Most parents like coming up with a theme for their child’s room, the two most common being a princess room for girls and a sports theme for boys. There’s nothing wrong with this as long as you don’t make the mistake of being too literal and going overboard with the theme as your inspiration.

Good design is about creating an ambience that reflects your style and personality, and the same applies to children’s rooms. As you can see in the before photo, although we had the popular Disney princess bedding, the room didn’t have that enchantment a princess room should have. However, in the after photo, even with no princess caricature or wall appliqués, the room has a whimsical style worthy of royalty. This is the right way to do a theme!

So how did we achieve this? The first step was to paint the room a soft pink and purple combination.  That's nothing new when we think of painting a girl’s bedroom, but what took it to another level was the paneling effect we created with wood molding on the bottom perimeter of the walls. It gave the room instant architectural detail!

The second biggest change came from re-arranging the furniture. Instead of having the bed in the center of the room, we moved it against the wall to use a daybed. This slight move made the room appear larger, and we gained much-need floor space perfect for playing and hanging out with friends.  We completed the transformation with a new chandelier, patch-quilt bedding, a selection of decorative pillows and, of course, a bed canopy to finish off the princess look. Canopies always scream princess to me. Now, we have a bedroom design that can grow with your daughter well into her pre-teen years!