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Motherhood Simplified.

Home tour: Mia’s “big girl” room (Part 1)

April 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment

I FINALLY finished updating my daughter’s room from a nursery to a “big-girl room” and I am thrilled to finally be showing it off (after lots of teaser posts).

big girl room reveal, girl's room, bedroom redo
big girl room reveal, girl's room, bedroom redo
big girl room reveal, girl's room, bedroom redo

My daughter, Mia, is closing in on the 2 1/2 year mark, and her baby brother is due in a mere 6 weeks, so it was time for her to have a more functional room for her age and to transition into a bed so we could move the crib into the new nursery.

We’ve been working on this room for a good 6 months… we had quite a few DIY projects to complete. After taking out all her baby toys and getting her more advanced things to play with (who knew kids grow tired of rattles at some point? … ), my first task was to create an indoor hanging tent.

big girl room reveal, girl's room, bedroom redo
See how I made this DIY indoor hanging tent

I posted about it a while back, but since then I have updated it by adding a mini hula hoop up top instead of an embroidery ring. This really helped open it up and gave Mia more space inside the tent.

Above the tent hangs a collection of Dick & Jane images that were from my first baby shower. They say things like “Mommy sews. Mommy will teach Amelia to sew. Sewing with Mommy is fun,” and “Amelia will read. Read, Amelia, read.” So precious! The other frames hold vintage children’s patterns.

girl's room, vintage pattern art, dick and jane art
girl's room, vintage pattern art, dick and jane art

After the tent, my husband and I created plans for and built a pallet toddler bed for her. I am thrilled with how it turned out; it has space for her shoes, a spot for her to sit, and is low to the ground so she can hop right in.

big girl room reveal, girl's room, bedroom redo
See how we made this DIY pallet toddler bed
big girl room reveal, girl's room, bedroom redo

Once the bed was done, we made a headboard with nothing but wood planks (leftover from the pallet bed), some nails, and some paint. I lightly sanded the edges in various spots to distress it a bit after painting. To hang it, we screwed two pieces of wood about 2″ wide (length was a little shorter than the length of the 5 planks) to the wall where the studs were and then nailed the painted planks right into those 2 pieces of wood. It was so simple and I like the industrial look of the nails, so I didn’t even worry about covering them up.

big girl room reveal, girl's room, bedroom redo

My final DIY task was to create a quilt and matching pillow for her new bed. I am proud to say this is the first quilt I have made start to finish! There were some definite hiccups along the way, but I learned a lot and am really pleased with the outcome. I was originally inspired by this quilt from Land of Nod (it’s no longer for sale).

big girl room reveal, girl's room, bedroom redo

There’s lots more to show! See Part 2, where I cover the other side of the room and all the little details!

 

Link Parties:

  • Tip Junkie
  • Five Days… 5 Ways
  • The Shabby Nest

Related posts:

  1. Home tour: Mia’s “big girl” room (Part 2)
  2. Home Tour: Boy nursery reveal
  3. Settling in
  4. Our teeny, tiny playroom reveal

Filed Under: crafting Tagged With: girl, home, home tour

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HI! I'M AMY.

I'M A BLOGGER, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, MOM, COFFEE ADDICT, DIYER, CHRONIC MULTITASKER AND STRESSCASE, A COOK AND A LOVER OF A GOOD GLASS OF WINE.
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I get it. It's a little weird. But the girls I've I get it. It's a little weird.
But the girls I've seen do it best, look adorable.

I think it looks best with an oversized tee or sweatshirt, tennies or slides, and a small crossbody bag.

You can't argue with comfort.

For the record, these are women's sleep shorts that I've had a couple of years from Old Navy. If you buy actual men's boxers, you might consider sewing up the pee pocket 😜

Don't spend a lot on this trend; these shorts are made from the thinnest of fabric and shouldn't cost much. Don't be fooled by a retailer that wants you to spend just because it's trendy.

But if you see some cute boxers and want to give it a go - then do! Bonus - if/when the trend ends, you'll have pajamas on the ready 👏

It's solid weekend wear, but I'm not going out to dinner in it...

#boxershortsforgirls #boxershort #ootd #womensfashion #styleinspiration
Another project down in my son's room! I knew I w Another project down in my son's room!

I knew I wanted some sort of built-in feature in this bedroom, but it was hard to figure out what, because we turned it into an active space where he could run and play and needed a lot of room.

So I settled on a built-in bookcase with the slatted design feature, which I'm in love with!

The best part about it is that if he ever decides to upgrade his bed, the space will also accommodate a full or queen size bed going in the opposite direction. It adds so much interest to this room and hopefully will be here for a long time!

One of the things I love most about DIY projects is figuring out how to make something - it's like a giant puzzle. I saw photos of these slotted wall room dividers on Pinterest and just figured it out as I went. All in all, I had very few hiccups and it only took me a few hours to put together. I think I only cursed once?!? And so I call that an extreme DIY win...

Now that the sports wall, the climbing wall, and the built-in feature are complete, the last thing to do in here is some additional painting. I'm thinking of using a contrasting blue color for the closet doors and back side of the built-in, and perhaps trimming out the window with it as well. Then I need to switch out the light for a fan and this.room.is done 🙌

Details: I used two IKEA billy bookshelves, screwed together and secured to the wall. Then wrapped them in white oak plywood. I ripped down 2x4s into 1.5x1.5" square dowels (heavily sanded!) and used pocket holes on the back side of each to secure to the bookshelf and the 1x4 in the ceiling. It's very sturdy!

Go back in my reels to see the other projects from this room! 

#diy #boysroom #roomrenovation #roomrefresh #kidsrooms #climbingwall #soccerbedroom #builtins #bedroomredo #girlswhobuild
This climbing wall took half a day and cost under This climbing wall took half a day and cost under $100!

We are lucky enough to have 13' ceilings in our bedrooms, so a climbing wall seemed to make sense in my son's room as we worked on the remodel.

He is a super active kid with #ADHD, so his room redo has involved lots of activity spaces! Go back in my reels to see past projects and follow to see me finish this up!

#diy #roomrenovation #roomrefresh #kidsrooms #climbingwall #soccerbedroom
Another to-do checked off my list for spring break Another to-do checked off my list for spring break room makeover!

I added very subtle striping to the wall to mimic a soccer field and keep things classy. ⚽

Stick around to see the next project - a climbing wall!

(And go back in my reels to see the sports wall)

#roommakeover #soccer #kidsroom

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