A nice lady named Lindsey, wrote to me a few months ago for some decorating ideas for her 17 year old daughter’s bedroom. I’ve just heard from her again, and she sent some great pictures of what they have done so far. The daughter had a picture of an inspiration room she wanted her room to reflect. A few elements in that room were the colors, blue and brown, a patterned brown and white fabric, and some Asian looking branches with blossoms. She also wanted to display “O.C. Girl” (Orange County) above her window, as she saw this in a model home.
Lindsey sent quite a few pictures, but this one shows most of the room that they have decorated so far. She has her blue walls and brown bedding color scheme, a great looking table and desk, a patterned pillow and her “O. C. Girl” above her window. I think they both did a wonderful job decorating. She asked me for some additional ideas to finish the room. I wanted to reflect her inspiration room ideas and requests, so I’ve added a few elements that I thought might interest her.
Room 1. 
- I added a blue throw and pillows to repeat the wall color on the bed.
- A little accent color of coral and brown in a Asian inspired long pillow.
- Stationary floor length drapery panels in a brown and white patterned fabric.
- The drapery hangs from faux blossoming branches or bamboo on wood rings or ties.
- A make-it-yourself bamboo headboard.
- A taller swing arm lamp is great for reading or homework.
- A round rice paper hanging lamp lights a corner and desk area and adds some fun.
- A traditional gloss white oval-back chair adds a counterpoint to the contemporary desk. Upholstered in drapery fabric or a leopard print.
- 6, 18″ X 18″ unframed canvas squares, display an easy hand painted Asian blossoming branch running through the canvases. You could also paint the white squares right on the wall and then paint the branch. ( the daughter did ask for some uniform painted squares on that wall.)
Room 2.
- Same idea for the bedding, monogrammed pillow.
- Simple white painted or vinyl covered headboard.
- Grommet top, brown stripe stationary side panels, floor length.
- 2 hanging drum shade lamps, (easy to make, cords can be hidden behind drapes).
- A wide brown, horizontal, graphic painted stripe on one or all walls.
- 2 floating bookshelves above the desk…clean line.
- A contemporary white vinyl Parson chair (cleanable).
- Some floral branches and vase (Asian feel).
Both looks are relaxed but sophisticated for a 17 yr. old. Best of all, these additions can be completed for a reasonable price. Look for sales, in homestores, or make things yourself…draperies, rods, art, pillows, headboards, drum lights, paint graphics. All easy to do or make.
On the left side of her room she has some nice bulletin boards to display photos etc. If she needed storage or drawer space she could add it to this wall. Facing her bed is the white closet wall and door.
I have no idea if they will like any of these ideas, but I used her inspiration room and her ideas to give me some design direction, and to help her add some finishing touches to an already great room. I’m sure I’ll hear from them in the comments below. What do you think Lindsey and daughter? Is this anything like you had in mind?
Does anyone else have some ideas to pass along to them?
( click on pictures to enlarge)
1. Thank you, Cathy! I showed my daughter and she liked both designs, but liked room 1 best. She liked the fabric in the design, LOVED the wall art and thought the chair was cool. She also wanted the headboard in room 2. We will definitely be doing the canvases. She thought they were a fabulous idea! You did a great job and gave us many ideas that we are so appreciative of them. I know you mentioned coral as an accent when we were chatting a few months ago, but I was skeptical. Now I see how it comes together so nicely. I am so glad that she will have a room that she is proud to have her friends in and that will last her many years. Thanks again! We will most likely be finishing up her room this weekend, so I will post pictures of it when it is completed.
Yeah, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. We woud like as many suggestions as possible (in addition to Cathy’s already amazing plans). Good night everyone!
by Lindsey — 9/5/08 at 1:17 am #
2. I forgot to mention that for the windows we are going to do roman shades that are brown. The blinds don’t twist open and don’t lift up (cheap blinds), so those will be removed and we already bought the brown fabric.
by Lindsey — 9/5/08 at 10:12 am #
3. Hello Lindsey,
I’m glad you and your daughter liked some of the ideas. The new roman shade will be nice, but please consider the side panel draperies to add to the roman. It would make that whole wall the focal point and frames the bed and window nicely. Also adds some contrasting color and pattern to the wall. They play an importent part in the design.
