House Updated

You’ve seen the peeks on Instagram but now it’s reveal time, baby, because this girl’s room is officially done!

And by “this girls’ room” I mean my 5 year old daughter’s room, not mine (although I’ve really come to love pink and absolutely love that hanging chair).

Last year, for my first One Room Challenge, I re-did my son’s room, and I’ve been overdue on creating a new room for my daughter ever since.  We moved into our house weeks (moments?) before my daughter was born.  We turned what was once a terrifying, old, second kitchen into her nursery.

Her nursery worked great for years but the second we gave my son bunk beds she started bunking in there without looking back at her old room.  But all the recent updates in her room have made her love it all over again.  Me too.

It’s taken 6 weeks to go from a sad, empty, abandoned room to a pink, fun, and personality-filled room.  Along the way, I’ve tried to convince the world that pink is a neutral, tried to convince my daughter that the hanging chair is for both of us, and tried to convince myself that if I paint a room pink my girl can stay little forever.  None of those attempts was particularly successful.  But I think this room is.

It is such a great place for my daughter to read, play, lounge, sleep, and just be her girly 5 year old self.  I mean, who doesn’t want to swing in that chair all day?

And her bed.  It is so, so cozy.

And having a dresser underneath is not only a great space-saver but also so fun for her to climb on top of to look down on her underlings (the rest of the family).  And there is even a sneaky little hideaway under her bed.  When I can’t find her, I know that tucked in behind that dresser is where she’ll be.  Often with some sort of kid contraband, of course.

Last week I finished her desk area and asked you guys about the knobs.  I was going to switch out the basic silver for gold (duh) but let my daughter pick these big pink knobs instead.  Not what I would have picked but it is her room.  And at least this new gold planter (which she also picked and that I love very, very much) helps distract from the sea of pink.

Overall I’m feeling pretty good about getting everything done – except those curtains.  I never quite got around to hemming them or replacing the rods, so that’s still on the to do list.  I may or may not ever get around to dealing with it.  But at least they function well by letting in lots of light while still affording some privacy.  And the tiny dots on them are too cute.

A big reason why I love to do the One Room Challenge is because it forces me to pick a room that is languishing in a design-less-land and to finish it in 6 weeks.  Another big part of why I love this challenge is because of all the other participants – it fosters such a creative, fun community.  And I like that.  A lot.

So in six weeks, here’s what I accomplished in my girls’ room:  the plan, pink walls and a DIY bed, hanging a chair, creating a gallery wall, and adding in a mini desk area.  Now I can quit feeling guilty about having done my son’s room last year and having ignored my daughter’s room since then.  Because really, this chair/pouf situation trumps everything.  Everything I tell you.

Below are the sources, but I’m sure I’m forgetting some so ask if you want to know more.

Hanging Chair Serena & Lily | Pouf Land of Nod | Cat Pillow Land of Nod | Toy Basket Home Goods | Bed DIY | Duvet Cover West Elm similar | Art Minted | Dresser Ikea | Ladder Shelves Ikea | Gold Lamp Land of Nod | Desk Overstock | Desk Chair Overstock | Mirror CB2 | Desk Lamp Target| Rug RugsUSA | Curtains Ikea | Planter Anthropologie

Thanks so much everyone for tagging along while I started and finished this room.  Really, saying thank you isn’t enough.  Your support and encouragement are unmatched.  And a big thanks to Linda for having the One Room Challenge – such a great event!

After all this, I’m pretty excited to a) sleep and b) get back into the living room and finish our fireplace…

The best part of my girl’s room makeover for the One Room Challenge is here – how could anything else compare to this hanging chair?

The chair hangs opposite the door to her bedroom, so it is the first thing you see when walking down the hallway.  Such an inviting view, you can understand why I like to sneak in and swing there.

I ordered the chair from Serena & Lily on a 20% off sale, but even then it is a splurge.  And worth it.  The whole family loves this chair and my daughter especially.  She reads books in it, sits in it while thinking and twirling her hair, and uses it as her place to go pout.  Side note:  I really like the frown on the cat pillow because it kind of reminds me of her when she pouts.  Second side note:  my sister made that bunny, which is not only well-loved but adorable.

Hanging this chair was super quick and easy, unlike the bed I built for her room which was easy but not as quick.  The chair comes  with the rope which was perfect for our barely over 8′ ceilings.  We installed the chair by finding a ceiling joist and marking it, pre-drilling a hole, then twisting a 4 3/4″ eye hook into the joist.  Use a screwdriver through the eye to really twist the hook into the joist.  Make sure the eye is flush to the ceiling.  Now check out these manly arms (NOT mine) in action.

Ignore the chipped plaster on the ceiling.  I didn’t even bother to touch it up as it is completely covered by the rope.  After attempting to rely on our knowledge of knots from long-ago sailing classes, we just went for multiple basic knots.  So far the knots haven’t budged an inch despite swinging by kids and adults alike.  Then we wrapped the ends of the rope into the knots.  It looks beefy, but I’m okay with that.

We hung the chair at kid-height, but it is pretty comfy for adults, too.  Especially when you get to kick up your heels on this pouf.

Because it is a kid’s room, I added a basket full of kid toys but with a lid so I don’t have to see them.  Neat freaks rejoice (that’s me).  The books are read often and the lid is easy for kids to take on and off.

The corner is finished with a cactus print.  I just like a nod to California in every room and luckily my daughter is all over that too.  I got the print in an 18×24 size but went for an over-large frame and mat.  I cut the mat myself which turned out a-okay, especially if you don’t look too closely.  It is a pretty cost-efficient way of turning a smaller piece of art into a larger statement piece.

Now that you’ve got the scoop on the chair I’m off to hang around.  Literally.  I’ve got to sneak in some swing time before my daughter catches me…

And lest you think this room is all downhill after this, I’ve got a few other fun things planned so stay tuned.  I’ll be back later with a “how to” build the loft bed and then next week will share another update on her room.  A gallery wall, I think.  In the meantime, are you guys following the designers and bloggers in this season’s One Room Challenge?  So amazing.  If you spent your entire weekend checking out all the other rooms in the challenge you wouldn’t be sorry…