Pre-Tween Bedroom Inspiration + Mood Board
Hi There! 2022 is fast-approaching, and I’ve recently turned my attention to updating my six-year-old daughter’s bedroom. Well, it’s not exactly recent— I’ve been working on putting it together for about two years now. It all started while I was updating my two boys’ bedrooms during my sabbatical from blogging (is that a thing?). Their rooms are still coming together, and I hope to feature as I get certain pieces in place. So anyway, at some point while working on my sons’ rooms, I became interested in a canopy bed. I’m not sure exactly what inspired the sudden interest, but one day I found myself wanting the campaign canopy bed from Anthropologie that had been discontinued for a couple of years (strange since I saw it many times in the store and didn’t consider it). I think it may have something to do with seeing Carolina Herrera, Jr’s canopy bed so charmingly plopped right in the middle of her living room.
No, it isn’t quite a regular bed, but a daybed similar to the vintage, architectural Italian style canopy bed from Anthropologie. Just like this daybed, the Anthropologie canopy bed’s header and footer are the same height so it can be used as a daybed if needed. I thought how cute it would be for my daughter, Tabitha; and when she outgrew it, I too could use it as a daybed in the living room or den. (brilliant!) I showed her the bed and of course she loved it ( in all fairness with her imagination in full gear, it doesn’t take much to excite her with something dreamy like a canopy bed).
From that point on, the hunt to find the discontinued canopy bed was on. I searched day and night online, and became kind of obsessed with looking on Facebook Market. After about a year of searching, I nearly fell off the couch when I found someone selling the Anthropologie bed for $100.00! But all that excitement quickly dissipated when the seller wrote, “Someone, offered to buy it already, but if they don’t show, you’re next in line.” I tried to keep my hopes high; but alas, it was not to be (insert full, crocodile tears here).
As I continued to search for the canopy bed, or (by this point) something similar (I had finally come to terms with the reality that I wasn’t finding it), my concept for the bedroom evolved. I found this picture, and loved the subtle patterns mixed with the more bold mint color. (I took this snapshot from my television.)
The room had a loveliness that was childlike, yet mature enough to grow with my daughter. The mint color also reminded me of Gidget’s room from 1965. Her room was a minty color mixed with traditional, deep wood furniture that had a timeless appeal— very super sweet.
I’m very happy to say I finally found a bed from the Waterloo company in the UK. It is similar to the Anthropologie version and I was able to customize it to my own specifications. I ordered it in ivory for a more romantic look (I can always paint it if I want to change it later). Like the Anthropologie version, the header and footer will be the same height, and I opted not to have fabric on it to give it the architectural feel I was looking for.
I wanted to replace the wallpaper (see current below) with something that conveyed the pretty, subtle feel of the inspiration room—nothing to graphic. So after ordering a few samples that didn’t work, I ordered this one. They weren’t offering samples so I’m excited to see what it looks like in person.
Although I’ll be changing furnishings quiet a bit, there is still some furniture that will stay in the room, like this Bombay dresser. It adds a classic element, and grounds the bright color.
And this end table and lamp will stay as well since they fit in a more mature room.
I also included an unexpected, fun element—a shoe chair. I’ve always thought of shoe chairs as a little cheesy until I saw it done really fun in this living room. I think a little cheese can go a long way, don’t you? Ha!
So with all that in mind, below is the mood board I put together. It has the subtle yet bright elements, the elusive canopy bed, and some of the furniture my daughter already has that can continue to grow with her.
Of course, as a design psychologist, I have been paying special attention to the vision statement I created from a series of assessments that guide the furnishings for my home.
My vision statement is as follows: my ideal home encourages self-acceptance and self-expression; conveys a sense of warmth, nurture, and stability; encourages play and structure; and reflects my cultural experiences, and love of travel and family with spirit and soul.
So my inspiration room checked off a few boxes for me, including warmth, play, and stability. No longer a baby, I checked with my daughter to see what she thought of the mood board; and not surprisingly she really liked it. But truth be told, she has not quiet developed hard line opinions about her room yet so I’m still pretty much running the ship on the design details. However, in my attempt to encourage self-expression, I’m keeping in mind that she’ll likely have more of an opinion as time goes on, and so I will not fill her room with things; but rather, leave spaces for her to add her own mark. She did say she wanted the canopy to have curtain panels (for hiding I presume). And I told her we’ll see if we can work that in later (still thinking how to do that).
This bedroom won’t be finished before the holidays (the bed isn’t even scheduled to come until early next year); but in the meantime, I’ll be excited to get started on the wallpaper and paint. What do you think—did I capture the inspiration room and home vision statement? Always open to feedback because “it takes a village”.
Here are a few resources from the mood board above: Loews diamond jute rug; vintage Barbie Slim Aaron pic; Ashley Home Modern Heirloom bedding; Society6 Colorful Geometric Pillow Sham; accordion table lamp by Hays; postmodern chair from Chairish; waterfall desk from Chairish; and French chest on chest from Chairish.
