Alexa's Big Girl Room Reveal
The shiny white built-in desk with brushed gold hardware, and the boxwood wall (with the flowers spelling out LEX that I did all by myself- WHOA!) make me happy every time I walk into Alexa’s room to pick 100+ pieces of clothing off her floor.
Once Goldie was ready to transition out of her crib, and Alexa wouldn’t stop pestering us for bunk beds to feed her insatiable appetite for sleepovers, we decided it was time to overhaul Alexa’s bedroom. There were a few key things we wanted to achieve in the space:
1- A desk/study area where she could eventually do homework and keep all of her school papers organized
2- A cozy nook to encourage reading
3- Sophisticated, neutral details that would make it easy for the room decor to grow with her tastes as they inevitably evolve
4- Yes, a bunk bed- ideally with a trundle for sleepovers (and the inevitable moment in said sleepovers when Goldie got jealous and wanted to sleep there too- hence, the trundle…)
I enlisted help from Evelina Rogers, who has the most impeccable taste when it comes to creating spaces for kids that feel playful, whimsical and sophisticated all at once. With 5 young kids of her own, she knows more than just a thing or two about what design details best suit the way kids live in their spaces. Besides that, she is funny and cool, gets a total thrill out of mixing high and low price points, and is just easy to be around, which to me, is of utmost importance when it comes to anyone I work with. On anything. But especially on interior design projects. (You can follow Evelina on her instagram account here).
When Evelina came in on the project, onc purchase had already been made (one big purchase- and one that I regret big time for several reasons, which I will share at some point soon)- this Restoration Hardware Baby & Child Tufted Bunk Bed. Alexa chose Dusty Rose velvet, and as such, especially given what a large piece of furniture it is, the color palette of the room had to be created accordingly. Which bummed me out because I wanted bright hues and stark white walls, and I couldn’t wrap my head around how to take this very French antique-y bed, and make it feel modern.
But Evelina instantly thought of a genius idea- a boxwood wall bulletin board (as pictured above). That became the “wow” element around which the rest of the room was designed. We added a bright white built-in desk and drawer unit, and, instead of full bookcases going up to the ceiling (which would have necessitated breaking into the ceiling to move a vent), we opted for 4 floating shelves to frame the boxwood. Plus, it is so fun to move the play around with the shelf displays- an easy way to change the vibe of the whole room in mere minutes. The one constant, though? This neon rainbow light.
I will never not have this rainbow neon light in my house.
My big DIY contribution to the room? LEX written out in faux florals- a little project I did in about an hour one afternoon after binge buying several dozen assortments at Micheal’s (though Amazon has a ton of great options- love these in particular, just order a few different colors and go to TOWN!).
Evelina sourced the other board decor elements (how gorgeous are the ivory and gilted ceramic flowers?!) from Opalhouse (similar style here). The name sign is a custom job from this Etsy shop.
(Please excuse the imperfectly made bottom bunk- the bed arrived distinctly more “squat” than the clearly edited-to-look taller photo on the RH website- and every time I try and make it, I smash the top of my head on the top bunk, so on this particular day, I clearly was cranky and not in the mood to deal with another bruise on my skull…grrrr…)
Bright white comforters (similar to these) from Pottery Barn Teen offset the vintage vibe of the dusty rose velvet bed- and Evelina introduced me to the fun that is buying crazy pattern sheet sets to add subtle bursts of personality to any space. We rotate between Starlight Percale sheets from The Company Store and Rainbow Cotton sheets from Pillowfort at Target.
The fuchsia throw and furry pillows are both under $35 a pop from Wayfair and I also got the bubble chair and side table in the reading nook from the site- it is my first go-to any time I need a fun accent piece to brighten a room).
The wall print behind the chair is from NYC lifestyle photographer Ana Gambuto’s print shop, and the tassel garland going across the top of the window (which I think ties the entire room together, to be honest!) is an Opalhouse find.
Our hardest decision was the window treatments. Since custom treatments are pricey, I obsessed over finding a fabric that could transition easily as Alexa’s design tastes matured (I mean, when we started the project, she wanted a Jojo Siwa themed room, but I put my foot down on that one quickly!). We settled on a pink, ivory and grey geometric pattern from Spoonflower.
We still need to finalize the desk chair, chandelier (I love how the IKEA one that is currently installed looks so much, but it gives off like NO light…so I am holding out for one of these from Sazerac Stitches- just can’t decide which because I love them all way way way too much!), and figure out some sort of reading light and nightstand situation for the bed (as of now, Lex uses a clip on light to read because there isn’t enough room to install a proper sconce for the bottom bunk since the top bunk is SO. DAMN. LOW.). So, as with anything interior design related in my world, it is a work-in-progress and probably always will be. But for now, I love it. Alexa loves it. And we can very happily live with it just the way it is for as long as we procrastinate making more design decisions :)
AND- if you are looking for help with designing a room for your kids (bedroom, playroom, anything!), I highly recommend Evelina. The best way to reach her is via Instagram- send her a DM. She lives locally in Fairfield County but has consulted on design projects all over the country- and after many years running her own children’s clothing boutiques, Evelina is finally giving herself a little time to chill (which means she definitely won’t chill and instead will probably take on a bunch of design projects…so, you’re in luck.) xxJF