I’m glad she liked the canvases. She could easily paint them herself.
The little bit of coral just adds an accent to the room, it breaks up all the brown and blue.
You could pick up an old traditional style chair at an antique or thrift store or model home resale store for low cost. Then sand it and spray paint it a high gloss white. Recover in leopard or ? , Sharp!
I’m anxious to see how it all turns out. So please send a photo.
Good luck and I know she’ll enjoy her room.
by Cathy — 9/5/08 at 8:14 pm #
4. I definitely like room 1 over room 2!
by Kalie — 9/5/08 at 10:17 pm #
5. The room will most likely be done by Sunday evening, so I will send pictures then. Thank you!
by Lindsey — 9/5/08 at 11:34 pm #
6. Cathy, I love what you did with Room 1. The bamboo headboards, drapes, branches for curtain rods, the coral accent pillow and the canvas on the wall - it looks fabulous. Room 2 brought in a contemporary feel so seamlessly. I can’t wait to see what Lindsey and her daughter did and what the room finally looks like, so Lindsey, please do post pictures !
by Ruby — 9/6/08 at 12:48 pm #
7. I liked no 1
but both are cute….
What a job you do!!!!
by Julie — 9/7/08 at 9:03 pm #
8. Hi Kalie,
It seems the consensus of room preference is for room 1 over room 2.
It’s my favorite as well.
Thanks for your vote!
by Cathy — 9/8/08 at 3:56 pm #
9. Hi again Lindsey,
Take your time getting that room done. We can wait (a little) LOL. What have you done so far? We all are anxious to see it…but don’t hurry it too much…get it right.
Talk to you soon!
by Cathy — 9/8/08 at 4:01 pm #
10. Hello Ruby,
Thanks so much for your great comments and observations of the room. It’s interesting how you can mix many styles and it seems to work. In room 1 there is contemporary, Asian, and traditional (chair). Much more interesting than just 1 style…I think anyway.
Room 2 is mostly contemporary with a little Asian.
Thanks for taking a moment to write in.
by Cathy — 9/8/08 at 4:07 pm #
11. Thank you Julie,
Glad you like room 1. Is there anything you’d do differently? There are so many ways to design a room with exactly the same requests of a client.
Thats what makes designing so interesting. Most important step in designing a room…listen and hear the client….then it’s easy.
LYC
by Cathy — 9/8/08 at 4:13 pm #
12. Hi everyone! Thank you for your opinions! I know you all want to see what happens with the room, but the weekend flew by and we didn’t get anything done. I plan on sewing her roman shade one day early on this week. We also have to get the “O” for the OC GIRL on the wall. From there, we need a chair for the desk (going to try to find one like yours). We will also look at fabric and hopefully do the drapes this weekend. Because we didn’t get anything done this weekend, I will be sure to have pictures of the room for you all as soon as it is done.
by Lindsey — 9/8/08 at 8:51 pm #
13. Cathy:
Love what you’ve done with the room. I do think the floating shelves add some excellent storage space and here I’m going to make a few additional “organizing product” suggestions for helping this teen to keep her room looking beautiful.
1. Decorative wastepaper basket. I saw a nice brown faux leather one at Homegoods.
2. A decorative wicker hamper for dirty laundry
3. A decorative file box for storing her important papers, school and health records and those all-important college applications (I notice there are no file drawers in the desk). Horchow has a gorgeous asian file box, and Homegoods has a nice faux leather one or a desktop file box would work well too.
