As you may know by now, from how I explained my daughter’s love for all things green and how I redid my daughter’s room (so I didn’t have to paint the whole room green!), my daughter has very certain ideas about how things should be.
Especially HER room.
The impetus for the whole room move-around in our house is to give her a bigger room, because she plays in her room and makes a huge mess, and she needs a lot of space for that. (Note sarcasm. Kind of.)
Once I told her we were going to give her the bigger bedroom upstairs, I could tell her wheels started turning.
Then, one day, when I got out of the shower, I saw that she was reading one of my magazines. Better Homes and Gardens, in fact – what every six-year-old reads for fun. She said, “Mom, I want my room to look like THIS,” and she opened the magazine to this picture:
Source: Better Homes and Gardens Magazine
“OK. Just like that?” I asked.
“Well, yes. Green walls, white bed, blue poufy things, white and blue curtains. Yep,” she replied.
Alrighty then.
So, I started doing some research. Here’s what I found:
Right. Well, that isn’t going to happen.
The good news is that (a) she already has a white bed; and (b) we have a black and white rug, although not zebra stripes. Here’s the cost breakdown for our budget version, including the bed and rug we have, and (affiliate link ->) the blue poufs I bought from Amazon:
I’d say we have a good start. Now, I need to find curtains and the right color paint.
Yes, I’m going to paint the whole dang room green. Yes, even though I said I wasn’t going to do that the last time she asked me.
Why the change? First, the room she’s moving into is much, much bigger with much bigger windows. That means more light, and that means a green room isn’t going to feel like a cave. Second, the green color in the picture (“Lime Green” by Ralph Lauren) isn’t as strong or dark a color as “Grass Stain,” which is the color in her current room.
(Because I can’t seem to find a retailer of Ralph Lauren paint in Atlanta, I’m going to see if someone can match the color.)
The moral of the story here?
You can get a designer look on a small budget.
Also, I’m a sucker.
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A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.
How fun! That’s so great that you have the flexibility to move rooms. We had too many kids and too few rooms!
I understand! We wanted to be upstairs with the kids when they were babies but, now that they’re older, it’ll be good to be away from them – at least a little away from them!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Somerset-Home-Metallic-Window-Panel-Grommet-Curtains-Set-of-2/35669847
Cool – thanks, Kristin!
You could buy an inexpensive white rug and paint the zebra stripes on it!
That would be a great alternative! So creative! Thanks!!
I love the picture your daughter selected and your alternatives. You should be able to get the Ralph Lauren paint at Lowe’s. At least all the Lowe’s I’ve ever been to have carried it (I’m in Birmingham).
Excellent! Thank you, Kem!
You’ve done a great job in transforming your daughter’s bedroom. You can find curtains similar to the original photo at either TJ Maxx, or, Marshalls, in their shower curtain section. I bought 3 of that exact pattern @ $14.99 each. Good luck!
Excellent – I’ll have to check that out. Thank you!!!
If you knit or crochet or have friends who do , you can make the poofs for the price of yarn and stuffing. I have seen them and they are very similar to what you showed us. Happy knitting/crocheting!
What a cool idea! I don’t knit or crochet, but I have friends who do. Thank you! Can I find a pattern online?
of course–pinterest!~ they spell it pouf though. try LA LOVE and use the translator ( in Dutch ) and ofcatsandcrafts.com for just two–enter knitted or crocheted pouf pattern. hope this helps you!
Great! Thank you for the info!!
Found tutorials for the pouf and ottomans on Apartment Therapy site–10 Tutorials for DIY Floor Poufs and Ottomans. Surely one of these will be good for your daughter.
Wow-thank you so much!!