My Kids Rooms Through The Years (Bring On The Nostalgia)

Dear god, that sweet boy is now 11, which is not what this post is about, but a reminder that you were all right. When I first had Charlie, all you moms before me said it would go by so fast, and while I knew you were right (it is the universal sentiment) I’m still shocked that he’s going to be in junior high next year (she writes while crying on a plane). Today’s post isn’t about how much I love my kids (too much to say) nor how desperate I am to keep building my connection with them before they leave for college (8 years left and YOU BET I’M NOT SQUANDERING THEM), but about their rooms that I’ve designed over the years. You see, my thesis is unsurprising – that like choosing their outfits or Halloween costumes, baby rooms are much easier to design than kids’ rooms (as shown through these photos). This is more of a show and tell, with perhaps some new insights for you long-time blog readers (thank you, always, thank you).

Glendale House

Charlie’s Nursery – 2015

Year one, with the cutest wallpaper that I know he might have not liked forever, but my goodness it was so perfect for this room – light and airy, graphic, big pops of color. A solid design that has dated pretty well, if you ask me. Sure, it might scream 2013, but not in a way that I don’t like; it feels almost time-capsule-y.

A reminder that you can use a vintage dresser as a changing table – I have so many videos of Brian making Charlie laugh on this dresser.

Birdie’s First Nursery – 2016

One of my all-time favorite rooms ever — to both stare at and be in. This house (mid-century in Glendale) was so special, and stylistically I was really aligned with it (it was so light and bright with huge pops of color throughout). That vintage rocker (shout out to MidcenturyLA) and the daybed (from Elsie Green) were epic. And while this white fluffy rug might seem impractical, it was just so unbelievably soft and we still have it at the mountain house in our bedroom (far less white, but it strangely aged really well, just looks more taupe now LOL).

The X and O artwork pieces by Jane Denton are at the mountain house (guest room) and are just so sweet. But the tree wallpaper mural is my favorite – I know we’ve seen it a lot, but in the right space, it really works and packs a huge punch.

Los Feliz Home

Charlie’s Room – 2017

This version of this room is nicely designed, but I never really LOVED it. Totally cute, and most things in it are fine, but just didn’t feel like me (and likely not Charlie either, but he was 3-4 when we moved in here). TBH, I had to pull it together really fast for our Real Simple feature and Target, who was my main sponsor at the time, who wanted me to use as much Target as possible (which I was happy to do, but it felt a bit pulled together rather than designed).

I think that was when Pillowfort had just launched (their in-house kid brand) and was so cute. I still have all those vintage paint-by-numbers and wish so badly that I hadn’t framed them in black (wood or white would have been better) because I’ve wanted to use them over and over, but the harshness of the black frames always made them not work.

Birdie’s Second Nursery – 2017

Another favorite of mine — but instead of a green tree mural, I opted for this pink one. What I think I never wrote about is that the old plaster walls couldn’t hold the weight of the blackout curtains very easily, and they were always a problem. We tried reinforcing them behind the walls, but it was a big old problem (I honestly don’t remember how we fixed them or if we did anything at all besides trying to be careful).

But these rooms just scream so much nostalgia to me — when I had two toddlers. But Brian was gone often at night doing plays and the business was unmanageably busy (in ways that I would never want to publicly complain about, but let’s just say I “shower-cried” often). Life changed pretty abruptly after that, what with lockdown, then the move up here to Portland, and I can happily say that the years of overwhelm are in my past. Now I just miss when the kids were that young – they were such hard years, but my god they were so freaking cute and fun and their obsession with me could never get old. I’m just so happy to have so many photos and videos of those years (and time at the mountain house, which felt like we could just be us four every weekend, away from the chaos of the city).

I always wondered if I shouldn’t have done a wallpaper in the bathroom AND her bedroom, but TBH they were both cute (and since hers was a mural, maybe that’s ok?). That bathroom had no natural light (I wish I had put in a skylight), so it needed some action on the walls to not feel dead.

The Mountain House

Remember the years when the kids shared a king bed? Well, that’s not how it started…

Mountain House Shared Bedroom – 2019

How cute is that safari tent? A big shout-out to Emily Bowser and Julie for figuring that all out. And the reason for that big white headboard was that it housed the mechanism for the steam shower (I believe), which we didn’t know we had to build a space for until the house was all laid out.

