KAIA'S ROOM: THE PLAN AND A SNEAK PEEK!

A new tween room is coming! It’s been a long time since we last revealed a room and this one coming up next belongs to one of my favourite people ever; my daughter Kaia! So many of you have been curious how we’d address the girls’ rooms in our newest rental house, now that they’ve grown from their shared room in our last house.

With the move to Rental House #3, both girls have their very own rooms for the first time! The timing couldn’t have been better (they are 11 years old!) and although there are still sleepovers in each others’ rooms, there actually haven’t been as many as I thought there may be and both kids are loving the new space and privacy that comes with a room of your own.

One of the fun things about designing older kids rooms is that the kids themselves love to be involved. Kaia had some very firm ideas on this space and while she got the pendant light from the last room, she picked this fun and playful wallpaper herself as well as asking for a desk, pinboard and one of those hanging swing chairs.

Here’s an in progress sneak peek below. All the fun accessories (hello hanging chair, wall art, pillows, etc.) are still to come.

in progress girls room with floral wallpaper

The Plan:

Like all good plans, some items are subject to change. This design board is similar to what’s presented to a client on presentation day; it’s a great way to showcase the key items for a space all pulled together to give the overall look and feel of the room.

Since the full reveal is still weeks away (the delays have been looong for some items), today we’re sharing the key items that make up this tween room so that you can shop the room for yourself!

GET THE LOOK

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BLACK AND GREY TEEN BOY ROOM REVEAL

Our very first teen room reveal is here! I’m so excited to share this special space with you and definitely can’t take full credit for this one. Working together with my sister Amanda, we wanted to create a cozy bedroom for her son, my nephew Carter and this project involved bouncing lots of ideas off of each other before deciding on focusing on using pieces that would last him from now into adult life.

SHOP THE LOOK:

Want the truth? This teen boy didn’t exactly love the throw blanket or pretty pillows on his bed but definitely loved the dark grey (Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal) shiplap wall and his gaming centre on the other side of the room (not pictured).

The entire space is pulled together with this bold black and white rug from our favourite line of performance rugs. These rugs are kid proof, teen proof and are even hoseable!

These simple wall sconces free up precious space on the cement bedside tables and provide ambient lighting when the overhead light isn’t needed.

We used a Pointer and Pine flag as art above the bed and this pretty lumbar pillow from Etsy.

SOPHIE + MINJI'S PASTEL MODERN BASEMENT PLAYROOM

Our newest and girliest playroom reveal is here!!! I am beyond excited to share Sophie & Minji’s playful, fun and pastel-hued playroom.

This project started before drywall was even up and I have loved seeing it come to life right from the beginning.

modern girls pink and floral playroom

BEAN BAG CHAIR

“I love these bean bag chairs so much as the fabric is beyond practical with kids, the bottom has a water resistant layer of protection and the rope handle makes moving them around a breeze!”

girls playroom with art

When an unused area in a basement becomes designated for a children’s playroom, the sky really is the limit. The girls’ playroom is full of all the things that dreams are made of; loads of art supplies, books and activity kits, toys, games, giant bean bag chairs and a TV lounge area for relax time.

girls pastel playroom

SHOP THE POST…

These white wall shelves are so practical: they store baskets full of toys, act as a display case for treasured pieces and are the ideal set up for rotating toys as children change and grow through development stages.

playful pastel playroom shelving

The high impact wallpaper completely changed the space the moment it was put up. This large scale print works perfectly for this basement playroom and the colours and pattern add SO much fun to the space. These simple white shelves (a favourite from my own girls shared room) work beautifully in many spaces and function as a gallery for art and toys that can easily be rotated. This shorter size is ideal here!

While a large art table was the focal point for one side of the room, the TV lounge area formed the focal point for the other. Working around a large TV in a children’s space can be tricky, so we used the IKEA Besta unit for added storage in this area and an opportunity to pull a few playful elements, like the globe, into this space. The play kitchen is a highly recommended toy in any playroom and this one is a firm fave for these little clients.

modern girls playroom with tv lounge area and bean bag chairs
playroom bean bag chair
kidkraft play kitchen

SHOP THE LOOK…

art table in kids playroom

The built-in nook is a storage area for arts and crafts supplies and the book shelves provide the perfect spot to rotate books. The large baskets underneath hold blankets for snuggling up!

THE PLAYROOM NOOK AT THE BEGINNING…

playroom nook before

THE PLAYROOM NOOK AFTER!

modern book nook
cozy playroom nook details

And finally, the book wall! A good book wall will forever be one of my favourite ways to display kids books.

playroom bookwall bookshelves

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KASE'S BASEMENT MEDIA ROOM TURNED PLAYROOM REVEAL!

