Pop of Gold! A girl’s room makeover + Get The Look

Welcome to a special guest post by my dear friend Orlando Soria, the creative director of the L.A. Homepolish team and the founder of Hommemaker blog. We don’t work together every day anymore but our addiction to each other hasn’t waned. So, every now and again we simply must collaborate even if its just a guest post by him here on the blog. Take it away, Landy.

Dear Emily,

One of my favorite projects to date has been the glamortransformation of my La Habra clients’ gorgeous Spanish revival home. I love these clients and was sad when I finished designing their home. (Sidenote: These clients wish to remain nameless because they are way too humble to brag about their home online. I’m going to refer to their daughter as Brenda Walsh, for simplicity’s sake and because I love the 90z TV program ‘90210’). Luckily, in addition to being totally sweet, they’re also insane and have been continually renovating their home since I met them, so there’s always a new space to decorate and I get to see them all the time.

Most recently, I worked on a makeover for their nine year old daughter, Brenda Walsh, who is an awesome little girl who loves design and wanted to be part of the process. She’s such a cool person and it was fun asking her questions about what she wanted to see in her space.

Before I came in, Brenda’s room was still in little kid mode, with a bright pink bedspread and a matching black bedroom set (we’d moved in her new and awesome brass bed when we took these shots). She was kind of over her pink phase, so she wanted to update her color palette and give her room a bit more pizazz. An important sidenote is that children LOVE pizazz, so if you’re decorating a child’s room, add pizazz wherever possible. Also, the more you repeat the word “pizazz” the more you realize it’s the most important word ever. PIZAZZ.

Click through to see the full makeover …

As much as I love my La Habra clients, they are terrified of any paint color that is not white. I don’t know what paint did to them in a past life, but whenever I mentioned painting a room anything other than white they’d start screaming and clawing at their faces and throwing rocks at my forehead. One time, I got them to go crazy and paint their office a wild color. Well it seemed wild at the time, but when the paint dried we realized the color of grey they chose was so light that it was literally white. They were so relieved they clung to each other weeping. In their defense, their home’s interiors really should be white. It’s a Spanish revival and it would look weird painted kooky colors. So they are wise, even though they are crazy and insane. Like your mom.

OMG, why did I just rant about color for so long? Oh yeah, stickers! They’re a great way to add some flavor to a room without painting or wallpapering. I got these from Etsy. Super inexpensive, fun way to jazz up a wall without trying very hard. DID SOMEBODY SAY PIZAZZ?!?

If you try this, don’t overthink the application of these stickers. You can alway take it off and reapply if it looks weird. I cut mine at the moulding with an exacto blade and a straight edge to give it a cleaner look.

How awesome is that bed? I kind of lost my mind when I found it because it reminds me of a lot of awesome (and crazy expensive) brass beds I’ve seen in fancy vintage shops I can’t afford. This baby is a steal from CB2 ($599 for the size we got). I know that doesn’t sound super cheap, but the vintage versions I’ve seen of this style are like $5000.

The family already had these amazing Richard Avedon Beatles posters so we incorporated them into the room. This little girl is literally cooler and more sophistcated than me and it kind of pisses me off.

Because I’m unnaturally obsessed with buying these Ikea bookcases and spray painting them, like, every day of my life, we painted one gold for Brenda.

The accessories are a combination of Brenda’s own nicknacks and new and vintage items I sourced for her.

Don’t you want to punch this chaise lounge in the face for being so cute?

If these sculptural vases don’t make you smile you’re literally not a human being and I don’t understand anything about you or your choices.

Brenda loves owls, so I incorporated her colorful owl collection into the scape on top of the dresser.

Don’t you kind of want to go back in time and be a little kid so you can scream and cry and throw knives until your parents buy you this awesome gigantic giraffe stuffed animal? I’m also wondering if it’s too late to call child services on my parents for denying me this amazing and necessary toy as a child.

There you go! A magical bedroom for the coolest kid ever!

And, for good measure, here’s a picture of Brenda’s fresh-faced kitty. If only I had that youth and vigor!

What? You want another kitty photo? Why not! I mean, if you’re not ripping out your hair in terror over how adorable this babycat is you really need an eye exam.

Oh, and just one more. BECAUSE YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!

Want more info about where I got everything? Have no fear! See below for how to get the look!

1. Pendant Lamp $24.99 from Ikea,  2. Teal Linen Duvet $249.95 from Crate & Barrel,  3. Brass Bed $599 from CB2,  4. Gold Accent Pillow $44.95,  5. White Mid-Century Bedside Table $299 from West Elm,  6. White Knit Throw $175 from Restoration Hardware,  7. Brass Circular Mirror $229 from CB2,  8. White Table Lamp $69 from West Elm,  9. Multi-Colored Dot Rug $749 from West Elm,  10. Modern Storage Bench $399 from CB2,  11. Brass Bookends $49 from West Elm,  12. Grey Velvet Chaise $629 from Urban Outfitters,  13. White Dresser $749 from West Elm, 14. 3″ Gold Dot Decals $26.77 from Etsy.

My clients taped Brenda’s response to her bedroom makeover reveal and sent it to me. It’s the cutest most amazing video I’ve ever seen in my life. She LOVES her new space and was so excited about seeing it for the first time. Her room is now filled color, character, and, most importantly, pizazz. She’s amongst the youngest of my Homepolish clients, but she’s not the youngest. Check back soon to see how I transformed her five-year-old brother’s room from flab to fab!

Love,
Orlando

PS: But wait! There’s more! Check out even more photos of the finished project at Homepolish Magazine!

Photographs by Tessa Neustadt Courtesy Homepolish