The thing about rock walls is that they are more of an invitation to play. The kids certainly got use out of it while doing other games (war, fort building, etc), but it’s not like they have rock climbing sessions. I would 100% do it again, and it just made the room so cute and fun.

I love that their vanity in their current bathroom was their dresser here:)

A Refresh of the Kids’ Room in the Mountain House – 2019

So here is where it got weird – when the kids were 3 and 5 we did so many family reading sessions at night that we ended up shoving the twin beds together so we could read them the same book as a family. So I figured I’d redesign it to make it look good, which I did. They shared a king bed for all of COVID, with me often sleeping in the middle of them until I transferred myself at midnight (something I often still do, but not on purpose).

Los Feliz Shared Bedroom – 2020

Meanwhile, since they loved sharing the bedroom at the mountain house, we realized they also slept so much better. So Elliot started sleeping on the floor of Charlie’s room in LA, thus me redesigning his room to have two twin beds. I started this process before lockdown but didn’t finish till we needed to sell the house, and I wanted every room to be “finished”. So the kids only slept in here one or two nights, right before we moved to Oregon (which was so weird to them TBH).

Also while I loved that polka dotted comforter, the kids HATED it – they didn’t like the textural difference and in the middle of the night they thought it had bugs all over it (the polka dots) so I while I hoarded them for a while, they were pretty impractical and very unpopular in my house.

The Farmhouse

We moved into this house when the kids were 7 and 9 – full-blown children now. I have one kid who wants to redesign her room every day, and the other who really doesn’t want it to be touched – he loves it.

Charlie’s Bedroom – 2023 + Updated Headboard – 2023

This room doesn’t feel finished to me, but it’s really hard for me to get motivated to think about it when he loves it so much. Recently, he said that he wants curtains because he thinks it’s hard to wake up when the blackout shades work so well. So we might do that so that the natural light can wake them up during the year (but not in the summer when the sun gets up at 5 am up here).

Its such a tween bedroom – part kid, part desperate to be a teen. The green bookcase is now in his closet replaced by his electronic drum set. The huge round sofa situation is perfect for sleepovers (for now).

All he wants are more and more posters all over his walls (same with Elliot now), and let’s just say we are not aligned. There are so many Minecraft or video game memes that he wants that I just don’t get (but I allow, obviously, wanting him to have full expression). I tried to explain the “Rodeo” print to them over and over and they are like “what?” – clearly my poster preferences are different than Gen Alpha. Although he does love the red crab one by David Shrigley because it has to do with gaming 🙂

Right now that stuffy closet (which was just for the shoot) is where all of his clothes are and I wish I had done drawers so badly. We just have bins that get super messy. And currently, his desk is full of so much organized chaos, like any 11-year-old. The collections are out of control, in such a cute way.

Birdie’s Bedroom – 2023

I recently wrote about Elliot’s room and how she already thinks that her wallpaper is too young for her 🙂 It’s such a cute room, though!!

UGH I just can’t with her growing up.

Listen, even though she identifies as a tween now (at 9), this room is so objectively her, and we designed it together. Right now she wants to be a designer with me when she grows up (as well as a baker, musician, and artist) and she even has my vocabulary, talking about “peppering pops of color” around the room. I mean…

Birdie’s Closet Reveal – 2024

Those scallop stickers are still so clever and affordable. You cold frame out doorways or windows or use them as ceiling trim. They come in a billion colors and sizes, FTW.

Article Bed Update – 2024

We recently switched out her creaky vintage bed for this solid one from Article, which is overall so much better. And as you can see, she is adding to her collection of posters as well.

Well, that was fun for me (if not so sad – they are getting older). Quite the reminder of how short life is 🙂 Regarding their rooms, from here on out, I’m letting them take the lead – if they want to engage in any sort of design of their rooms or change anything, of COURSE I’ll be the first one to raise my hand and help. Seeing them care about their style is super fun and I think natural considering they’ve heard me talk about it so much over the years. Thanks for listening 🙂

Opening Image Credits: Photo by David Tsay | From: Charlie’s Circus-Themed Nursery