Charlotte's big girl room

When we found out we were having another girl, I walked into C's room a few days later and tried to imagine two little beds in there for two little girlies...her room is not huge, and there was no way it was gonna happen unless I did some serious re-arranging.

We actually aren't planning on having the girls in the room together right away. I've always preferred to have my babies sleep close to me for the first 5-6 months, whether in our bed or a bed close to ours. We are preparing a "nursery area" in our bedroom for baby girl but it's not quite done yet. I have to tackle one room at a time so as not to get overwhelmed!

When baby girl is big enough for a toddler bed (which for us usually happens around 17-18 months) OR when we get tired of her taking up space in our room and we feel it safe to have them together, then the two sisters will share a bedroom. But in the meantime, C gets the room all to herself.

It seemed like the perfect time to add some "big girl" elements- mostly to give Charlotte a space that would match her growing personality.
(Plus the whole nesting concept is completely taking me over...I feel like EVERY room needs updated before baby arrives!)

Charlotte LOVES babies. And so...all over her room were baby strollers, a baby bed, baby highchair, baby clothes, etc. There was a dresser taking up lots of space along the wall, and tons of her old nursery decor everywhere. But the thing taking up the most space? THAT DARN CRIB! :) I have a love/hate relationship with our crib...I loved it when we bought it, but the paint has been chewed on/chipped and I hate using it as a day bed. It's just so big and dark and well...ugly. haha.

Before I go into it all, I want to note that anytime we "re-decorate" we try to spend as LITTLE money as possible. I know I'm not alone in this :) Usually I just move stuff around, re-purpose things I don't like, and try to craft/sew any new elements instead of purchasing them from a store (which, let's be honest, just don't feel as good to decorate with. I'm a sucker for the home decor isles at Target, but anytime I purchase something instead of making it, it feels pretty meaningless...for those things I could NEVER make myself- I gladly browse for at Target instead!).

This is what I did before the "re-decorating" began:

*Shoved (neatly, of course) all the baby clutter stuff into one half of her closet.
*Moved dresser into other half of the closet, along with all the little hair accessories that were originally hung on the wall.
*Took down the mobile hanging from the ceiling, nursery art on the wall, tissue poms above her bed, and all the other little thingies I made for her nursery long ago. I did NOT throw any of it away (except the poms and mobile that would not store well)- in fact all the cute little nursery stuff is tucked safely away into storage. I didn't have it in me to trash it.
*Got that stupid crib out right away...Charlotte slept on two stacked mattresses for a few weeks. She thought it was awesome.
*Some stuff I didn't even budge- toy storage dresser, bookshelf, play kitchen. Once little sis moves in we'll move the play kitchen to the other side of the room to make room for her bed.

Her room felt pretty empty after that, so first thing I did was hang up some frames. Aside from all the unavoidable pink (...there's just no way around all that pink) the color scheme for her new room is coral, mint, and silver. Yep, silver. I've been noticing gold as being really trendy lately...and while I love how others have used it in their homes, it's just not me. (Maybe someday I'll catch on...I'm just not that bold yet!) I thought, "If gold can look so great, why not silver?" I was hesitant at first, but once we spray painted our Ikea UNG frame a metallic color- I was in LOVE. It feels so elegant and sophisticated, yet whimsical and girly. Yes I did just use all those words to describe a color. :)

There are also a lot of polka dots. Obviously I kinda like them. ha.

Everything on this wall we already had. I kept the plastic frames white and painted the others silver. I filled the frames with polka dot paper because it was easy and cute.

Anyway- she already had some coral and mint elements (and did I mention- a LOT of pink?!). I tried to weed out as much pink as I could, but some stuff had to stay. And that's okay...her room is definitely not all matchy-matchy like something off of Pinterest but it does feels like more of a toddler room than a nursery now.

We didn't get new bedding because her beloved blanket that she's obsessed with wasn't going ANYwhere...and it matches the color scheme, so I just laid on top of her comforter. I did sew a new crib sheet because her other was one was- yep- baby pink. haha. I wanted to make a matching pillow case but again...she would never let me take her minky one away. She is a huge minky fan. I'm convinced this fabric has magical powers- anytime she's upset all I have to do is rub it against her cheeks and wallah- happy girl :)

I opted for a little decorative pillow instead. You can tell I couldn't pick which fabric to use, so there's lots of different ones. I love that Joann's has fabric with silver on it!

I saw this fabric strip garland tutorial all over Pinterest and thought it would be a nice addition to the empty wall space. It really filled the wall perfectly and it's probably my favorite thing in the room. It was so much fun picking out these fabrics!

To incorporate the polka dots a bit more, I got these three art canvasses and painted them a bright coral color, then stuck tons of vinyl silver circles to them to create a "falling confetti" look. I had to wait MANY weeks for this silver vinyl from Silhouette America, but it was worth it!

I made those ruffle curtains a LONG time ago, and I love them! They make the room feel super girly.

When looking for the right rug, I realized that no rugs come in the right color I needed; at least not the shade I was looking for. When I stumbled upon this one from rugsusa.com I was elated! I realize its more pink than coral but the cuteness was to die for! Plus, the website was having a 70% off warehouse sale with free shipping- making it a reasonable price instead of hundreds of $ that no one wants to spend on a single rug... Jonathan thought it was funny that I added more pink to her room, but...well, I think it speaks for itself. :) I love love love it.

So that's it for now. I'd like to add a lamp somewhere, but I haven't found the right one yet. I also have in mind a few other things but those will probably wait until Christmas.

Charlotte is right at home in her new "big girl" room. She spends hours in it every day playing with her kitchen, dolls, and toys. But her most favorite thing is reading books on her bed. That's my girl :)

I just love her smile and happy self! She will make the most wonderful older sister to baby coming soon. I only hope she'll be okay having to share her room when the time comes!