Teen Bedroom Update: From Little Girl to Beach Vibe

Change is a constant thing in our home…..especially in our kids’ bedrooms.  As each of our children grow and change, their bedrooms become a reflection of that.  The walls get painted, the bedding changes, toys move in and toys move out.  We have a teenage daughter (still trying to wrap my head around that one) whose little girl room needed updating.  Also, with long New England winters and lack of a finished basement space (very common in New England), our children needed a space to hang out with friends and watch t.v, play video games, and be kids.  With this in mind, we launched into a teen bedroom update.

The Bedroom Before:

Our daughter’s former bedroom was actually a bonus room above the garage.  It was huge, which made it a good choice to turn into a gathering space for our kids and their friends.  She generously gave up this room and moved into a much smaller space previously occupied by her youngest brother.  I think the idea of using this room for sleepovers with all her friends clinched the deal.

The New Space:

This is the smaller bedroom when it was occupied by her little brother.  It takes a great kid and an awesome big sister to downsize from her “suite” to a smaller bedroom, in order to create a shared space for herself and two brothers.

Choosing a Color Palette:

I love Pinterest!  Where else can you store every little detail for creating your dream spaces?  I’ve been creating a board on Teen Girl Bedrooms for some time.  I had my daughter look through the board and color palettes I saved to see if she liked any of the pins, and she came up with a palette of corals and blues.

We both love these cheery colors that make you smile, and evoke a sense of relaxing at the beach.  It’s a color palette not so different from the pinks and pastel blues and greens she had in her room before, but brighter and bolder for a teenage girl.

I found the curtain panel first, with its various shades of blues at Home Goods and I liked the Boho beachy vibe.

The Jessica Simpson Collection bedding is from belk.com (it’s also available through Wayfair and Bed Bath and Beyond).

Now for the paint….a mistake that turned out to be a happy surprise.  Originally, we chose Benjamin Moore’s Gossamer Blue.  However, several days after purchasing the paint, motivated and ready to get this room redo started, I popped the lid off the can and knew instantly it was not Gossamer Blue.  In its place was the most beautiful shade of light aqua that looked gorgeous in the can and even better on the wall.  We think you’ll agree!

The Results!

The wall color, bedding and curtain panels blend beautifully together, and are reminiscent of the New England sea coast and my daughter’s love of the beach, ocean and surfing. We couldn’t be happier with the result!

The really fun part began with shopping for accessories to style the room for a teen.  I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I had to choke back some tears when I packed up the green gingham dust ruffle, frilly white bedspread, adorable round rug with bunnies from Pottery Barn Kids, and her childhood stuffed animals and decorations.  Ok, I realize the rug should have probably gone a long time ago, but all moms go through this.  But, the reality is this will be the room my daughter comes back to as a college student, so we wanted it to feel right for her.

We headed to our favorite store for home accessories, Anthropologie, where we found pretty dishes for jewelry and makeup.

I couldn’t resist including the bunny and one other decoration from her previous bedroom.  Hey, I’m a mom, which means I’m sentimental!

We found the Indian themed side table from Home Goods, and we love its bohemian vibe.

Don’t you love all the knobs and fixtures Anthropologie carries?  We found these cuties for her closet doors.

Her desk gives her a space for study and doodling with art.

We kept the accessories in the blue ranges so that the coral bedding was the main statement in the room.

The tieback above is from Anthropologie.

The bed once belonged to my husband’s grandparents, and I painted it years ago, before our children were born.  It was 1930s brown wood, but the colors I chose continue to work with the new decor.  I’m not one for matching colors exactly.  I’d rather things blend harmoniously.  The detail is decopogued by me, and I think it works in this space.

Our daughter is wondering if she wants to add art to the wall over her bed.  The whole room is so peaceful ~ the perfect place to daydream, and gazing at that expanse of azure is calming.  What do you think?  Keep the wall bare, or add a piece of art?

Oh, if you’re curious about what the wall color actually is, it truly is a custom color with no name.  I discovered the mistake behind the not-so Gossamer Blue, when I did not have enough to finish the second coat on the last part of the final wall.  Panicked, I returned to the paint store with paint stick in hand and requested a quart of this Gossamer Blue, and learned that the day I purchased the paint, someone put the wrong color in one of the tubes.  Amazingly, the paint technician matched the color on the paint stick (and gave me the quart for free!).

Why didn’t I return the paint to begin with, when I knew it was not the color I requested?  First, my daughter loved the color when I pulled the lid off the can.  Secondly, it truly looked beautiful against the fabrics I had already purchased.  Finally, when your life is busy with three kids and the motivation strikes to squeeze in painting a bedroom before heading off to a dance competition, the last thing I wanted to do was sacrifice painting time with making a trip to the paint store.

Sometimes you just need to shrug your shoulders and go with it.  And, what a right choice that turned out to be!

Stay tuned as the bedroom redos continue to evolve with our sons’ room and the reason behind all the bedroom transformations to begin with……the kids’ new hangout space.