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Hello friends! Happy August! I love August. Summer is so fun but after two months of late nights and kids all over the place and no schedule I start to crave a little routine. Plus shopping for school supplies is my favorite. :) Bring on the end of one season and the start of another!
I know I owe you all an update on Ad’s bedroom (it will come at some point!) but today I’m sharing a few pics of El’s bedroom transformation. I’ve shared parts of her room before but thought I’d put a full post together with before and afters. When we moved into our house 8 years ago she begged me for a bedroom with purple walls. Then she became a teen and begged me for a bedroom without purple walls. Ha. Here are a few pics of her little girl room when she loved all things purple and panda bears. :)
My little dancer. :)
We ended up painting her room our main house grey color at 50%. You can find details about this grey paint (and all of my paint colors) on a printable when you sign up for my e-mail list here. This pic was taken with my phone in the evening with bad lighting – the greys look darker than they really are in person!
Once we got the new paint color figured out we moved all of her stuff into the playroom for a few days. That’s always a good time. :)
Good-bye purple! I’ll be honest. I was a little teary the day we did this. I never loved the purple, but it was like saying a final good-bye to all things little girl with my little girl. The end of an era is never an easy transition for me! Luckily this story ends well and I have loved having teen daughters. I feel like every stage with my kids is the best stage with my kids. Minus a few “teen” moments. ;)
{brass & acrylic fan/whimsical waves comforter/faux fur pillows/bed skirt}
This is how El’s room is looking today! She wanted a “non-cluttered room with white, cream, soft pink and gold accents.” So that’s what we did. El is a neat freak and likes her room to be pretty clean and organized.. don’t ask me where she gets that from. ;) We kept the ballet shoe print and her bed and nightstands. Then we switched out her ceiling fan to this updated gold/brass fan, and added these cute bubble lamps and this white waves comforter. I have this same comforter on Ad’s bed too and love it because the kids can lay on it to do homework or hang out and it always looks good! The wrinkled look never looks messy and wrinkled. :)
{ivory faux fur chair/faux fur pillows/jewelry box/bubble lamp}
I got this faux fur chair for my girls during quarantine. Just so they would have a place to mix it up and sit to read or study while they were doing on-line school. They have both loved it (it’s seriously so comfortable!). They both use it and Ad often pulls it into her room too. (PB teen has a lot of fun comfy chair options for teen rooms!)
We kept the bookcase too. I’ve had this Elsie bookcase in both of my girls’ bedrooms since we moved into our house 8 years ago and I still love them. It’s so nice when you can find furniture that transitions with kids as they grow!
{beach summer of love art/palm tree art/beach umbrella wall art}
She wanted her bookcase really simple with beach prints and I bought these 3 framed prints during the N sale last year. I had two of them on other shelves in my house and somehow they all ended up in El’s room. :) We all enjoy living by the beach but El is my child who truly LOVES the beach. It’s part of her! She would spend time there every day if she could.
Nordstrom always has cute framed prints marked down for their anniversary sale and two of El’s prints above are included. I added some other favorites from this year below (on sale through this Sunday!).
I had lots of fun ideas for the wall between her bedroom and bathroom door (was thinking of something cool with gold framed mirrors) but El kindly requested more beach prints. It’s her room! More beach prints coming up. :)
{etsy beach prints/similar gallery wall frames}
We found this cute set of digital prints on etsy and had them developed in the full size of her rose gold frames. You can also buy them already printed here. It looks like these exact frames sold out.. I linked similar options above! You can also find other fun beach print options here. There are so many cute combos available!
I had the little white desk made when we moved in this house because this corner is so small. I never imagined it would get used the way it did last year! She spent her Junior year of high school in this corner.
{similar white desk/metal frame oversized round rose gold mirror/trifold make-up mirror}
We’re hoping that this year she can just use it for make-up. ;) I bought El this trifold make-up mirror for Christmas last year and she loves it and uses it every day. A fun gift idea!
Two other beloved items in Els’ room are this pretty faux fur throw and her lights! You can’t see her multicolor LED lights in this pic – they sit right below her crown molding over her bed. She wanted them so badly for Christmas a few years ago (ALL the friends were getting them) and we caved and she’s obsessed… turns them on every night. I’m personally not a fan – they make her room look like a disco party. Ha. But I am a fan of making my sweet girl happy so multicolor LED lights it is.
