A few weeks ago I told you I was in the process of painting my 2 year old daughter’s ceiling in preparation for turning her room from a nursery to a “big girl room.”  I am happy to report the transition was a success and I am ready for the big reveal!

What started out as a dark, closed-in space is now a light, colorful, airy space that should take my daughter into her pre-teen years (when I am sure she will want to completely re-do everything). Here is a comparison of what the room looked like the day we closed on our house, another photo taken right after we moved in and finally, what the room looks like today:

Big difference, right?  Here is everything we did to complete the room:

1.  Painted walls and ceiling:

When we first painted the room, I wasn’t happy with the color at all because it looked more lilac than a true pink.  I never changed it because I just didn’t have it in me to repaint the room.   A few weeks ago the wall paint literally changed color before my eyes when I painted the ceiling a warm shade of white.  When we first moved in,  the ceiling in my youngest daughter’s room was kind of a dirty dishwater gray, which muddied up the wall color.  Just by painting the ceiling, the walls now look like the pretty pink I originally envisioned.  Take a  look at the before and after photos below:

Here is another photo I took during the painting process.  Quite a difference, don’t you think?

For those who are interested, here are the paint colors I used:

– Wall Paint:  SW6568 Lighthearted Pink by Sherwin Williams, satin finish
– Ceiling Paint:  SW7008 Alabaster by Sherwin Williams, flat finish

2.  Installed new ceiling fan:

The original ceiling fan was shiny brass and wobbled so much I just knew it was about to take orbit.  My husband switched it out with a new white ceiling fan I found at Lowe’s. Now, before some of you wonder why I installed another ceiling fan instead of something with a little charm, you should know we live in Texas.  What makes it worse is my daughter’s room faces west.  And let me tell you, living in a room with direct afternoon sunlight during months of triple degree heat make ceiling fans necessary for survival.  Sometimes, I guess a gal has to go for function over beauty.

3.  Drapes and Spray Painted Hardware:

Sometimes, we all make mistakes with our design choices, one of mine was originally choosing oil rubbed bronze drapery hardware for my daughter’s room.  I originally chose it based on the fact that the doorknobs and bathroom fixtures are all oil rubbed bronze.  Unfortunately, the dark drapery rods just did not look right in a little girl’s room.  The lighter toned drapery panels made the rods look like big black sticks and cut off the space.  It would have been easier to cut my losses and purchase new rods, but I didn’t want to spend the money,  so instead of purchasing all new hardware I just spray painted the existing rods with Dove White in Gloss by Krylon.   Here is a before and after:

Speaking of drapery, I want to also mention the drapes are blackout panels from Pottery Barn Kids.  To provide even extra protection from the Texas sun and heat, I added blackout roller shades which were purchased from Lowe’s for only $9.95 each.  To give the shades a more custom feel I added a little bit of ribbon trim by gluing it to the shade with my trusty glue gun.

5.  Art:

I’ve always thought art should be personal and add flavor and sentiment to a space.  Although my youngest daughter is only 2 years old, I still applied that same rule when choosing art for her room.  Last year I attended an antique fair with my mother and was excited when I spotted two vintage prints from the artist, Joan Walsh Anglund.  When I was a girl my mother collected Joan Walsh Anglund.  I also had a few of her dolls and even had a Joan Walsh Anglund themed 3rd birthday party.  I love the whimsy and innocence of those sweet little characters and was thrilled to have a way to introduce them to my own child.  I admit, they are my favorite part of the room.

The other piece of art in the room is a custom painting I did of my daughter’s stuffed lamb.  I also painted something similar for my oldest daughter and am so glad I was able to capture the special affinity my girls have for their little stuffed friends.

6.  Bed and Bedding:

The bed is actually an antique iron hospital bed that belonged to me as a teenager.  It had a few scrapes and dings so I gave it a fresh coat of spray paint.  Like the drapery rods, I used Dove White in Gloss by Krylon.  The duvet cover is from Pottery Barn Kids (I scored with a 20% off + free shipping coupon) and the quilt and matching sham were only $15 at TJ Maxx.

So, there you have it….our “Big Girl Room.”  I’d say this big girl (and her friend, Tyrone the Moose) approves.