Ideas for Violet's Room: Creating a Bed Nook

The girls have handled the transition to our new house fairly well, but it's definitely been a bit harder on Violet. She was at an age where she had started creating real memories in our first little house, and there are things she misses dreadfully. Her top two complaints are missing her "secret garden" (a large rhododendron that was in front of our house that she would play beneath), and her bed nook. She just loved that she could close the curtains and feel like she was in her own secret fort. She misses the coziness of sleeping in that little space tremendously.

So as I've been thinking about how to design her new space, I've been trying to think of creative ways to give her that same cozy, adventurous feeling. My Pinterest board for her room is full of these sleeping "nooks," whether it be a cupboard-type bed, a canopy, or even a lofted playhouse. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. I love this cupboard-style bed. The designer actually created it out of necessity to hide a staircase. I think it would give Violet a really similar feeling to her previous bedroom (and those red check curtains are so cute!):

2. Here's another very similar bed nook. I love that this one has storage beneath and the curved edges and little wall light are just adorable:

3. Here's a super-fancy version of a cupboard bed with all of that gingerbread trim. I absolutely adore that one of the drawers pulls out to reveal stairs, and I think Violet would love the sconces on the inside (especially if they were on a dimmer switch!):

4. It looks like this one was created with just fabric, which is something I could more likely accomplish on my own without as much help from Kev, although it probably would look this professional and tailored than this photo!

5. This is from good ol' IKEA, which I'm guessing means that it has potential to be a "me" project as well. It looks like you just suspend this curtain rod system. from the ceiling, hang curtains, and voila - instant dreamy bed nook:

6. This is incredibly adorable. I've found a bunch of different versions of playhouse beds (even some that you can buy, although they're completely out of our price range. I even found one that is a hack of the IKEA .

7. And last but not least, here is a more trendy and insanely adorable bed nook complete with shiplap and some of my fave wallpaper! I adore the little inset bookshelf:

Now that I've collected a bunch, I think it's time to show them to the boss (AKA Violet) and see what she thinks! Which is your favorite?

Sources: 1 . 2. 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7

Camp Kid

I don't know what it is, but there's something about a camp theme for a kid's room that feels oh, so right. Maybe it's the warm textures and rustic accents or perhaps the feelings and memories it brings up - warming your toes by the campfire, feeling the wind in your hair as you row across the lake in a canoe, or smelling the sweet smell of dew in the morning, but it's one of my favorites for sure. You can check out my favorite pieces to pull together a modern camp-themed space over on my latest article for Houzz.com.

P.S. The gold ceiling fixture is a DIY project found here, and the "Be Brave and Courageous" print is another DIY By Joni of Lay Baby Lay!

Feeling Sweet

There are a lot of nursery designs out there, but the tweens and teens often get the short end of the stick. I’ve found that for this age group, a mix of adult and kids’ decor is a must to bridge the gap between the two worlds. And while bright, fun colors are still a go, mixing in metallics and a few touches of a more sophisticated color like black can make all the difference in keeping the space from feeling too childish. I was recently inspired by my friend’s tween daughter who has a major sweet tooth, and here are some fun finds for a girl’s room that won’t make the space feel too saccharine. You can check out the sources over on my post for Houzz.com!

Natural Wonder

THIS POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY UNCOMMON GOODS

Patchwood Headboard, Bubble Wall Clock, Animal Alphabet Print, Cardboard Moose Bust, Alphabet Factory Blocks, Hee Haw Pull Toy, Sleeping Fox Pillow, Wud Double Side Table, Sweet Dreams Pillow Cases, Invisible Shelf, Salt Desk Lamp, Moss Terrarium, Cubebot Puzzle, USA World Map Poster, Lake Louise Photographic Print

I was honestly totally into the idea of a third kid after I had Lucy - overall she's been so much easier than Violet was as a baby, but at nine months she's still not sleeping through the night, so I'm starting to rethink the whole idea! The bags under my eyes are about the size of Jupiter at this point, and I'm starting to resemble a character from the Walking Dead more and more each day (and I don't mean the living ones). You never know though - if I've learned one thing about motherhood it's that you forget the difficult things pretty quickly - my poor sister asked me sooo many questions after she had my nephew and I felt like such a loser because I couldn't answer half of them! I think it must be Mother Nature's way of keeping the species from going extinct :)

On the other hand, one of my favorite things to do is to create idea boards for teeny people - so much so that it almost makes me want to have like twenty kids so that I can create pretty bedrooms for all of them (okay, okay, so maybe I don't love it that much, but you get my drift!) But after a while using traditional sources for children's decor can start to feel a little like you're rehashing the same things over and over again. Something I love to do to keep things fresh is to explore my favorite sites that aren't necessarily branded as children's decor stores. I've always loved shopping at Uncommon Goods, and I've found a lot of favorite kids' toys, artwork, and even furniture there, so I teamed up with them to create this idea board. I love all of the natural elements and wood tones paired with the crisp modern blacks and whites. I would totally bring this room to life if I had a little boy! IF. xo, Lauren

This post was sponsored by Uncommon Goods. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the Happy Place

So many fun finds with some of the new Fall lines that are out, I had to whip up an idea board. Wouldn't this be such a cute room for a little girl?!

Sources: heart artwork, ombre pillow, the happy place artwork, tassel garland, herd sheets, bird lamp, mama bear print, minty dresser, woven headboard, navy stripe rug, moose rack, tree stump side table, mirror