Before and After: This Whimsical Bedroom Redo Oozes Cottage Charm

Bedrooms are a great place to experiment with design, since by their nature they feel a bit more personal than the rest of your home. That goes double for kids’ bedrooms, which can become creative little havens for the kids who call them their own. Take this bedroom refresh, from Kathryn Baugher of Up to Date Interiors, which turns a plain sleeping space into a colorful, playful retreat.

After plenty of moves with the military—and a lot of rentals—Kathryn was excited to finally settle into a home where she could take full creative reign. The first project she tackled when her family moved into their 1960s ranch was her daughter’s bedroom, which was starting to show its age. “The bedroom was small with yellow painted walls when we moved in and there were some cracks in the drywall that needed to be repaired,” Kathryn says.

As part of a “New Year, New Room Refresh” challenge with a friend, Kathryn made over this space from top to bottom in about five weeks. She kept most of the existing furniture, replacing only the bed with a new elegant gold bed frame.

The color palette—one of Kathryn’s favorite parts—give this room a playful feel. For a little extra oomph, Kathryn applied a cheeky-patterned wallpaper from Milton & King on the bottom half of the wall; she painted the upper half a whimsical pink, and divided both sections with white chair rail molding. “Adding wallpaper and trim-molding can do wonders for a room and it is not too difficult to learn with some patience and guidance,” Kathryn says.

Re-mounting the curtain rod higher up the wall helps give the illusion of taller ceilings. Rather than the boring old white curtains, Kathryn hung up velvet green curtains. She painted the brown blades of the ceiling fan light pink to give it a quick and easy refresh.

The old dresser—once both white and pistachio green—got an update, too, with an all-over minty green color (Velvet Finishes’ Cosmopolitan) and a sweet little bee design. Above it, Kathryn added baskets, framed pictures, and a table lamp that complements the gold tones in the new bed frame.

Now, the bedroom has a pulled-together look that hits notes of vintage and boho—and suits the style of both Kathryn and her daughter.

Inspired? Submit your own project here.