I’ve been promising this blog post for an age but here it finally is; the girls bedroom make over!

This particular room in our home has definitely gone through the ringer. It was originally a spare room and we painted a gorgeous forest green feature wall. It then became Aria’s room when she moved out of her cot and now its the girls shared bedroom and I’m hoping that we’re done making over this room for a little while! As much as I love the minimalist, muted colours look, I know that it’s definitely not what Aria and Maia want for their room. They want fun, pink and bright and so that’s exactly what I wanted to give them while still keeping things practical. So let’s start at the very beginning… well the beginning of this makeover.

Although the room had already been painted when we moved Aria into it a few years back, it just didn’t feel complete or playful and fun enough. And so on a whim (which truly drives Dan nuts) I went and bought some bright pink paint and we painted the stripe feature wall. I’d seen it all over Pinterest and it seemed easy enough… and it was! Plus because you only need a small amount of paint, it’s really affordable as well. It probably took us about 20min to do and we did two coats. What a difference this wall made! The room looked so much more fun and playful, perfect for our two crazy toddlers.

The next item that I wanted to give a new lease on life was the bookshelf. Our girls love their books so we have a lot that we have collected over the years (and quite a few from when Dan and I were kids) and so I wanted to give the bookshelf an overhaul so that our precious books had a beautiful home. I did a very amateur reel that you can watch over here but this, like the stripe wall was quick and affordable too. The first thing we did was rough it up with some sandpaper, this is to make sure that the new paint sticks properly and wont start flaking after a few months. Once this was done and we had given it a wipe down and we painted it white with some paint we already had. This turned out to be a matte paint which while it looks great, is not practical. It scuffs and marks easily and you can’t really wipe it down and so I gave the whole bookshelf two light coats of Rust-Oleum Clear Gloss. It worked so well and doesn’t look overly shiny which is great. Next I used some contact adhesive paper (I grabbed mine from Checkers but you can also get from most hardware stores and PEP Home often has) to add a bit more interest and colour. I only used it on the inside of the bookshelf and it was really easy to do, basically like covering a book. If you do get any bubbles you can just peel the paper back slightly and place it down again. In terms of longevity, ours has been on for a good 4 months now and it isn’t damaged or peeling at all. This is such an easy and inexpensive ways to change up a bookshelf and when you’re tired of it, you can literally just peel it off and there will be little to no damage underneath it. What a win!

If you want to read about our favourite books, you can do so over here.

One of the big items that we had to purchase and needed to save for was a bunk bed. Luckily we already had the mattresses, we just needed the frame. We chose to go for a bunk bed partly because Aria had been begging for one and partly because they just save so much space, leaving the room looking less cluttered. I wish I could recommend the supplier that we used but unfortunately they were an absolute nightmare and actually didn’t even deliver what I had ordered (I wanted the bottom bunk to be raised). In the end it wasn’t worth the fight and Dan said that when the time came, he could adjust the frame to raise the bottom bunk. If you are on the lookout for a bunk bed (or any kids furniture really), I would 100% recommend Declan and Leah. Yes, you will probably have to save a little longer (or make use of their payment plan) but their quality is unbeaten and our furniture from them is still going strong 3 years (and lots of toddler play) later. If I had to do it all again, I would go straight to Nell-Mari and her team. The one thing I will say that I am not enjoying about bunk beds is that it is a bit more difficult for me to change the linen for the top bunk. I don’t trust the ladder to hold my weight and so I need Aria to help me take the sheet off the far corners. Other than that though, it’s great!

Once the bed was sorted, we needed new linen. Aria already had some but Maia had just moved out of her cot and so we needed a duvet, pillows, etc for her. Because the room was already quite busy in terms of colour, I wanted to keep the beds simple and so I opted for plain white duvet covers (they came with one pillow case too) and then this cute rainbow fitted sheet and then a matching rainbow pillow case of course. I made a pink silk pillow case for each of the girls as well. When winter rolls around, my mom has made the girls some really gorgeous quilts that will match their room perfectly.

Another piece of furniture that I wanted to add to their room was a chair, but one big enough that both of them or myself/Dan and one of them could fit on. I hit up my favourite spot to shop, Facebook Marketplace and found this amazing wicker chair that was already painted a very pale lilac; it matched the room perfectly and was a great size! It came with the big cushion and all I needed to do was recover it. I chose to go with the white faux fur to add some texture to the room and I just love how it turned out. Of course no comfy chair is complete without some scatter cushions and so I found two smallish ones at the back of the linen cupboard that we weren’t using and recovered them in some fabric. I went for pink and purple florals, Aria’s two favourite colours and the florals tied in well with the contact paper that I used for the bookshelf.

