Fit for the Queen, Design a Bedroom Competition

My daughter Keani is nearly 5 and has unfortunately had the same decor in her bedroom since she was a baby, poor Dexter her little brother has also had to put up with the rather dull room as we simply haven't had money to redecorate.  As both siblings share a room, we are mindful that any makeover needs to be suitable for both a girl and a boy - luckily they are reasonably close in age.

So I put the question to Keani - 'what kind of bedroom would you like?' 'what do you think would be fit for a Queen?'

So of course the first thing she would like is a lovely pink princess bed with a matching dresser, and a pink chair to match (obviously).

'But Dexter won't like a princess bed, so he can have a white bed instead' 'and he likes making lots of noise, so I think he would like this guitar cushion'  Bless her, she is always looking out for her brother and always makes sure he is included in any decisions.

As we both looked through the furniture and accessories available, Keani was quite clear in what she wanted for her room.  'I think Dexter should have some blue wallpaper, like this penguin one here' 'and I want pink, I don't like blue' 'I like this one with animals on here, I think that would look really nice' 'I think the Queen probably likes stroking cats and dogs so she would like animal wallpaper'.  Keani concluded that her and Dexter could have different wallpaper as they both like different things.

She then went on to choose a lovely colourful rug and some shelving/storage units 'for all my princess shoes and princess dresses' 'I think the Queen has lots of shoes and pretty dresses too'.

Then she spotted a wigwam (?!) and decided that Dexter as a 'prince' would like to 'play in a wigwam with the princesses' and 'have lots of fun having picnics in there' but he could stay in the wigwam whilst she had her sandwiches on the picnic table!  Mmm ok! Apparently the Queen likes lots of picnics, she likes jam sandwiches and chocolate cake and peas (hopefully not all at the same time!).

We looked through all the accessories available and Keani chose lots of pictures for the walls, a gorgeous rug, some lighting, and some other random items.  'More is less' or something! She definitely isn't going for the contemporary sleek look that's for sure!

She finally added some spacehoppers for her and Dexter to bounce around on 'then we've got stuff to do before mummy and daddy wake up'.  Yes, excellent idea Keani! I asked her if she thought the Queen had a spacehopper to which she replied 'I think she might just sit on hers and not bounce around because otherwise her crown will come off and get broked' (broken!).

Keani was finally happy with her room but decided she wanted some butterfly lights to decorate it and also she wanted a princess bed with a canopy over it which we couldn't find, so you will just have to use your imagination!

Well, we had lots of fun designing her and Dexter's new room - we used a clever online design tool which is great when you have small kids as it means they can still provide loads of input and design the room exactly as they want.  As Keani is only young, it would be difficult for her to clearly illustrate her ideas by drawing them, so it's ideal.

Below are some views of the room at different angles. It was the first time we'd used the online tool, but we are pleased with the results and will definitely be using some of Keani's ideas regardless of whether we win the competition or not!

You can just see the orange picnic table here, the wigwam seems to dominate the room, but I guess that would be where all the 'action' happens! You can see the contrasting wallpaper here, the penguins for Dexter and the pretty deer wallpaper for Keani. I don't think it matters that there's different wallpaper on each wall - makes it look a bit eclectic!

A closer view of the penguin wallpaper and Dexter's bed with his guitar cushion.

You can just see the princess bed and shelving here - Keani would like a canopy over the bed though! She also chose some other cool items that you can't really see in the pictures including some funky dog lights (of course the Queen loves her dogs!), some wallhangings, pictures and cusions. 

I think Her Majesty would be proud!  

Thanks to Dreams Beds for a fab competition.