Let’s Be More Brave!

“I want to paint the floors yellow,” I told my husband one Saturday afternoon. I had been planning the design for my daughter’s room for a couple of weeks by this time, but I was still hesitant to speak this desire out loud. I wanted to buy plain wood planks, not wood floors, just basic wood boards. Nail them to the floor and then paint them yellow. The voice in my head was saying that people do not buy new wood planks just to paint them yellow. And another voice was saying, ‘What if you want to sell one day, who will want yellow wood plank floors?” Instinctually, I knew this was a great idea, and the desire to do something new and unique was calling loud and clear. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t a bit nervous about the choice. 

I waited for the look of surprise, or even his ‘yeah, we’re not doing that’ look. Instead, he simply said, ‘Okay’ and we started talking about the logistics of how we would lay the floor. 

You see, I’ve been designing spaces for 18 years now and while I still suffer self-doubt at times, my husband has full confidence in me that I’ll pull through with an amazing design. 

I didn’t always question my ideas. I have an eye for creating beautiful spaces, but up until the last 5 years, I’ve been playing it safe. In the last 5 years, I have seen how all-encompassing design can be. The possibilities truly are limitless. And yet we all tend to paint our rooms grey, beige, or white. Don’t get me wrong, I love a white room (most of my home is white), but I think we lost our desire to strike out on our own and try crazy ideas. We tend to play it safe and make it classic in our busy lives and with our limited budgets. We want it to stand the test of time so we never have to redo a room ever again. At least that’s what I was doing. And while I think designing spaces that stand the test of time is important, I also think we can sure be having a lot more fun doing it! I believe home design is a form of art and we are all artists with an amazing canvas in front of us. As true artists, it takes time to develop your style and eye for design. And the more you play, the faster you will find yourself in your home design. 

With my daughter’s room, I sure did play and I am beyond happy with how it turned out. My wish is for you to be inspired to think outside the box and try something new. 

How the Design Started

“I want these colors for my room Mom!” My daughter’s eyes were bright and hopeful. She was so excited to show me her colors. I’d love to say I was super supportive and responded in a Hallmark movie fashion, but I was distracted. We were buying paint for another room, I was trying to tell the sales lady which color, sheen, and brand I needed. I smiled, said,’ Yes that’s nice,’ and returned to the sales lady. Later that night, I found her paint samples and my first thought was, ‘They looked like easter egg colors.’ A pale pink, pastel blue, and soft buttery yellow. They were beautiful colors, but nothing I would normally pick or put on a wall. 

I once read a book about a famous scientist whose parents let him paint his room like it was the inside of a submarine. He attributed his success as a scientist to having parents who allowed him to explore and do brave things like blow up microwaves and paint his room. I loved this idea and aspired to allow my kids to do fun things with their room one day. 

So while it was something I wouldn’t normally do, I started brainstorming how to make it work. I also took an inventory of what was already working in her room. We think a remodel has to be the whole shebang, new everything. But that often isn't the case. If we ensure that we only buy high-quality items, they can be freshened up as needed. Her headboard was broken, but it was sturdy and it held fond memories (first big kid bed). Her dresser had marks on it, but they are minimal and I've learned to look at them as a sign of a great childhood instead of sore spots. Her carpet was newer, but I'm not a fan of carpet. I set out to find a more affordable flooring option. And her closet doors were mostly inoperable.

The Design and Remodel Process

I start my designs with one thing. It can be a paint color, carpet color, rug, wall art, or even wallpaper. For this room, I had one thing, the 3 paint colors. I'd use this and my list of furniture items to start the design.

From here, I asked Fiona which color she wanted where. She chose light blue for the ceiling, pink for the walls, and yellow for the floors. She felt the blue could be like the sky and yellow like sand. So we set off to paint the ceiling first, then the walls and trim. We chose Behr Noble Blush for the walls and trim(I like either the Scuff defense or the Paint + Primer options, in the Satin enamel sheen). We used Behr ceiling paint in Viva La Bleu for the ceiling (Viva Lla Bleu is a PPG paint color, we used the paint sample to color match to Behr ceiling paint). A note on the wall and trim color, I have been in love with painting the trim the same color as the walls. It’s such a sophisticated look when completed!! 

Now onto the floors! After removing the carpet, we laid out a layer of underlayment and then laid down the 1”x6”x8’ common pine wood planks. My husband cut a few boards, but overall the cutting was minimal. Hands down easiest flooring we’ve ever installed. We did have to rearrange some boards so the gaps between the boards weren’t so big. But I was going for an old farmhouse floor concept so we weren’t too worried about the gaps. We didn’t want huge gaping gaps which we did have a bit. After the wood planks were arranged to our liking (we offset them so they wouldn’t all line up), he used a nail gun to nail them to the subfloor. Again, this was so easy! While I had reservations, I loved how it all turned out! And it wasn’t even painted yet!! 

The next day we set out to paint wood plank flooring. We used Behr Porch and Patio floor paint (low lustre sheed) in Daffodil. Again easiest floor application to date. No stinky stains and on your hands and knees cloth wiping. We did trim out the edges, but it went quickly. My husband used a roller on a pole to finish two coats of paint. We followed that up with a clear Satin Polyurethane for floors, 2 coats. 

We finished off the DIY remodel portion with a simple 1”x3” straight trim painted the same color as the walls, Noble Blush. Again, paint the trim the same as the walls, it’s a game changer! 

