Teen Girl Room

After ongoing boundary disputes upstairs over den space vs girl bedroom, I have successfully negotiated a cease fire with aforementioned family space/den (encroaching on girl's privacy) to be forfeited in exchange for a neutral zone of storage while girl land is allowed room for expansion. After two years of the guys not actually using their agreed upon den space, their reservations have been cancelled! It's Girl World now! 

Here's the comforter set she chose from Walmart. We shopped around online and at several retailers, and I was surprised that Wally's had the one she liked the best. My checking account thanks her.

We're changing her room from pink and white cottage shabby chic, em-PHAH-sis on shabby, to teal white and black with some bright colors thrown in for accent (and because we're reusing pieces). All black, white, and teal might be a bit overwhelming in that space and not as bright and cheerful either. We're going with silver accents, too. 

We updated an old headboard with paint and vinyl. My daughter sanded & painted, picked out the graphic, and I cut the vinyl on my Cameo. We both love how it turned out, and I enjoyed working together on it.

For her desk area I made a framed chicken wire bulletin board. While that's pretty straightforward stuff, there are a few pointers to share. 

Supplies for this job included: 

• old picture frame (already painted)
• chicken wire 
• staple gun and staples 
• scrap styrofoam to pad frame (cardboard works) 
• rustiest old wire snips I could find (rust was an            optional added bonus), 
• Girl Scout sit-upon to protect knees 
• cat hair confetti (also optional) 

First, snag someone else to do the painting. Your teenage daughter will do nicely. Then assemble all materials, making sure you're kneeling on the hardest subface imaginable, and call in a supervisor kitty to inspect the job site. 

Here's what the very edge of the roll of chicken wire looks like, and common sense dictates it's the easiest place to staple. I present Exhibit A as proof that, it ain't necessarily so. Where's the supervisor kitty when you need him? 

On a side note, I shot better the first time at the gun range than I did here with a staple gun.  Exhibit B:

I'm pretty sure I could load the gun faster than I figured out the staple gun, too. Now that our daughter is dating age my husband had a renewed interest in me handling a gun. It could be a coincidence.

Here's where my anal detailed side probably gets silly. This is going to have sharp edges, but I decided these sharp edges were bad as opposed to the others that were ...good? They were too close to the edge, so I curled them under using a screwdriver. That's to avoid getting torn up while hanging it. They could also scratch the wall. I'm not worried about scratching the walls where this will hang.  

If you want to protect your walls, just cover the ends in duct tape after you've stapled the chicken wire, and tack the tape in place with a handful of staples. If you have drywall, then I suggest this additional step, because I'm anal careful like that.

  See - not as close, flat to frame, & I was getting tired

Finished and awaiting styling! 

I trimmed the very outside edge of the frame in a light aqua and added a flower clip. I can't decide if I want to paint those clothespins or not. I'm hoping to get her desk area finished while she's at Grandma's house. 

 Had I known we were going to really do more than clean and get a new comforter, I probably ... still would've forgotten the before shots I was so busy when it all began. I'm trying to remember to  Take. That. Before. Shot. (The evidence can always be deleted. Shhh!) 

Projects we've begun or completed:

Headboard facelift

Chicken wire bulletin board

Painted cork board

Painted mod podge magnet board & magnets

Painting walls

Vinyl butterflies on glass lampshade (used Silhouette)

wire, light string, pictures, tulle wall (Her Tumblr wall)

Drop cloth as carpet cover 

New bedding

Ikea white Malm dresser

Paint 2nd desk drawers

To Do:

Paint chest turquoise 

Finish painting walls

Desk area - hang chicken wire board, bulletin board, magnet boards, etc.

Knobs on 2nd desk drawers 

Window coverings

Drape fabric over fluorescent light to soften