Girls Bedroom Makeover

Note to self…next time you give one of your kids’ rooms a makeover, be sure to take photos of it immediately after you place the final little accessory on a shelf. Because, if you don’t, you will put it off and put it off and put it off because you know that in order to take the pictures you will have to clear out all of the little ‘extras’ your child decided to add to the room once the makeover was completed.

But I have to be honest. I was really tempted to just leave all of those doo-dads and knick-knacks exactly where they were. As I was gathering up all of the stuffed animals and Lego Friends pieces, the scraps of papers with little drawings on them and loose beads from half-completed bracelets, all I could think about was how THEY were actually what made the room beautiful. They make it feel alive.

I guess with time flying by at warp speed, I no longer look at all of those things as ‘messy’ but rather as the evidence that there is a child in our home who still has an imagination. A girl whose stuffed animals still talk to her and who builds houses for them out of cardboard boxes.

A girl who wanted a pink room and who sometimes reads books at her window seat but mostly uses it for setting up elaborate scenes for her dolls.

I’ve noticed something different about my son’s room now that he is almost 13. No, it’s not the horrible boy odor that hits me like a ton of bricks every time I walk through the door. It’s the lack of train tracks and crazy Lego concoctions. The doo-dads and knick-knacks that provide evidence of a thriving imagination.

And, in the spirit of full disclosure here, I didn’t always see those things as positives. I saw them as ‘stuff’ or ‘mess’. I saw them as the things that made it really hard to properly vacuum or dust.

But with my daughter, it’s different. Perhaps it’s that she’s a girl and some of the things she plays with are things that hold a special place in my heart. Like the dollhouse my dad built for us when my sister and I were little girls.

Or maybe it’s that I understand better her love of accessories being an accessory loving girl myself.

Maybe I’m as giddy as she is over the little American Girl doll boutique we created in the cupboard portion of her bookcase using a tension rod to display all of the fabulous clothing options.

Maybe I’m secretly envious of her vintage vanity table because I would have LOVED one just like it when I was her age.

But, when I get right down to the heart of it, I don’t think it’s actually any of those things.

I think it’s that she’s my youngest.

And that now I’ve experienced how quickly the evidence of imagination is replaced with evidence of another kind. Evidence of a new stage. Evidence that looks suspiciously more grown-up.

So, I’m more relaxed these days about having to dust around all of the stuff. About being warned by my little miss not to disturb the house she has made for her stuffed mouse (named ‘Squeaker’ by the way) out of the lid of a box.

Because I want to enjoy every last ounce of ‘little’ there is left in our home. And, frankly, I want her to enjoy every last ounce of it too!

I want her to stay lost in her imagination for as long as possible

So, I may have put all of the knick-knacks and doo-dads in the hallway while I took these photos…

But, the minute the shutter clicked on the last picture I happily put them all right back out again!

Thank you for meeting me today at the fence,

Source List

Wood Typography Scripture Sign: Signs of Hope

Bookcases: Kathy Ireland Line on Amazon

Galvanized Letters: Walmart

Window Seat Pillows: HomeGoods

Floral Pillow Shams: Better Homes and Gardens line at Walmart