I really loved the idea of the wall above the bookshelf being a busy, gallery inspired wall. I really went all out with the room being colourful and fun! I collected all the wall decor over quite a long period and I think I might still want to add one or two more photo frames, but we’ll get there. I’m going to list all the wall decor and other decor below with links to where you can find them, and if the items where thrifted, I’ll link to something similar.

Round play mat: We’ve had our pink cloud play mat from Ma Petite for years and it’s still perfect! When it needs a wash, I just pop it into the machine and that’s that. We tend to move ours around between the bedroom and play room.

Rattan dolls pram: This was Maia’s birthday present and it was just one of the best purchases that we’ve made, both of the girls play with it all the time and it’s really great quality.

Fabric basket: I thrifted this ages ago and just used left over fabric from recovering the scatter cushions to cover the bottom of the basket so that it matched the room. I’ve linked a similar basket from Basketly. Baskets are like gold to me and they all have a function. I use this particular one to store all the toys that end up in the girls bedroom during the day, once it’s full we haul it to the play area and pack everything away. This method works well for us and ensures that the girls bedroom always looks (relatively) tidy.

Wall hanger: This was also thrifted from Yard Sale but I’ve linked a similar one from Mayalief. This obviously looks gorge but it’s perfect for hanging the girls gowns and bags on.

Weaves: These were made by my lovely friend Ali who has now moved to Ireland. I’ve linked Fine and Fibre’s profile as she is also brilliant and takes custom orders. I’m a big fan of weavings, they are so pretty, add gorgeous texture and are a great point of interest. Remember to group in 3’s, it works best!

Pom pom wreath: Do you remember this from Christmas? I loved this Fine and Fibre creation so much, I couldn’t bare to pack it away and so Dan popped it up on the girls wall above the chair and I think it looks great!

Knitted names: I think it’s always special to have one or two personalised items in a childs room, Georgies Boutique gifted up these knitted names a year or so ago and they’ve been hanging on the bedroom wall since they arrived. They are of course customisable which is always great.

Rainbow raindrop garland: Another Georgies Boutique creation. Of course Aria loves it because it has glitter and I love it because it adds such a fab pop of colour.

Hanging rainbow: The rainbow trend is still going strong and we love this one from Fine and Fibre.

Unicorn wall hanging: This is actually made to hang your bows on but Aria kept taking them down and playing with them and so now it’s just a feature on the wall… but it still looks so great! This one was gifted to us by Mia Moo. I see that they haven’t been active on social media for a while though so if they are no longer available, contact A Girl and her Boo as she custom makes felt items.

Star night light: Another great thrifing find, this time from Claires Clearout. It was blue and so we just gave it two coats of spray paint and it was the perfect fit for the girls room. I’ve linked a similar one from Mr Price Home

Wooden whale: Ah how we love this whale (and lilac breasted roller) from Good Shepard Toys that my folks gave the girls for Christmas. This is a wonderful local business that makes the most beautiful wooden animals and characters. Hand crafted and hand painted, they are so well worth looking at. They regularly restock their items so just keep checking in if the product you want is currently out of stock.

Wooden stacking rainbow: I’m sure by now you can see why I love thrifting so much, you can find such amazing stuff! This wooden stacking rainbow was another Claires Clearout find but I’ve linked a similar one that you can get from one of my fave local brands, Liv Bespoke.

We still have two things that we want to do to completely finish off this room; remove the curtain and add a roman blind like we did in phase one of our bedroom makeover then sort out the floor. We just aren’t loving the wooden floors and are seriously considering laying carpet in all of the rooms… but we’ll see, time will tell.

This bedroom definitely didn’t happen over night, in fact it took a good 5 months of us saving for the big items, finding all the smaller items, upcycling furniture, etc. but now its one of my favourite rooms in our home and the girls just love spending time in it which of course is the most important thing to me. I love that Dan and I did it up with so much love (and under our breath swearing sometimes), that we incorporated things that the girls love and that it’s a room that can easily be changed as they grow up.

Now it’s time to start brainstorming (and saving) for our next project…

*All photos taken by Tamaryn Lee Photography