Tips For Girl’s Bedroom Decor That Will Last
Planning girl's bedroom decor can be difficult - especially when you're decorating for a tween. Their tastes change fast, and you're trying to find that sweet spot between fun, functional, and future-proof.
Today I'm walking you through our process to makeover our almost- tween girl's room from mismatched chaos to a colorful, practical space she loves. Plus I'm including tips on updating your own girl's bedroom in a way that will last.
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In This Article
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Before The makeover: What Wasn't Working
I have to admit - when my little girl's room was a nursery it was adorable. I remember painting the purple on purple stripes and hanging sweet photos on the wall. But by the time it transitioned into a little girl room, it became a bit of a mess.
The color scheme felt haphazard, the layout seemed off, and it lacked storage for all the little trinkets and toys that little girls tend to collect. - I definitely forgot about that very long phase.
Challenge: From Little Girl Bedroom To Big Girl Bedroom
This room had me a bit stumped - and took a longer to complete - because:
- My daughter's tastes and interests are changing. At almost 10, her personality is blossoming, and I wanted the big decisions (like furniture) to last well into her teen years - hopefully until she's on her own.
- The layout of this room is funky. There's not a lot of wall space, so we had to get creative with furniture.
- She loves color, so I wanted to include a lot of it, but do it in a timeless way that she wouldn't outgrow next year.
To figure out a design for her room, we followed the exact framework I teach inside my course, Style Your Way Home, in order to:
- Define her personal style
- Create a go-to list of elements and favorite colors
- Plan a layout that works for her life and interests
That framework made it easy to shop, make confident buying decisions, and invest in pieces we knew would grow with her.
Girl's Bedroom Decor Tips That Will Grow With Her
As I show you this beautiful transition into a tween girl's bedroom, I'm also sharing my best and smartest girl's bedroom decor tips so you can plan your own child's bedroom, stretch your budget, and create a space that grows with her.
We're going to cover:
- Choosing Colors
- Wall Art That Can Easily Be Changed As She Grows
- Finding A Bedroom Layout That Makes Sense Now And In The Future
- Product Sources - in case something specific caught your eye
1. Choose a flexible color palette
Colors in a kid's bedroom can be fun because you can go well outside the color palette of the rest of your home.
But a common mistake is going way too bold or crazy with the color scheme. - This pigeon-holes you into a theme that can be difficult to change as your child gets older and can quickly feel outdated.
Pro Tip: Choose colors she loves and use the bold shade of those colors sparingly. Then use pale versions of those colors on things that take up more visual space like walls, bedding, and furniture.
My daughter loves bright colors (pink, turquoise, purple, yellow), so we used a large scale removable floral wallpaper with all those colors as the focal point.
Then we pulled softer shades of those colors throughout her room for accessories, wall art, and pom-pom curtains.
Walls and trim stayed white, but we painted her ceiling a light pink for a fun twist that added color without going overboard.
We added a pop of turquoise on her bedding and the frame of her cork board wall, and chose a pale turquoise for her closet door which brought color to that side of the room.
2. Choose wall decor that can easily evolve over time
Just before we did this room makeover my daughter started taping things to her walls. - I suddenly heard myself repeating the words of my dad… "don't tape things to the walls, it ruins the wall!"
But she loves to display her art and I'd like to give her the freedom to display posters of Joey McIntyre of New Kids On The Block like I did. - Ok, fine, her posters will probably be Harry Styles or The Jonas Brothers, but you get the point.
Pro Tip: The things you put on her walls is one of the main ways you can showcase your daughter's personality and interests. Since those interests change quickly, select wall art that can easily adapt as she changes (and won't break the bank).
Solution: A huge cork board wall
We built a huge DIY cork board wall so she can pin up whatever she wants - such a great way to showcase her personality, display her accomplishments, and give a huge shot of color and fun to her room.
Solution: Poster hangers instead of frames
I'm the worst at updating anything framed. - Did you notice the empty photo frame hanging on the wall in the before photo of this room?
So instead of frames on the walls, I used these poster hangers. Then I purchased inexpensive downloadable prints which avoided shipping costs and lets us rotate new artwork easily.
The hangers are magnetic and super light weight so they'll be easy to switch out as her tastes evolve.
These poster hangers came in two sizes: Eleven inch and nineteen inch.
Solution: Timeless wall decor
The wall next to her desk needed something but we'd already used art on the other walls. Here I wanted to add an organic element to her space.
These hanging wall planters filled with faux succulents were the perfect solution. They tied in the little dabs of gold you see around her room, gave us the opportunity to add plants higher up without needing shelves, and added a bit of character to her room.
And plants never go out of style, so these will last a long time.
3. Finding a bedroom layout that makes sense now and later
Young kids play on the floor A LOT so floor space is a must. But tweens spend more time relaxing in a comfy chair, sleeping on their bed, or doing homework at their desk.
My daughter's room is rectangular with her bedroom door right in the middle of one long edge and a lower than normal window on one side of the other long edge. This makes it difficult to place furniture because of limited wall space.
Her biggest request was for a large desk area to create artwork and do homework, but with her current furniture setup that just wasn't going to work.
To have room for a desk, I had to get rid of her dresser.
Pro Tip: A good room layout starts with creating zones for the different activities that take place in a room. In this bedroom, she needed a sleeping zone, a reading/ relaxing zone, a play zone, and a homework/art zone. Then we had to choose furniture that supported those zones.
Solution: Built-in bed with storage underneath
I decided that using the entire left side of her bedroom to create a built in bed would allow me to remove her existing dresser and instead place built-in drawers below the bed for clothes and toy storage.
It also gave me the opportunity to create a cozy reading and hang out nook. And since I love any excuse to mix in fun fabric prints, we tossed patterned throw pillows onto a bench seat cushion I made using light pink fabric with white triangles.
4. Maximize storage (without sacrificing style)
One of the biggest wins? Hidden, smart storage.
Built-in wall shelves are perfect to display her little knickknacks, photos, and books, and they reduced the surface clutter that her dresser seemed to accumulate.
Under-bed drawers gave her so much more drawer storage than she had before. She literally has wall to wall drawers and had enough space to use two of the big ones for toy storage.
We also added an over-sized basket (from Home Goods) for more toys and stuffed animals. The basket makes clean up easy and provides texture and interest.
This arrangement also freed up more floor space for her and her little bro to use. We may want a comfy chair near the window in her teen years but the main pieces are set for years.
On the other side of her bedroom, I now had enough wall space to place an oversize desk beneath the giant cork board wall so she can spread out her art supplies and get creative.
She stores most of her schoolwork and archives her art in a container in her closet, but she now has art supply drawers and a system for storage. Her art stuff used to be everywhere, but now they're easy to get in and out from the drawer unit beneath her desk.
A Space She Loves (That Will Last)
Yes, this room took time - months, in fact - but I'm so glad we took our time. It helped us make really good decisions and got her involved in the process.
She's happy. I'm happy. I've even taken my computer in there to work at her desk when she's at school to get a change of scenery… it's that awesome!
When you design a room with a plan and your child's unique personality in mind, it becomes not only a beautiful space but a room that showcases the person they are becoming.
Products used in this tween girl's room
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