And Addison has a lizard. Which by the way is HUGE now.
The things we do for our kids!
That’s where we’re at with El’s bedroom update! I’m happy to say this space is now fit for a teen. ;) She keeps all of her personal items and dance memorabilia displayed on shelves in her closet. I’d love to create a fun picture wall with photos of her and her friends above the chair (personalize the room a little more). I’d also love to add a rug and a bench at the end of her bed but El doesn’t want them! She likes things simple so I have to resist the urge to keep adding details.
Which is why I moved on to her sister’s room. ;)
Pics with El through the years..
They grow up so fast! Embrace the purple paint. Then embrace painting over the purple paint. Love them hard and be grateful for every minute.
(Proud of you El. Love, mom)
:)
Looks beautiful, Erin! Looks pretty luxurious to me. I really like the new fan you found. Very cool. I also love the beach prints. Yep, the things we do for our kiddos. What a sweet little girlie she was and a lovely young woman, who is quite the accomplished dancer it looks like. I wish her tons of success and fun in her senior year(hopefully in person this year)! Exciting times for you all! :)
Thank you Jeanne! I love that fan too and just ordered one for Ad’s room too. :) So sweet of you! xo
Her room looks great! The grey is so sophisticated. And omg! My 14 year old son begged for those LED lights too a few months ago as all of his friends have them too. You should have seen me trying to apply those darn things. And yes, I feel like I’m in a club. All we need is some base thumping and we’d be good to go! 😂😂
Thank you so much Leah! And YES! Those lights were tricky to get on right!? And totally club lights! Ha ha.. I’m so happy I’m not the only mom dealing with them! ;) xo
Her room turned out so cute! 😊
Thank you so much Mackenzie! Happy you like it! :)
Oh my Goodness! Don’t even know you, and this post made me cry!
Oh so sweet of you Lynette! xo
Thank you for this post. I am having the hardest time accepting moving to a new room style for my daughter and this made me realize it is her room. Thank you for sharing her new room. :)
I’m so happy this was helpful Jenny! It’s not always easy right? I’ve had to remind myself of that so many times and my husband had to remind me when she wanted purple in the first place (NOT what I was picturing and wanted for her room!). It’s the one space they get to call their own. I’ve been better at letting go of stuff like that as my kids get older but I get it! xo
It was a real treat seeing the new “grown up” room! :) It is beautiful and I loved seeing her style! You both did an amazing job with it!
Thank you so much Lisa! I loved seeing her style come out too. :) I’m thrilled you like it! xo
Erin – Love El’s updated room … so beautiful! Everything about it is wonderful. You are truly gifted with the ability to decorate :) I also enjoyed seeing all of the cute photos of both of you, so sweet.
Best of luck to El during her senior year and making her college choice!
That is so thoughtful of you Debbie! Thank you! xo
Love her room! I remember with my daughter how I was able to choose the colors when she was very young and then she was at an age where she wanted it different. She had a hot pink and goldfish orange room. The room lit up every time you walked in with orange walls! But I have to say it was cute and to her liking. When she was in high school her tastes changed, like El’s, with a softer color selection and sophistication. It was fun doing all the phases. However, now she is grown, married and living in a different city and I was able to re-do the room with a king size bed (similar in color /style to your guest room) so when she visits with her husband, it’s their room! Enjoy the fun times and the beautiful decorating together!
Love this Jill! Your comment just made me happy. Thank you! You definitely go through all the stages with bedrooms and I remember going through them with my mom and my room growing up too! The hot pink and orange goldfish room made me smile.. I love it when kids can express their personalities! My teen bedroom was ALL MAUVE! Kind of a pink mauve that was all the rage at the time. Ha. ;) I love that you created a fun guest room for your daughter to stay in now.. my mom did the same and we love staying in “our room” at her house when we visit! xo
Hi Erin! Okay, this post had me teary. The room is so beautiful!! What a classy space. Congratulations to your beautiful girl on starting her senior year here shortly. What sweet pictures! I danced ballet for 9 years so I appreciate that shoes painting above her bed. :) Also, my oldest boy is starting Kindergarten in a few weeks so I am feeling all the nostalgic emotional mama bittersweetness! Time flies. Enjoy your week!! Thanks for sharing with us!
