MY DAUGHTER’S BEDROOM DESIGN
My daughter's bedroom is my favorite room in our house, and a dream carried out to fruition. A little backstory for you. My husband and I were living in a 2 bedroom apartment, 1.5 years into our first home search journey when our daughter was born. While she had her own bedroom when born, it was shared with miscellaneous storage, file cabinets and office supplies - typical apartment living! But I envisioned a beautifully designed space for her once we found our first home and began to daydream about what it would look like.
One day I was mindlessly scrolling Pinterest and came across this yellow parrot wallpaper on Etsy. I fell in love immediately. The combination of yellow and purple together immediately caught my eye (my favorite color combo). I loved the playfulness of the parrot print and the softness of the watercolor flowers. So I ordered a small piece to make sure I liked it in person. Fast forward another year and we're finally living in our first house, in a community we adore, and her bedroom is finally complete!
The wallpaper became the basis for the whole room’s design. I picked out Benjamin Moore Beach Plum paint to calmly balance the rest of the room, while bringing a feminine energy. I was looking for curtains that would inject a playful pattern but not overpower the bold wallpaper. I found these green and white gingham curtains on Amazon, an affordable addition, especially when needing 6 panels! With so much color and pattern going on in the vertical wall space, I wanted to anchor the rest of the room with neutrals. The area rug is a hand-woven wool find from Rugs.com. Up close it has a small scale cross-stitch pattern, adding a bit of warmth. I found a second hand cream recliner and a solid wood changing table off Facebook marketplace, both pieces that will last for a long time and were easy on the wallet. I found a simple, clean lined floor lamp that disappears into the corner.
Who doesn’t enjoy a happy whimsical parrot?!
The finishing touch of any room is brought about by those one-of-a-kind, handmade items and unique finds. I found the vintage yellow fan and organic shaped mirror both at Homegoods. A dear friend of mine gifted my daughter the darling squirrel throw pillow and the custom embroidered wall art. I made the moss inspired artwork as well as the custom green and purple piece.
Another focus of mine when designing this room was selecting items that would aid in creating a healthier indoor air environment for my daughter. To any new moms out there I'm sure you can relate. It seems like anything and everything can be a harmful exposure, and while the internet can be a scary place, I kept a logical mind and implemented items I believe will make a positive impact. Beginning with the paint, Sherwin Williams offers a Super Air Purifying paint base, and the formula actually sucks in harmful volatile organic compounds from the room to improve indoor air quality. For only a few dollars more per gallon, this was a no brainer for me. When looking for an area rug, I searched for one made of natural materials, to avoid synthetic materials that off-gas. Wool, cotton blends, linen, jute are all great options here.
Regarding furniture, I remember being 6 months pregnant and falling into a deep tailspin searching for a crib that was solid wood, safe, sustainable, a clean profile and not going to break my bank account. After lots of research and list comparisons, I am really happy with the choice I made in this Dadada crib. This crib is solid beechwood, a very sustainable wood species, made in Italy and Greenguard Gold certified. It comes with a toddler bed add on, so it can used for more than just the baby years. The design is simple, timeless and transitional when so many other options out there seem overly designed. 1.5 years in, we still love it! All of the furniture pieces in her room are made of solid wood. I wanted to avoid anything made with particleboard based MDF, which has been found to off-gas formaldehyde, a chemical that can irritate our eyes and throats and potentially lead to respiratory issues.
I hope some of these highlights above help any future parents reading make their selections a bit less stressful.
With love,
Jess