How to design a bedroom full of personality? Make it whimsical!
After finishing my oldest son’s bedroom, my middle child was very enthusiastic about me taking on his bedroom makeover as my next project. He’s full of character and the life of the party! I turned his plain bedroom into a whimsical, storybook escape full of charm and character. This vintage inspired space, layered with stripes, colors and character, is now a perfect reflection of my son’s whimsy and imagination. Keep reading to see how I made this magical, pinterest inspired room come to life!
Before: A child shouldn’t have a grey bedroom!!!
This is my son’s bedroom. When we moved in, it was a basic, bland bedroom with grey walls and absolutely no personality or style. I wanted to create a bedroom that matched his vibrant energy and boundless imagination, while still flowing with the overall aesthetic and vision of our home.
Designing a bedroom together
My son only had one request “paint the walls red”. While I love his bold vision and knew the red would match his personality well. I kept coming back to the color theory. This tells us that red, while it is a passionate and enthusiastic color, it can also cause aggression and psychological effects. That wasn’t the environment I wanted a growing boy exposed to.
But I still wanted him to LOVE the room. It’s his space. I showed him lots of inspiration online. I even mocked up 2 different designs.
When I showed him both side by side, he didn’t even mention the color. He was so enthusiastic about the animals (he LOVES animals and especially stuffed animals) and the canopy. He thought it was like a secret hide out!
So, we reached a happy compromise by painting just the trim a rich red. For the red accents, I used the Benjamin Moore Advance Interior- Dinner Party AF-300. It brought the right amount of boldness to the space without overwhelming it.
I got a lot of very interesting feedback about this project on my social media. A lot of it was very critical of me not taking my son’s paint request into consideration. And while I value feedback, I think a lot of those people either don’t have kids, or don’t have a kid who changes their mind constantly. My son asked me to paint his room, orange or gold just a few weeks ago… so you can tell he isn’t stubborn. And I believe this space is the perfect balance of my son’s bold spirit and the thoughtful design of my home.
Giving the room a fresh coat of white with Chantilly Lace
Stripes are really trending right now, and I knew I wanted them to be incorporated into the design of this room. To begin this room, I decided to create a striped wall background. This was possibly the most time consuming part of the whole room.
The old owners used a glossy paint on the walls and I knew the new paint would flake off. I didn’t want to risk that especially when peeling the tape with the stripes. Before I began to paint, I prepped the walls by sanding then with a p180 grit on sanding pole. This is the easiest way to sand the wall.
Next, I filled all the holes with drywall filler. Then, I primed the walls to ensure the new paint would have a base coat to stick to. I applied two coats of Aqua Lock Primer. I waited 24 hours for full effectiveness of the primer.
Then I painted the walls a crisp white color for the background. I went with a classic Chantilly Lace OC-65 in the Benjamin Moore Regal line. Because I will be painting stripes, I used the Eggshell Finish to prevent bleeding. I painted 2 coats of the wall color.
Tools to help me paint faster
Painting can be a tedious process but there are 2 tools that helped me paint faster.
- I was recently introduced to a paint edger. This tool allows you to paint along the top of your walls and above baseboards without the need to apply painter’s tape. As long as you dip it directly in the paint, you won’t get any paint on the edges. It has small wheels that guide along the edges. I really liked this tool as an alternative to cutting in
I’ve been painting by hand for so long that I don’t mind cutting in with my favourite angled brush. However, it is faster to use the edger with an extension pole at the top of the wall. With a paint brush, you waste a lot of time moving the ladder, and getting up and down from the ladder. Give it a try for your next paint project! - I’ve used an 18″ roller and it’s such a game changer. You can paint SO fast with an 18″ roller. It’s a great tool for a large room that doesn’t have a lot of doors or windows. I didn’t even use a small 9″ roller this time because my son’s room only has 1 small window.
Let the madness begin with taping the stripes!
Once the walls were ready to be taped, I began the tedious process of creating the stripes. I didn’t anticipate how long this would really take. Using a laser level for precision and painter’s tape for the spacer, I taped everything into place.
I painted another coat of the base color (Chantilly Lace) to get crisp lines. This really helps to seal in the color.
Then I painted this gorgeous teal Pacific Rim for the stripes color. I was careful not to roll the paint sideways as I wanted to avoid pushing any paint under the edges of the tape.
I was so nervous to pull off the tape. What is my hours.. ehh days of taping didn’t work out? To my relief it was beautiful. My kids even helped me peel the tape. It was such a core memory.
The end result was these beautiful crisp teal stripes. I have a detailed post on how I painted and taped these stripes.