While we were painting the walls, I was brainstorming ideas to take the room to the next level. After some early ideas of rainbow-colored tiger heads and wallpaper (both hard to do and out of the budget), I decided to journal about the overall look I was going for. I wanted it to be dramatic, sophisticated, and something different. I’ve learned to put my ideas out there and wait to see what comes to me in the coming days. 

The inspiration came a few days later when I set out to find more curtains to compliment the existing pale pink velvet curtain in her room. I love full-length curtains, from ceiling to floor and I find Amazon has the best selection for the height and budget I have. 

PRO TIP: Ceiling-to-floor curtains make your room feel taller, it brings the eye naturally up adding height to your room. Hang them 12-20” wider than your window to bring drama and attraction to your windows. Now your windows are twice the size and your room is twice the height. 

Searching for velvet curtains, I found the length I wanted in such a wide variety of colors, it was like Christmas morning!! Since they had so many beautiful colors, I wanted more than one. This is where the inspiration hit me. Why do 20” from window wide curtains when you can do a whole wall of curtains?! I envisioned a full wall of velvety sweetness, like stage curtains at a musical. And because I’ve been obsessed with 3D design lately, why not make them layered and not flat to the wall?!

I was also nervous about this portion of the design. I had a vision, but I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I wasn’t even sure how we would get them up. I trusted the Universe and hoped my husband and I could troubleshoot our way through. And you know what?! We did!! 

We used our existing regular curtain rod from Target for the blue curtains, making this curtain operable. She closes this nightly. We used ¾” rigid metal pipe and attached it to the ceiling with ¾” conduit and pipe hangers for the other two curtains. We cut the pipe in 16” lengths and screwed them to the ceiling at an angle to make it look like they were highlighting the window. We bought the velvet curtains from Amazon in the colors deep blue, red, and purple. 

The curtains taught me it’s a wonderful idea to be brave, leap, and trust a vision. They are the focal point of the room. They transform a simple pink room into a dramatic, elegant bedroom. This room taught me that a classic look that stands the test of time doesn’t have to be white or green. It can be any color you want it to be. It’s more about the overall aesthetic of the room than the paint color. 

As for the wall art in the room, I wanted the large plain wall to have flair and be a focal point showcasing my daughter’s art. I wanted her to be able to display her art and also change it often. We combined my fiber art pieces with her flower painting and a mirror. In the corner, we added her various art pieces on a string and some decorated washi tape. I love that she can easily take down old art pieces and add new. 

Everything else in the room is existing. Her bed was broken, so we redecorated her headboard and fixed the undermattress boards. We did splurge on new bedding. My kids hate comforters. They prefer these tiny polyester fuzzy throw blankets. I set out to find something lighter with natural fibers, hoping they would use them. I wanted a floral look for the main bedding. After dreaming of making a quilt (hello, no time Shawna!), I headed to Etsy. I found a 100% cotton thin simple quilt in a fun floral print. Due to its thinness, I added a cotton blanket from Amazon. Final verdict from kid use? They use them!!

Her dresser is an original 1970s dresser with an amazing wood sheen, so despite its broken leg and scratches, it also stayed. After reading about Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing cracks in pottery with gold, I’ve grown to appreciate cracks and scratches as parts of the story of life. 

PRO TIP: vintage dressers are a great way to bring charm to a bedroom. Every dresser in our home is old and each one works great! Their simple craftsmanship stands up wonderfully over time, with no MDF wood that breaks, rollers that get off track or break off. It’s just wood on wood often. The simplicity of the design creates a long-lasting dresser that lasts for years. 

What This Room DesignTaught Me

• Take the leap, let’s be brave - even if you’re not sure how it will turn out, it’s worth the effort to try. You may make mistakes, but you will be glad you did and you can always pivot and troubleshoot. In fact, sometimes the mistakes are the Universe leading you to a better, more fitting outcome. 

• Any color can be classic and stand the test of time - It’s more about the overall feel of a room than a paint color. Paint is easy to change. Paint also easily makes such a huge difference in great design. Search Morroco or Spanish interior design on Pinterest and you will see thousands of examples of 100+ year-old designs that are amazing and inspire millions each year AND they are FULL of color!! So many colors, and so many possibilities! Take the leap!

• New trim boards painted the same color as the wall can make a huge difference. Our trim boards were old, battered, and yucky (I didn’t know black grime could build up on white trim). Spending the money on new trim surprisingly updated the room. It’s worth the investment. 

• Painted wood plank flooring does work and it does look like farmhouse floors! They’re solid underfoot and cost-efficient. And just as I thought, I loved being able to paint them! I’ve always wanted to paint wood floors, but I don’t think I could paint real wood floors. By laying the wood planks, I had no hesitation finishing them with paint, and I 100% love the outcome. I’m thinking of doing them in more rooms I love them so much. 

• Trust your kids - While kids may need a little nudging and guiding, you can use their overall vision to create an amazing design. If they pick a color that you dislike, discuss it with them. Start by saying, “That color doesn’t work for me, what else can we find that may be more fun?” Or wait. I found a way to get around making High Maintenance Pink (yes very bright pink) the focal point of this room by waiting until we were ready to do the work. By that time her taste had changed and it worked out well. I didn’t squash her dreams and we made a great design.  

Before

After