Project by: Simplified Bee
Location: San Francisco Peninsula, California
Cristin Bisbee Priest wrestled with the challenge of creating a shared bedroom for two daughters, ages 7 and 10, and satisfying both parties on the issue of color scheme! One girl loved pink and the other loved purple, and Cristin rose to the occasion and created a room that delighted both.
Here's what Cristin says about her project:
What to do when two sisters can't agree on a color scheme for their shared bedroom?
For a client's seven year old who loves pink and her ten year old who loves purple, I started with matching neutral white bed linens and open fretwork headboards. Complimentary, custom Euro shams and bolster pillows were created for each girl with their favorite colors in mind. Whimsical prints of a pink flamingo and purple seahorse were found on Etsy, framed and placed above each bed.
I love multi-functional pieces in a room, so a white lacquer mini Parsons desk was placed between the beds - it serves as a nightstand and study spot. The clear ghost chair was added because it didn't add too much visual weight to the space. The walls were painted a soft lavender, while a bold pink and white area rug was selected for the floor - it's 100% cotton and small enough to throw in a standard washing machine — perfect for kids! The dresser was painted a soft pink (Benjamin Moore's Bermuda Pink) and topped with a fun bubble gum table lamp, antique mirror and abstract art by Michaela Noelle Designs.
Although a challenge to design at first, the room turned out beautifully and most importantly, both girls love that it reflects their unique style.
Thanks, Cristina and Simplified Bee!
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(Images: PlumLily Photography)






White Enamel Flatwa...
This is certainly a beautiful room- but I'm not sure a compromise between pink and purple was a "design challenge"- especially for a 7 and 10 year olds room. The colors go quite easily together!?
Have to agree w/ previous commentator; pink & purple in a girls' room hardly seems challenging. Also, where are the bedside lamps? How can you have a nightstand, or a desk for that matter, w/o lighting? It is a lovely room, though.
Please share the exact shad of lavender that you used for the walls! I love it!
Overall, it's a lovely room, but I am not sure that it's a great room for a 7&10 year old. It's too bland for girls that age. I have to wonder where their personalities are in the room. The room doesn't look at all personalized, and it's absent of things girls that age love. The colors are so subtle and muted. This seems more appropriate for a guest room.
I have to agree that the room, while really beautiful, looks like a very stereotypically feminine guest room. My overall impression is of parents more concerned with maintaining a certain aesthetic than with creating a room where their daughters' own personalties could be expressed (such expression not often being the stuff of magazine-worthy photos).
I think it's an absolutely gorgeous room! I have to wonder if all the other commentators would leave their kids toys lying around when posing their room for a photo shoot.
Beautiful job!
Exactly! The comment above is what I was thinking. I am an Interior Designer & always photograph my client' children's rooms. I do straighten up, put away the messy stuff that collects & stage the room for a photo shoot. Believe me the rooms return to their highly personalized state the moment the photo shoot is over. Almost by magic!! That said, there are a few issues to remark about.... no bedside lamps & nothing on the window to soften the hard edges of the shutters.