in the details: girl's bedroom makeover by vintage revivals

In middle school and high school, I realized that though I was weird, quirky, creative, and some of my closest friends were art kids, I was not an art kid. There was some overlap, and I tried to take more art classes in college, when I could fit them in. But as much as I love visual arts, images, and design, I am better with words. 

Similarly, as an adult, I am not an artist, stylist, or designer, but I work with them, write about them, and get to be partially immersed in that world. I'm trying to learn more from them. The creativity is always inspiring me to look at things differently and sparks my own ideas. When this image from Vintage Revivals (above) happened to pop up in my stream on Pinterest, I was very intrigued. 

Mandi Gubler is the blogger/DIY-genius behind Vintage Revivals and totally sounds like someone I would love to be friends with. Her philosophy on design and creating a personal space is also very much like mine.  This bedroom belongs to her super fun four-year-old daughter (Watch the video on Mandi's post, seriously. And see the before images and the finished room from other angles). 

In its past life, the room was mostly white with a brass bed and didn't accurately represent her daughter Dylan's zeal. Mandi took on the project as part of Sherwin-Williams' National Painting Week this past spring. She and her daughter collaborated on the colors and what they would both like to see in the room. The starting parameters were basically: pink, a princess bed, puppies, and no "Justin Beaver." Love this kid—she also reminded me very much of my just-about-four year old who is also pink princess obsessed and likes to wear tutus out wherever she goes.

The hexagonal ombre wall is killing me. The colors are so fresh and vibrant, and it's girly but in a way that can absolutely grow with Dylan. Mandi was able to incorporate all the colors Dylan chose and because of her ombre treatment, lightening each color with white, she achieved this with sample pots, rather than having to buy a ton of paint. The hexagonal frame is something I wouldn't have come up with on my own but is such an interesting layer in the room. What a creative solution for figuring out how to use that many colors in one space: It really works because the structured geometric frame keeps it controlled enough that it doesn't feel insane, but also becomes the thing that ties the rest of the room's elements together so nicely. And so smart that she kept it a bit restrained not only with the ombre, rather than each color at full strength, but also by not doing the entire wall. 

There is so much to look at in this room, but the other big detail I have to share is the bulldog bulletin board. Yes, that puppy-face feature wall is a bulletin board made from thin cork roll and paint. Mandi's tutorial is here and she manages to make it sound like something even I could do. I almost can't imaging covering up her handiwork with papers, but how incredible that she took an basic idea to make her daughter super happy (featuring puppies in some way) and blew it out turning it into something totally unique that only Dylan has and managed to make it functional?

I've been saying for a little while that I'm so over accent walls, but if this is the future of accent walls (and I sure hope so), then I'm back on board. 

images via vintage revivals

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