Don’t mind if we take a week off revealing our rental house to reveal a new client media room turned playroom! This playroom was destined to be cool from the start and I am beyond excited to be able to share it with you all now.

My brief was to create a mini-man cave, with enough storage to house toys, crafts, a TV area, a snack bar (gasp!) and a twin bed turned train/play table for a 5 year old boy to live out his days. What a dream! I could see the vision for this one right away and knew it needed to have bold wallpaper and a practical / bold rug to match.

media room turned neutral playroom

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As it is a media room, lighting was a big consideration and a blue led strip light was changed to create a completely different atmosphere. There are also no windows in this space, which meant we had four entire walls to decorate.

Organization and storage were high on the list, so I chose this sturdy and large unit to house lots of toys, legos and a big train set (along with dozens of other toys). I love how spacious this storage system is, and we changed the handles to tie in with the rest of the room. You can see the twin bed turned Lego / train table above and it is one of the best DIY tables I’ve seen!

The bold wallpaper that my client went for is by Rebecca Atwood. Her wallpapers are beyond special and this one makes such a big impact! The giant wall world map is by Gathre.

storage unit in neutral children’s playroom
detail of playroom shelves

On the other side of the room, there’s a TV and lounge area. These beanbag chairs are beyond kid-friendly and perfect for Mom or Dad too! The bold PLAY letters are from Restoration Hardware.

playroom tv wall

One of the most exciting parts of this space is the snack area. A mini fridge for easy-to-grab drinks and a microwave for convenient movie popcorn! Snacks are kept below and are perfect for playdates and family movie nights. In the corner, the play table works double duty as a place to eat and also a place for arts and crafts. We added the pendant light to help define this area and I love how the small gallery wall pulls the whole corner together.

Kids neutral basement playroom with snack table and mini bar
ikea hack playroom play kitchen
media room turned playroom with wet bar

This playroom was an absolute joy to create. Thank you for stopping by!

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RENTAL HOUSE: OUR TWIN GIRLS' SHARED ROOM!

Well, here we are…the second room reveal of the rental house!!! If you caught the before photo in last week’s post of this space, you’ll remember that one twin wasn’t too thrilled about moving into that room. I’m happy to report that with a little re-decoration, both girls now love this space!

pink and white shared girls room

SHOP THE LOOK…

What started with a super basic room (and still is) has turned into a pretty and fresh space for my sweet girlies to make their own memories in. As with so many before and afters, a fresh coat of paint was a big help. I hesitated in sharing this room because the beds didn’t feel right. We have had these Ikea wood beds for a while now, waiting until we move into a permanent house where we could transition the girls into bigger, more substantial beds. It didn’t seem worth buying interim ones for this rental house, so we just painted them white and kept them as is. The pictures in the frames have been swapped out a few times, but the girls love these forest animals, so this is where we’ve landed for now.

twin girl shared room

After a full coat of paint, then adding a wall of wallpaper, the focus turned to finding enough space for a little storage. This dresser is more traditional than my typical style, but it was the exact fit for a functional side table and clothes keeper between the beds. I just love how the simple round mirror pulls the big wall together. The sweetest little lamb and bunny are from Cuddle + Kind, one of my favourite Canadian companies, who donate 10 meals to kids in need for every doll purchased.

white metal bookshelf in girl room
dresser with white lamp

You might have spotted these bookshelves before in the post about how to style your kids’ shelves. I still love the simplicity of these white metal shelves and recommend them for storing books and pretty things anywhere in your house.

In this next photo, you can see the window side of the room. This is South facing and lets in a lot of light! While I typically wouldn’t add custom shades to a rental, it was an absolute need to have blackout for this window. I just LOVE how these turned out and really feel that this fabric gives the space a little bit of a special feel. They are from Tonic Living, who were a joy to work with. You can also find the rug here.

pink white and wood shared girls room
wood dollhouse with purses on hooks under window
girls and Melissa

The wood dollhouse is on my gift list each year and has been a firm favourite with our girls for a few years now. It is a big hit with play dates and I’m always amazed by how long our two girls play with it independently. The hooks are old from Anthropologie and the purses are from a trip to Australia. Above right are my sweet girls who I am so lucky to have been able to decorate this room for! Credit for this image goes to my patient husband who took the kids out of the house during quarantine so that I could shoot the room and then came back and snapped this photo for us.

pretty little girl room

In case anyone thought that their room looks like this all the time, please know that a styled shoot is just that! The second they walked in the door, the girls were up and jumping on their beds as usual and soon enough, the trinkets will be back on their dresser and shelves. After all, pretty spaces become even more beautiful when they are lived in and loved.

kids jumping on bed in girls room

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