A Little One’s Mid-Century Magical Bedroom Reveal

Wow. Welcome to our first reveal since 2020 started airing what felt like “The world’s season finale episode”. A new reveal feels both inappropriate and, frankly necessary. This is one of my good friend’s daughter’s room – a “friends and family” makeover for Annie, Derik, and their daughter Violet. They were struggling with the design (as we introduced here and documented more yesterday) and it’s really hard for me to see my friends struggle with their rooms and not help. It would be like being a fashion stylist (or any decent human) and see a shirt where a button was skipped and not say something or fix it. The compulsion to help is unstoppable. Plus, I knew that they would let us (Julie and myself) really go for it – they love color, pattern, and risks.

Here’s a little video to enjoy first where you can meet the family and see a bit of the process (just wait for the ad to play):

We started this project in October and almost finished it in late February, all ready to shoot when the quarantine hit. We pushed off all our shoots, but then this hilarious thing happened – Annie and Derik found their dream house in Toluca Lake (the valley) and then despite our custom wallpaper, custom bed, and custom mural in their art nook and my general pleading as a friend – they had to sell and move.

EEK. How do we shoot it? We did this project to have a really fun reveal to show you and it turned out so cute, we couldn’t NOT shoot it. Annie and Derik own The Reckless Unicorn – a kids boutique in Los Feliz – and I knew they had decent styling skills because they have to merchandise their store. So we dropped off a ton of props we had bought, and via Facetime, they styled it out. Then the next day, two days before they packed up the room to move permanently, Sara snuck in the back sliding glass door with a mask and gloves (this was a few weeks ago as things were being lifted) and did a speed shoot for an hour while the family was out of the house. Then as Sara was finishing up, they came back so that she could get some shots of Violet in her room (with a safe distance between them). Julie and I never even got to see it in person!! But the photos turned out great considering it wasn’t our usual protocol, and their daughter Violet loved it for the few months she had that magical wallpaper and bed.

First off, I want to say that Julie was the lead designer on this project, with me checking in and saying, “Ooh awesome. Do that one!” pretty often. These “friends and family” projects are kinda perfect to let my team take ownership over a project (we have two more we are working on but the world has slowed us down quite a bit). So, GREAT JOB JULIE.

The Art Nook

Violet wanted her room to be “magical” and their parents wanted us to lean into Mid-Century and a little bit ’80s (they also have a very rock and roll vibe – listen to Derik’s album if you haven’t yet). We’ll talk about that wallpaper later, but we knew that the art nook needed to have something exciting that said, “I’m not a closet” but couldn’t have a busy pattern. So Julie came up with this awesome custom color block mural that she and Velinda painted themselves (see stories). Julie pulled all the colors from the wallpaper which was so smart to keep it feeling cohesive (all of the paint colors are linked up below). It took 2 days and I think it turned out SO AWESOME.

The desk was one that they already owned and since it was cut perfectly to size to fit in that space Julie had the idea to paint it one of the colors from the mural (it was wood originally) to give it new life. Then to make it craft-friendly she coated it with a matte paint sealer. That desk chair from Article brings in a bit more green to balance out all the pinks and purples and is a piece that Violet could use for years to come.

The Custom BuildLane Bed

We call her “purple ladyfingers” (you can see her more easily in the mirror). Not a lot of people want or can handle a bed like this. Julie wrote about it yesterday but the first iteration was more Star Trek-y, although I’m pretty sure “Nex Gen” is trending. The biggest challenges were that it needed to be a full-size daybed, and they wanted it to float in the center of the wall for energy purposes instead of in the corner under the windows where the first design was intended it to be. It’s big in the room but MAN it’s actually awesome. Violet (oh sorry, that’s why it’s purple – her name is Violet and she loves purple) wanted to take it to their new house so bad that while it technically doesn’t fit they might install it across a wall and in a corner (like the original design now that I think about it).

It was hard to shoot (again, she is big in a small room) but I love this straight-on shot. I was able to sit in it the day before we were quarantined and it is actually so magical to cuddle in – and they have two dogs and a cat so sometimes it’s all 6 of them snuggled up in there.

They really wanted drawers for storage at the base of the bed, which is obviously great for function, so Julie designed those two big drawers with the big brass drawer pulls from Rejuvenation on it. See yesterday’s post for all the details, but needless to say, we were SO RELIEVED to have BuildLane to help us figure out the design of this bed as it was kinda a beast to get right (and we didn’t on the first go).

Here is that cozy corner shot that we shared with you yesterday. Instead of a typical nightstand and table lamp we opted for a floor lamp for when they are all reading a story together at night.

