barbies to beach bedroom transformation

I had finally had enough!! Several years ago I let my then 5 year old daughter choose her bedroom paint color(s) and decor..... So, off to the paint store we went....well any of you who have little girls don't even need to wonder what colors they adore at that age! She heads straight to the Nickelodeon display and we came home with barbie pink and bright purple!

I know what you might be thinking! How could I allow such ghastly colors into my vintage home? Seriously, it was not easy...I kept thinking "let her make her own decision and feel a sense of accomplishment." That was that, she made the decision and we ended up with purple walls (2/3rds of the way up) and pink & white awning stripes on the upper third. What you can't see from the before pics was a sweet little princess canopy with toule and lots of pink chintz fabric, that hung above her bed. It did help a bit, but even so after 3-4 years of this I couldn't take it anymore!



My 13 year old daughter & I were laying on my bed trying to decide what to do for the day on the last week of summer and I said, "I hate that bedroom!! Let's redo it today before Dad gets home!!" If you have seen the post with the cupboard project, the inside of the cabinet is painted a really pretty robin's egg bluish/greenish color. As luck would have it...the color is close enough, for my (now 9 yr. old) daughter's taste, to sky blue which is now her favorite color. So, with very little persuasion on color--we started the project.



We started by priming the walls--it took all of one gallon! We removed the dated carpet, and all the tack strips & staples that came w/ it.



Then I started installing the floorboards. The flooring is prefinished tongue & groove fir. Most of the boards were 7-8 feet long, so I tried to stagger the boards so the horizontal seams didn't line up. Lots of sawing (I do love my power tools!!) But I have to admit, at this point, I was wondering "what in the world was I thinking...doing this on a whim w/ the hubby at work..all by myself...????" But carry on I said to self! You can do it!



Here's the final product! We still have some decorating to do...I'm planning on hanging soft white curtain panels, and installing 1x4 white base boards. We're also adding, just a few, beachy accessories to finish up, but we will be keeping the general look very simple & uncluttered.



She is so happy with her new room!! She can't keep her sisters out of it!