Throwback : Room Makeover with the Land of Nod

This post originally ran in September of 2013, but it’s one of my favorites! I am definitely NOT a decor expert, as made very obvious by the before photos of this room. I was so grateful the Land of Nod offered to help a girl out! I loved working with the Land of Nod, one of my favorite brands, on this preschool to big girl room makeover. I hope you enjoy!

Lulu has grown up so much in the past few years, sometimes I find it difficult to keep up! This week she loves Justin Bieber and yesterday she still loved Dora. A year ago she insisted her favorite color was not just pink, but PINK!!!!! Now she refuses to wear the color and wants everything around her to be blue, blue, blue. She is opinionated and feisty, and I wanted her room makeover to reflect that. We moved to our suburban Kansas City home when she was still in preschool, and her room was a mess of a couple of styles and thrown together looks. Her twin bed actually still sat on the floor instead of on a bed frame, from way back when she’d roll out of it every night as a toddler. For her 7th birthday, Lucy asked if I’d redecorate her room to better reflect her personality, and I jumped at the chance. With some help from The Land of Nod, I was able to make her “blue mermaid party” room a reality!

The before photos of the room really are sort of pathetic, aren’t they? Just keeping it real, over in Crazy Bananas Land. More proof I am not a home decor person. Originally that tent was fashioned to be a cool hideaway and book area, but it was unfortunately way too big for the space. We tried hanging it over the bed, but the darkness scared her at night and it just looked kind of ragged. The wall hangings over her bed were added later, but they were all mismatched and didn’t have any coherency to them. Her craft area was basically a Rubbermaid tub filled with paint and markers, with no real space to create. Her dresser was one I had in college, but attempted to fancy up using nobs from Anthropologie. The block letters spelling out her name were made by a friend for her nursery, and though we loved them, it was time for them to go.

Lucy requested her room be blue, her favorite color. The color she picked out was a VERY bright turquoise, but we convinced her to tone it down a bit. She picked out the mermaid bedding from Land of Nod and we designed the room around it. Lucy loves to swim and dreams of being a mermaid herself, plus the reason she loves blue so much is because it reminds her of the ocean, so the bedding is perfect for her. Early on in this process, I created a mood board to give us an idea of where we wanted to go with the design. Once we were inspired, it was easy to pull together an updated room that was fun and perfect for a seven-year-old mermaid in training!

Lucy’s poster bed was mine as a child, then was handed down to my niece, and now finally to Lucy. The beautiful blue moth wall decal from Land of Nod is one of Lucy’s favorite parts of the room. She angled it just so, as she wanted it to look like it was flying across her wall.

The sidetable, chest of drawers and dresser were all purchased from a local furniture store. The bedside lamp was bought at Wal-Mart, and the sketch of a mom and daughter was purchased for $3 in the frame at a local thrift store. The L and the P (her initials) were in her stocking at Christmas a few years back.

The dresser and giant mirror were specific requests from Lucy. She wanted a space where she could get ready every morning in private, as her two-year-old brother has started to impede on her space. We fancied up the plain white with some fun paper letters spelling out her name from Minted.com. The aged jewelry box was given to Lucy by her aunt, and although the original plan was the polish it up, Lucy decided she liked it better as it was. I agree!

The desk was purchased at IKEA, and my mother-in-law painted an old chair with a sample of the VERY turquoise paint that Lucy originally wanted for her walls as a compromise (Can you imagine that on the walls? Yikes!). We pulled in a lot of the turquoise detailing throughout the room, from picture frame to her lava lamp, which her super-cool dad bought her as a nightlight. The pendant desk lamp from Land of Nod brings it all together, using almost all the colors that are featured throughout the room. The yellow art caddy gives Lu a space for her art supplies that she uses on a daily basis, and it can be easily stashed away in her desk cabinet when little brother’s grubby hands are looking for some crayons to color the walls.

Here is a little warning to all you DIY mamas out there…make sure your husband knows your DIY plans! Originally, the cork board and the frame for the incredible art print by Lucy’s desk were decorated in fabulous washi tape that I used to cover up their bland black and brown edges. But when I asked my husband to hang them for me, he thought it was protective packaging tape and ripped it all off! Oh well, they still look nice, although I probably will update them again at some point. It wouldn’t be an at home makeover project without a hiccup or two!

The details of the room are my favorite parts. I am in love with the floor bins I found at Land of Nod, as Lucy is a bit of a clutter bug, and they make clean up easy and stylish. The rainbow felt garland brightens up the darker blackout curtains, which Lucy originally hated, but once they were hanging with the garland, she loved. We found some amazing art on Etsy that we hung on the walls and personalized the space with lots of family photos. Lucy loves reading, so we made a space where she could display her favorite books of the moment on her chest of drawers. The cute XOXO bookends are from Target.

Creating this beautiful space for Lucy was such a pleasure and a joy! I am so happy she finally has a real, put together space to call her own, which truly reflects who she is. I feel like this room is child-like, but will grow with her through the years.

The Land of Nod provided products for this room makeover project, but all opinions are my own. Thanks Land of Nod!!!