. I love nothing more than transforming rooms with hand-crafted pieces and this one was so fun! One of my main priorities was to design a space that would grow with her. The last thing a 10 year old girl wants is to have her room look "babyish" so I tried to keep that in mind while putting the project together.

Before

After

The first step was choosing fabric for the rag quilt so that I could find a compatible wall color. I carefully chose fabrics that were pretty but grown up enough to avoid looking like a baby blanket. I had never made one before and found these instructions to be really helpful: Sew-Can-She Rag Quilt Tutorial. I used the scrap fabric to make a pillow and desk chair cushion.

Quilt

Scrap fabric pillow & seat cushion

Next I found the headboard and desk on Craig's list and refinished them. For the headboard I layered gray paint then cream for a distressed two-tone effect. For the desk I used gray paint and some vintage-inspired papers and decoupaged them into the inserts. This part was tricky and a little frustrating but I was really happy with the way it turned out. (Please excuse my cluttered porch; I am a very sloppy crafter!)

Before

After

Decoupage close-up

Scrapbook-paper-lined drawers

Headboard

For the window treatments I used canvas drop cloths from Home Depot trimmed out with some gorgeous rosette fabric. I also made mock roman shade valances to hide the dark blinds without removing them. Roman shades are pretty time-consuming for me but I love the look. The side tables were thrift store finds that I refinished. The color on the walls is "Serene Journey" by Behr.

Rosette curtains & side table

Roman valance (sorry for the terrible pic!)

Pedestal display side table

To lighten up the bathroom without painting the nice wood cabinets and mirror frame I had to get a little creative. This adorable heart and flower swag really punched up the drama in the bathroom. For her jewelry display I purchased an old window at one of my favorite shops, Barn Dance Vintage and added the plywood to the back and the knobs on the front. I made the banner on my Silhouette Cameo machine. To get the lace effect that I used on various items around the room I spray painted pink paint over a large scrap of lace as a stencil.

Before