The Rug

We needed a rug that would be A. easy to play on (not super plush for little toys), B. be kid-friendly (not white), and C. work with the wallpaper. Julie found this one from Loloi Rugs, it pulled all the colors together without being super busy and competing with the rest of the patterns. In a perfect world, we might have layered another one above, or maybe I would’ve styled it with a cute wicker rocking horse or something.

The Light Fixtures

They already had this light fixture which we LOVED. It’s from Sazerac Stitches and had the perfect “midcentury, magical, colorful, and a little glam” feeling. It was the jumping-off point for Julie and the colors of the fixture were the reason why that beautiful wallpaper was ultimately chosen.

Back in the art nook Julie swapped out the existing white sconce that blended into the wall for this Katy Skelton Lone Star sconce. It’s adorable and added a bit more unexpected whimsy to the nook area.

They already had that Mid-Century style bookshelf, we just moved it, repositioned it, and had them style it all out. That festive sign from Custom Neon that says, “Sparkle” created another magical moment. Annie and Derik love a good neon sign as they have a few others around the house.

The Wallpaper

We wanted the wallpaper to be the magical part throughout the room. And that May Meadow wallpaper from Rebel Walls did the job. It incorporates all the colors from the light fixture and the pattern goes up 3/4 of the wall so it’s not too overwhelming for a smaller sized room. It can easily be customized to the size of your room so Julie gave them the dimensions but this is something your wallpaper installer could do as well. Our wallpaper guy told us to add about 4-6″ to the height which helps to line up the pattern for a seamless install.

The Magical Swing

This has to be one of the coziest and magical corners we have done and a large part of that is thanks to the blush leather swing from Barnaby Lane. We have been waiting about a year to use this swing in a project and knew from the first meeting this was the one. It actually worked out that the bed was moved out of the corner because this truly was the best spot. And adding that faux garland and butterflies just made it all that much more magical. It works cause you can see the trees right outside plus the wallpaper so it feels like you could almost be out there.

Annie had originally wanted wall to wall carpet in the room so to cut on costs for install Julie instead got the largest rug size available and then layered our favorite go-to sheepskin rug from Article. It really warms up this corner by adding a layer of texture. When in doubt “put a bird (read: sheepskin) on it”.

When Sara was shooting and sending us all the shots via text Julie requested this close up shot of the swing which really shows how special it is. That leather fringe and wood ring details are everything.

Just wanted to share how sweet Violet looks in the swing with that lighting, wish we could’ve all been there that day. Sara asked her if she liked to use the swing and Violet responded that she, “likes to when I have feelings”. Ain’t that the truth.

The Dog Bed

Now for our other model, Penny, who really loves to cuddle with whomever or in this case whatever bed you put in front of her. Usually, when we try to get a shot with an animal in it there is a lot of coaxing involved to get them into the shot but Sara had the opposite problem. Penny was so cozy in that dog bed from Tuft & Needle that she had to slowly slide it out of frame.

Since she and their other dog, Monkey, are both little dogs the size small was perfect for them and that cushion is removable so it makes it so easy to keep clean. Penny also clearly loves a good ear massage.

There you have it, a magical room reveal that only one of us on our team actually got to see in person so we (Julie and myself) will just be staring at these photos, imagining what it would’ve felt like to be in the space along with the rest of you. But man this shot is so dreamy that it almost feels like we all were there. We can’t wait to chat with you all about it in the comments. xx

And if you are in the need to add some magic into your life we have linked up all the sources below:

1. Faux Garland | 2. Palma Blush Swing | 3. Brass Floor Lamp | 4. May Meadow in Pastel | 5. BuildLane Custom Bed | 6. Berry Rug | 7. West Slope Drawer Pull | 8. Large Pillow (similar) | 9. Textured Lumbar Pillow | 10. Octopus Plush Toy | 11. 4’x6′ Sheepskin Rug | 12. Chandelier | 13. Faux Fur Pillow (similar) | 14. Large Cream Pillow | 15. Blush Lumbar Pillow | 16. Unicorn Plush Toy | 17. Comforter Set | 18. Custom ‘Sparkle’ Neon Sign | 19. Ice Cream Cone Plush Toy | 20. Tuft & Needle Dog Bed | 21. Lone Star Sconce | 22. Green Desk Chair | 23. Pink Bookcase | 24. White Pom Pom Pillow (similar) | 25. Pink Fringe Pillow (similar) | 26. Ballerina Plush Toy | 27. ‘Sparkle’ Lumbar Pillow | 28. Pink Fringe Throw | 29. Round Velvet Pillow | 30. SW ‘Honeydew’ Paint Color | 31. SW ‘Rosebud’ Paint Color | 32. SW ‘Pressed Flower’ Paint Color | 33. SW ‘Veri Berri’ Paint Color | 34. SW ‘Blackberry’ Paint Color

***Lead Design by Julie Rose

**Photography by Sara Ligorria-Tramp