Genelle! Kindergarten! That’s a big one and I’m not going to lie.. you’ll need the tissues! I cried so hard on Kole’s first day of Kindergarten Kenny was like “are you going to be ok..!?” “No.. no I’m not!” Ha .. I was SOBBING. Mostly just because he is my last baby. It’s such a major milestone! I’ll be thinking of you! xo
OMG this takes me back to my own bedroom as a teen at my parents house. The walls were pink, the dresser, vanity, and bed frames were painted baby blue with pink accents. My blankets were also pink. It wasn’t until I finished college that I saw different colored walls, and that was only because we finally moved to a different house. I guess my mom didn’t have much time to put into redoing our rooms back then since she was working full time. El’s new room looks lovely. She looks so much like Kenny too.
Thank you Debbie! I remember my teen bedroom too! Everything was mauve. Ha! Good times. :) xo
They say time is a thief and in some ways it is but in so many other ways, it’s beautiful. The memories made are something we get to hold onto forever. I can remember seeing posts of El when she was little and it seems like yesterday.
Her room looks so pretty and definitely fit for a teen. xo
Thank you so much Cathy! I’m so happy you like her room. I remember our first written conversation (years ago) like it was yesterday! I loved you instantly :) And I agree.. the memories are forever. I’m so grateful for them! xo
Do all of your bedrooms have carpet? We are redoing our floors and trying decide if we want to do the luxury vinyl in the whole house or leave carpet in the bedrooms.
Hi Carol! We were torn over that too when we built the house! We ended up doing carpet in the kids’ bedrooms, our guest room and our upstairs playroom/theatre areas. When we moved in our kids were little and we wanted some soft spots for them to play. The rest of our house (including our master bedroom) is wood floors. :)
Erin, how are your beautiful chidren growing up but you haven’t changed one bit!! 🙂. Beautiful room -love the new fan!
Patty! You are too kind and just made my night. Not true at all but I’ll take it. ;) Thank you! xo
Stunning!💖
Thank you so much Marie!
Oh this totally makes me sad!!! I loved how she loved Panda bears! And stuffed animals, and Disney princesses….why does it have to go by so fast? Excuse me I have to go grab a tissue now.
Right!? I’m right there with you Josie. {tear}
I have to say, I loved her purple room!! Purple is my passion, so wanting to change it just doesn’t make sense to me – ha! But I definitely know not everyone feels that way. I’ve tried to talk my husband into painting our bedroom walls some tone of purple for years, but it’s been a no. But I think at some point, a nice gray with just a hint of purple might be in our future. ;) Anyway, it turned out beautiful, and the beach prints still make it fun, even if it’s overall more “adult.” Also love that awesome fan!
Grey with a hint of purple sounds lovely! ;) Thank you MaryJo! xo
So pretty!
The point shoes picture above her bed, might be old, but interested if it still exists for my dancer?
Thank you Kathy! I wish it was still in stock! It was from Restoration Hardware and they don’t sell it anymore. :(
Love this! My gorgeous girl is 11 and transitioning from her pink princess room for her 12th birthday next year. It’s been making me very sad but this post has made me feel better! I agree, I keep getting sad that they are growing up but then I reflect on how amazing they are right now! So thank you.
And you and El have great style xx
So sweet of you Katey! Thank you! It’s hard watching them change and grow up isn’t it!? When each new stage comes I end up missing the one before it so I guess the lesson is to just keep focusing on enjoying them right where they are at. Easier said than done though I know! :) xo
Hi Erin, what size are the beach prints in El’s room? They are really fun!
Ginny! How did I miss this!? I think her prints are 11×14! :)
Hi Erin! I love El’s room! It is very beautiful and grown up. I know how your heart hurts. Mine did when my daughter was a senior and we made all of those changes and went clothes shopping. But everything turned out okay. She is the mother of two adopted daughters. That made them extra special to us. Now the oldest is in her second year of college and the youngest is a senior in high school. Now having said all of that, you can do it! I know you can! I have seen you in action. Just be sure to enjoy all of the “firsts”. And you have a very beautiful daughter with the cutest pixie face! Love to both of you!! xo
Oh I love hearing that Regina! Your daughter (and her girls!) sound amazing. I’m taking your advice and enjoying ALL the firsts. :) Thank you so much. Sending love to you and your beautiful family! xo
Where’s her bed frame from? She has the same exact room layout as my daughter.I love the bed frame.
Thank you! It was a custom bed! So sorry I don’t have a link for you!
What size did you print the beach pics?