Fairy Garden Big Girl Bedroom

My daughter’s bright green  Fairy Garden bedroom has been gradually transforming from a nursery to a big girl room for the past few months.  Thanks to some hand-me-down furniture and some crafty additions, I was able to finish off her room for VERY little money!

Here is the reason for the changes to the room: her pretty, new, big girl bed.  Which she doesn’t want to sleep in.  But that’s another story. 

My parents happened to have one more bed than they had bedrooms, so they offered to let us have it for her room.  The bedframe was an oak color, and I wanted a lighter feeling for the space.  I spent what felt like forever painting three and four coats of white paint on the head and footboard… and now you can hardly see them.  Oh well.  What you can see looks nice!

[tissue paper poms] – [tulip pillowcase]

The duvet is an IKEA set that my mom found for a deal and I couldn’t have picked a better fabric myself.  The colors are just right and the hand-drawn look of the flowers is perfect for a child’s room.  I picked up a bright pink sheet set to go with the watercolor tulip pillow I made when we first moved in The Mad House.

The three throw pillows are fat quarters from the fabric store, sewn up, and stuffed with polyfill.  Yes, I broke out the sewing machine a few times for this room.  Now, that’s love.

Instead of a traditional bed skirt, I used a remnant of sheer fabric and safety pinned the material to the top of the box spring.  I also pinned on the adorable pennant bunting that  I got from A to Zebra Celebrations a few years back.

Are you noticing the floors?  Please notice the floors.  My husband and I ripped out the nasty old berber carpet and I spot sanded and stained the hardwood myself.  A post on that process is coming up soon.

There was just enough room next to the bed for a round side table, also brought over from my parents’!  The table cloth fit perfectly, but the faux eyelet ruffle wasn’t quite playful enough for the room.  I dip dyed the bottom of the fabric in diluted pink tie dye and I love the way it turned out!

I was sure I had killed off our backyard roses last summer, but they came back big and beautiful this year!  I just had to clip a few for the Fairy Garden room. 

The lamp base was another hand-me-down.  It was originally milk glass and oak wood.  I took the lamp apart, spray painted the wood, and re-assembled it.  I found the Target Threshold lampshade for a few bucks at Goodwill and covered over the coral trim with pink grosgrain to bring out the pinks in the floral print.

[stenciled watercolors] – [glittered piggy bank] – [bow holding monogram]

If you like Mad in Crafts on facebook, you may remember me posting a picture of a dresser that my mom found on Craigslist.  The dresser fit perfectly into the small alcove in the room, and I gave it just a few DIY touches to personalize it.  I will post more about the dresser makeover later in the week.

The IKEA duvet set came with a pair of matching pillow shams.  Since a little girl has no real use for pillow shams (come to think of it, nobody really has a use for pillow shams), I put the fabric to work in a different way.  I ripped out the seams and hemmed up the raw edges.  I sewed in a small pocket and turned those useless shams into a valence for the only window in the room.

[watercolor tie dye curtains]

All the hand-drawn/watercolor flower prints in the room are all a reference back to the ginormous watercolor flowers I painted to cover her closet.  The tie dye is still holding up beautifully, and I so prefer curtains to closet doors in a child’s room.

The traditional new-mom glider sits in the last corner of her room under the same pendant lamp that hung in my nursery (spray-painted now).  The chair is still a great place for snuggles and stories, but as she gets older, it will likely be replaced with a more kid-friendly reading area.

Just for comparison’s sake, this is what the room looked like when we bought the house.  It took over a year to get it finished, but I am really happy with the transformation.

While she isn’t totally sold on the idea of a big girl bed in a big girl room, I love the way the room turned out.  I think it will grow with her nicely.  Just so long as she doesn’t grow too quickly.

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Thanks,  Jessica