Name: Penelope Pearl
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Room Size: 8'x10'

If Melissa were describing her daughter's room to us over the phone ("tan walls and carpet") we admit we might have yawned. But - wow - she livened up this room so smartly that we don't even miss colorful wall paint. Adding a vivid orange area rug over neutral carpeting brings this room awake and alive. And, hello!, the contact paper ceiling border makes this wholly delightful room even more memorable.

As always, it's the small touches that make a room so lovely and personal. For example, Penelope's crib was used by her father and his five siblings, her desk and nightstand belonged to her maternal grandmother and the sweet dress and cross stitch were from Melissa's childhood. Here, she tells us more about this charming rental space:

How would you describe the look and feel of this room? Eclectic, sentimental & fun. Not your typical girly-girl room, but still very feminine.

The scalloped ceiling border is super stylish - how long did that take? The contact paper border took about three hours from start to finish. It was not nearly as daunting as I thought it'd be.

What is your favorite piece or element in the room? That's a hard one! It's between the nightstand - I love how the yellow handles & yellow containers play with each other - or the desk + Liberty of London lampshade - The pattern on the lampshade just fits Penelope's room & personality so perfectly!

What was the biggest challenge decorating this room? Finding a lamp for the lampshade. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it works. The lampshade just sat all alone on the desk for about 5 months before I found something. I don't buy lamps very often, so I sorta felt like a fish out of water with that. I felt like it was harder than painting the furniture.

What do your friends say about it? My friends seem to like it a lot or at least they're nice enough to keep their real thoughts to themselves. ;)

What does Penelope think of her room? Penelope was downstairs watching her favorite show (Kipper) while I was cleaning up & adding the finishing touches to her room. I really wanted a couple of shots with her in her nice, clean room before she destroyed it, so I grabbed her & brought her to her room. As soon as she walked in, she gasped, "Oo! Pretty!" That made everything so worthwhile.

For a room with neutral walls and floor, this room has SO much color - any tips for other renters wanting to create a colorful children's room without changing the wall color? That's a tough one. My best suggestion is to accessorize with as many bold, colorful pieces as possible! Bold lampshades, large colorful artwork really help to punch up the space.

Can you tell us about some of the DIY projects here? The contact paper border was a great activity to help make Penelope's space more unique, check out the tutorial on how I did it. I also painted all of Penelope's furniture. It was slightly mis-matched before so a few coats of bright white spray paint were enough to do the job. I used Krylon fusion spray paint for slick surfaces & it worked WONDERS!! I love that stuff. It adhered beautifully to each piece & hasn't chipped at all.

If money were no object, what’s your dream source: Oh gosh, if only. I'd be spending all my money at Anthropologie & 2modern if that were the case.

Resources: Target, Urban Outfitters, Deseret Industries, Caitlin Creer, Wal*Mart, Ikea

Thanks Melissa and Penelope! Melissa writes a fantastic blog, IS•LY, which you should definitely visit often. Dive into her tutorials, see what she's been cooking, enjoy her photography and writing and be sure to congratulate her on her new pregnancy!

(Images: Melissa Esplin)