4. Shelving — for books, binders, tchotkes, magazines and the like.
5. Hooks on the back of her door for her backpack/purse or a basket/fabric bin for her incoming/outgoing items (placed near the door)
6. A charging station for her ipod/cellphone/pda etc.
7. under-the-bed storage for items she doesn’t use that often
8. A decorative photo box for special pictures, cards, love letters.
Our teen mom’s may have some additional organizing products to suggest, but there’s a good start.
joan
by Joan — 9/9/08 at 1:06 am #
14. Dear Cathy, well you did it again…I love the way you have proposed each room…for me Room 1 is my favorite!!! But I too love Room 2…I wish you lived in Western New York…I just love all of your ideas…update on my project…the diningroom is now empty and we start stripping the wallpaper today (good-bye to all those years of looking at Waverley’s stenciled stripe paper)…we chose Behr’s Sagery (green) paint…and I can’t wait to get it on the walls…thanks for all your suggestions…I can’t wait to see the finished bedroom…and also your next post…YOU ARE THE BEST!!! Candace Olson watch out!!!
by margie — 9/9/08 at 9:44 am #
15. Thank you Joan. My daughter barely has anything in her room (it’s mainly all in the office). We were going to do hooks in the closet though. I will keep you posted.
by Lindsey — 9/9/08 at 10:17 am #
16. Hi Lindsey,
It sounds like you’ll be busy! This will be a fun experience for you and your daughter to work on this room together. A great bonding experience for you both….too soon they’re off on their own.
Keep us posted on your progress. Enjoy the journey to the destination.
by Cathy — 9/9/08 at 11:46 am #
17. Hi Joan,
I love all your great organizing ideas! I’m sure Lindsey and daughter will really appreciate them! Too many times rooms look great but they are not functional for really living in. We all have “stuff” that needs containment and your ideas address that issue. I love the under-the-bed storage. We often forget all that great space for “stuff”. Also more file space under the desk, and back of the door hooks….I wish we could clone you to come help us all Joan. LOL.
Thanks for adding greatly to the subject.
by Cathy — 9/9/08 at 12:02 pm #
18. Hello Margie,
Good to hear from you. Thank you for your always kind remarks. Candace Olsen has nothing to fear. She’s one of my favorites. I’d love to have a tiny bit of her talent. HGTV is lucky to have her. We’re lucky to watch her work….enough about C.O.(never enough).
I’m excited you’re moving along on the D.R. I looked at the “Sagey” green paint….beautiful color…a warm shaded green. It will look beautiful in your D.R. and with your others colors, blues, and yellows. Stripping wallpaper is not fun. I don’t envy you! I hope yours comes off without a fight.
I’m anxious to hear about your room as it progresses. Keep us posted and hope everything goes smoothly.
Write back soon friend.
by Cathy — 9/9/08 at 12:38 pm #
19.
by Lindsey — 9/9/08 at 6:10 pm #
20. Cathy, I really love your design of room #2. Very contemporary and soothing. I am a big fan of floating shelves and drum shades. Being a do-it-yourselfer I’d love to find directions on making my own drum lamp shade hanging lights. Thanks and keep up the good work!
by cindy — 11/8/09 at 9:17 pm #
21. Hey Cindy,
I’m glad you like room #2. They were both fun to design. The hanging drum shade lights wouldn’t be too hard to make. It’s basically a drum shade with the cross bars on top. Buy a socket set with a long cord. Attach the shade onto the socket and hang from the heavy cord swaging it up to the ceiling and down to an outlet. Or you can have it hardwired into the ceiling. This application is nice because most of the cord is hidden behind the drapery.
You might check online or Google ” how to make a hanging lamp”.
Good luck with your project. It will look great!!
by Cathy — 11/9/09 at 1:25 pm #
22. Hi cathy!
I loved your ideas with this bedroom! I am currently in the works of my own bedroom. I was just wondering if you could give me a few ideas on some do it yourself things.
Thanks
by Jennifer — 11/12/09 at 9:05 am #
23. Hi Jennifer
Thank you so much.
Let me know what DIY things you have in mind and I’ll give it a shot.
Talk soon!
by Cathy — 11/12/09 at 1:02 pm #