Welcome to these twins’ playful, casual, and extremely budget friendly bedroom (the famous lake house twins). Three years ago I designed the lake house, and one of the projects that was emotionally important (but not financially) was the twins’ bedroom. It had a lot of potential, without a lot of dough – like most of us when we were 22. Here is where we started:
Technically that wasn’t even the “before.” The “before” was beige walls and bad flooring. I just can’t find all those photos. So jump forward 6 months, to when it looked like this. We started with a simple gray on the walls. I believe it’s Windham Gray by Pratt & Lambert (it’s absolutely insane that I remember that).
They already had the beds and the dresser which were fine but you know, not amazing. But since it was their weekend house, and these weren’t pretentious fancy people, we figured they were good enough to use. So we tried to make them work the best we could.
Things started to get pulled together. The room lent itself to two different niches, and those tents were the perfect opportunity to add in a bit of imagination play.
Let me be clear – I shot that and it was not my intention for it to be the after. I knew that we would eventually shoot it for a magazine, but what I forgot was that magazines only take like 2 photos per room, whereas we bloggers take 119 different shots in the same room. I thought all the angles and details would be covered, so I didn’t properly shoot this space. My little iPhone photos aren’t exactly cutting it, but that doesn’t stop me from blabbing about this bedroom . . .
We had one fun idea – making the two niches into tented areas for the kids so they could have their own fort. We bought 6 dollar-a-yard cotton that looked like thin denim from the fabric district, then used Ikea hospital tracks to install them on the ceiling. It was DIY and budgety for sure – stuff that honestly I don’t do anymore and I leave to the professionals (like my nursery ceiling mount curtains). But we went for it. It looks cute until you get to the top, where it got messy. The problem was that where you attach it to the drapes is a few inches down on the ceiling fixture, so the fabric sagged a bit. It wasn’t that big of a deal, and the client knew that it was us trying to save them money, but if I were to do it again, I would hire a pro to do that kind of work.
The tent idea though is a very cute one if I do say so myself. Those plug-in sconces were from Ikea that we spray painted orange.
Not having more actual professional photos kills me. How annoyed are you guys of me disclaiming that when I don’t have good photos? VERY????
The following two professional photos are what ran in Country Living Magazine a couple years ago.
If I remember right the kids helped me pick out the art for the little gallery wall. All Etsy, except that always lovely Sharon Montrose whose twin bunnies were certainly appropriate.
The light fixture was from a vendor on Etsy and it is EXTREMELY adorable. I wish there were more people who turned really cute kids toys into one of a kind chandeliers. Trust me that there is a market for it.
These two nuggets are now 6 (3 here, I believe), and live in LA only 4 miles from me. It’s a blast from the past, but one that I couldn’t help but share. Better late than never, right?
I’ll call this “playful hand-me-down chic.” For Twins. Now go get an even better version of “the look.”
1. Outer Space Poster | 2. Dinosaur Comforter Set | 3. Rocking Chair | 4. Giraffe Head | 5. Navy Dresser | 6. Red Stripped Rug | 7. Grey Drapes | 8. Baby Bunnies Print by Sharon Montrose | 9. Airplane Pendant Light | 10. Navy Bed Frame | 11. Red Wall Sconce | 12. Rocket Sheet Set | 13. Whale Pillow | 14. Wood Rocking Horse | 15. Bulldog Lamp
To see the Lake House project from the beginning take a look here: Lake House Post #1 | Lake House Post #2 | Lake House Post #3 | Lake House Post #4 | Lake House Post #5 | Lake House Post #6 | The Lake House Makeover – Kitchen Edition
*After Photos by Björn Wallander for Country Living.
The post A Playful, Budget Hand-me-down Bedroom for Twins appeared first on Emily Henderson.
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