Adding Ceiling Trim for Drama
Instead of adding traditional crown molding to the room, I added ceiling trim. For that I used simple $5 baseboards. This is a lot easier than crown molding as I just had to cut them on a bevel in the corners.
I painted them a rich red, Dinner Party. For the doors and trim, I used Benjamin Moore Advanced in the Pearl finish. This was my first time using it, but I am in love with the finish. It’s beautiful. Just beware that you have to give a full 8 hours to cure before applying the second coat.
Then, I used my nail gun to attach the trim to the wall. It was a lot easier to pre-paint them than to worry about getting paint on the ceiling. If my ceilings were flat, I would have painted the ceiling this same shade too.
I have used shiplap as ceiling trim before and I love added ceiling trim to a room! This tied the room together nicely, and gave the space a polished look.
Painting the Baseboards Red
To bring more elements of red into the room, I painted the baseboards. I used the yellow frog tape to tape off the baseboards from the wall and used my favourite angled brush. At the bottom of the floor I used a paint trim guard that I got from Dollar Tree. It helped me paint so much faster!
Painting the Door Red
I took the imaginative theme of this room further, and painted the inside of the door the same rich red as the ceiling and baseboard trim. For this step, I cleaned the door with a deglosser and skipped sanding. Then, I painted the whole interior door for that perfect pop of color.
I also painted the door trim, and the edge of the door so you don’t see any odd white gaps when the door is closed.
Reveal of my son’s whimsical bedroom!!
To keep true to the vintage feel of the room I sourced as much as I could from Facebook Marketplace and my local Value Village. I was looking for room decor that would fit well with the vintage design of the room, but also very affordable.
A vintage inspired rug
I wanted a rug that would tie the two clors of the room together. This Loloi rug looks vintage, but it’s a great low pile rug for any kids space. It doesn’t shed and adds a soft landing place for kids who love to play on the floor!
Gorgeous Vintage Bed
I was randomly scrolling on marketplace one day and stumbled upon this gorgeous vintage bed. I initially thought it would work well for my daughter’s room as she is transitioning out of her crib soon. Either way, it was just $40 so I snagged it. When I finished painting this room, I knew the bed would work perfectly because of the red tons in the wood. The bed is a rich dark wood, perfectly flowing with the color scheme of the room.
Upcycled Nightstand
I DIY’ed this nightstand a few years ago. My mom was donating it, and I rescued it from her garage just days before it was gone! I painted it and added trim to the drawers. Now, it’s such a cute bedside table. It works great in this room as a neutral. Set on top of the nightstand is a vintage lamp with the perfectly on. trend scallop lampshade.. It was actually a second hand find by my dad. I asked my mom if I could have it to keep elements of my late father in my new home. The lamp really adds to the classic cottage core bedroom with a whimsical twist.
Whimsy was the core word for this project, and I made sure to carry that into the details of the room. Even the small details were reimagined. I took the plain white light plate of the light switch and changed it with this cute patterned light plate. I felt so inspired by that change that I decided to create a mini gallery wall in different corners of the room. I added cute art work, a color contrasted clock and a wooden peg rail around the light switch, to give that forgotten spot some love.
Above the bed, I hung a colorful felt banner with contrasting colors. I thrifted a framed picture of a bear wearing stripes, a golden car, a tiger head, and two wall mounted book shelves. To bring the look altogether, I draped a canopy over the bed. It immediately brought the whimsical, storybook atmosphere to life.
To make this space feel cozy and collected, I layered the bed with patterned bed sheets, a colorful throw pillow and a simple striped blanket. Underneath the bed, I added a couple wicker baskets for extra storage. A soft area rug finished the look, pulling the room together and grounding all the vibrant elements.
Designing this room for my son was such a joyful and creative process. I wanted the space to feel magical, imaginative and one of a kind. And I believe we accomplished just that.
Turning this plain, grey room into an imaginative, whimsical storybook come to life, I focused on elements that tell a story. Vintage furniture pieces, striped walls, canopy, layered patterns and prints, were all essential to create the whimsy of this room.
This room has been completely tailored to the personality and imagination of my son. Seeing his face light up when he walked in made all the hours and effort worth it.
This project is proof that even the most ordinary of spaces can be transformed with whimsy, out of the box thinking and the magic of DIY. If you’re thinking to create a special space for your own little one, don’t be afraid to tailor it to their personality and charm.
If you enjoyed this transformation, follow along on my Instagram as I continue creating the home of my dreams, one magical room at a time.
Leave a Reply