Earlier in the year I mentioned changing the decor in my daughters room to a apprehensive little eight year old. Her big eyes and resounding remark, "I like it mom, I don't like change,"caused me to hesitate for a nanosecond before I thought, "I don't like change that much either but sometimes change is necessary."
Now changing a rooms decor doesn't necessarily fall under the "need" category in life's gamut of demands but when a room becomes cluttered with too many styles of decor and becomes a hodge podge collecting mecca without a decent eclectic model to follow, it is time to bring the chaos under control.
As a stager in the real estate field, I am constantly trying to come up with innovative, budget friendly suggestions to save my clients money, get a bang for their buck and impress the critics so the sellers property can move off the market and they can move on with life. So, I took that approach with my daughter's room. What could I do to make her comfortable with the process of change yet keep some of those "my taste only" comfort accents with the end result being an age appropriate room that could last for a few years and still have room to expand for creative projects later.
The room still has a crazy, fun feel with the bedding but can be toned down by flipping the bedspread over to a solid pink color. The bed skirt can also be toned down by eliminating the dog bed skirt and leaving the white polka-dot trimmed one on. It turned into a multi-faceted room, just about any color in the pastel range can be used and black and white furnishings will work as well. It is no longer a hodge podge mess but more of a hodge podge form . For now the wall color can stay pink, at the insistence of Alex, but Mom has plans to paint the walls a calm, ocean blue (think along the lines of Caribbean beach water blue) down the road when she is ready for a little more change.
And for anyone thinking about a little decor change but may be stuck in a rut, don't let cost stop you from trying. I scavenged supplies, figured the design and execution myself all for under $100 dollars. In fact, I hit two birds with one stone, we got a fresh new decor along with hours and hours of crafting pleasure.
Alex's verdict is still out on the change but maybe it'll grow on her.
Inspiration: "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
Scott Adams (American cartoonist)
