One Room Challenge Week 1: Little Girls English Cottage Bedroom

Introducing our exciting Spring project: Avah’s cottage bedroom! Get ready for all the cozy cottage vibes and girly whimsical details!

This spring, I am joining in on the fun of the One Room Challenge (ORC). This is a biannual design challenge that involves spending eight weeks transforming one room in your home.

Sometimes, there are so many projects to accomplish that it feels overwhelming, but the idea is to finish projects by focusing on one room at a time.

I will be blogging project updates once a week for the next eight weeks, so make sure you follow along!

Project Background

If you are new to my blog, we purchased our first home in July 2023 and, a few months later, brought home our second child, Jack.

As you can imagine, between getting our new house ready to bring a baby home and adjusting to life with two kiddos, the last 9 months have been pretty busy.

That said, it’s time to get some projects done!

Our two-year-old, Avah, has experienced many changes in the last year! I was very limited with what I could do for her nursery in our apartment, so I think it’s time she gets a special room to call her own.

Okay, let’s talk details!

Avah’s Bedroom Before

The first three photos are the listing photos, and as you can see, the room’s bones are totally fine.

However, this room is getting a complete head-to-toe makeover! Other than the flooring, almost every part of the room will be touched.

And in case you were wondering, no, we are not keeping the mountains!

Design Challege Details

Our 1,500-square-foot home has three bedrooms: a large-ish primary and two small additional bedrooms.

After much deliberation, I decided that as the oldest, she would get the bigger of the two bedrooms.

Since we don’t have any bonus space for a playroom, her bedroom needs to function as her playroom, bedroom, and spare guest room, too.

Murphy Bed

The most involved part of this design challenge is to make the Murphy bed blend into the room.

While living in our apartment, we built a Murphy bed for guests to stay with us. We moved it into our new house (no small task), and Jordan said it would never leave!

So, I have no choice but to make it fit into the design! I plan to add built-ins on either side, bookshelves on top and closed storage on the bottom.

Wallpaper

For the first time, I plan to use wallpaper floor-to-ceiling, and I am SO excited! I am still going back and forth on the one I want to use, but it will be a vintage floral print.

Bold Trim Color

A kids’ room is a perfect place to do something a little magical and experiment with color. I plan to paint the bookshelves and all the trim a beautiful, contrasted color.

Harware

We will be swapping out the builder-grade hardware on all the doors for beautiful vintage-reproduction knobs.

Whimsical Details

I love whimsical details throughout a home, but they’re a must-have in a kid’s room. I will layer in dreamy elements through fabric, lighting, and decor.

Mood Board

To Do List:

• Build cabinet and bookshelf carcasses
• Add vertical shiplap detail behind bookshelves and Murphy bed
• Trim cabinet carcasses and Murphy bed for a built-in look
• Paint all trim
• Hang wallpaper
• Swap out old hardware
• Add new lighting
• Make DIY pleated lampshade
• Accessorize with vintage and thrifted accents

Our work is cut out for us! Follow along by signing up for the newsletter so you don’t miss a thing!

If you’d like to check out the design plans of the other participants, you can find them at the One Room Challenge Blog.