The DIY Project I Can No Longer Put Off

Last year Peter and I talked with Emma about redoing her bedroom, but time got away from us and it just never happened. There was some much-needed purging and cleaning out done, but that was it. She’s now 7, I mean, 13. Lavender paint and sweet birdy paintings, nice as they may be, are not quite her style anymore. Far from it, actually.

Its time. That girl of mine looks so out of place in that room. I have promised her it will all go down in the next 3 weeks. I made that promise not looking at the calendar, not thinking about other commitments, I’m really going to try and make her and that room my commitment. Remember though, the girl that made this promise has had no caffeine or alcohol in 14 days. I may not even know what I’m saying. Anyway…
Redoing a teenager’s room, of course, requires their input. Alright, okay, fine, if I have to. Guess no Scandi-inspired white room with modern furniture for me. I mean her. When I asked, it is clear that this girl has the developmentally appropriate style aesthetic of many 13 year old girls- steampunk, Doctor Who, and Minecraft.
Oh lord.
Thank goodess for pinterest. I have been pinning images for Emma’s room since last summer, hoping there would be lots to look through when the time finally came to take on this project and there is. I sat her down in front of the board I put together for her room, and was relieved that there was some common ground there. She also fell in love with several projects in this book, and listened to my suggestions for things like “a neutral base that can change with your tastes”. She even made the inspiration/mood board (above) to help us understand what she would like. We have an excellent starting point that is, thankfully for me, um, a little less themey and crazy. (Although I’m sure there will be a tardis in there somewhere. And look at all the steampunk, Doctor Who and minecraft fabric!)
I’m finally excited to get started (as excited for the deep-clean as for the redo)!
Of course, there are lists of needs and wants.
Needs:
Major purge

New mattress, box springs
New bed frame
New window coverings
Patch walls, fresh coat of paint
Shampoo carpet
Wants:
New artwork (hers maybe?) on the walls
New lighting
New bed quilt or comforter
New wall color
Area to “hang out” (cause, you know, teenagers do a lot of that)
There is nearly no budget to make this happen (is there ever a budget??) so Peter and I will be honing our DIY skills to create all kinds of things for this room. We’re currently discussing a new headboard. I love Erin’s daughter Jane’s upholstered headboard, that could be really cozy. The bookshelves need a new coat of paint. I would love to find a flea market piece to customize with paint and knobs. It’ll be fun. I’ll take lots of pictures.