Every Tweens Wish: A Black Bedroom

Last fall, when we moved into our new house,

the kids were most excited about their new, larger rooms.

Maybe it's because their Mum does Color Consultations,

but they all had strong opinions about the color schemes!

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Natasha, my eleven year old daughter, 

was moving into what was the former owners office.

And it was painted black.

Jet black.

They left a can of extra paint for us, and on the side it simply says: BLACK.

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We had just re-done her room in our previous home with turquoise, white and a splash of yellow.

So naturally her little sister, Chloe, decided she wanted a turquoise room.

Natasha wasn't having any part of the matching rooms idea,

and was thinking about bright lemon yellow (!!).

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I was was dreading the layers of primer and paint it was going to

take to cover the black...

then it hit me.

What about black, white and yellow?

All her furniture was white, 

that combined with large windows and bright yellow accents 

would be fantastic.

Natatsha was ecstatic!
Could we have a little turquoise, please Mum?
Absolutely, thinking about a certain dining room by Nate Berkus..





She has no idea how lucky she is.
Actually, I'm fairly certain she knows..
her friends always go crazy for her room their first time over, and she just smiles.

How many tweens get a black room?

Although most of them want one  :)

So here it is:

I chose the bedding, Natasha chose the wall decals.

The wall light and stool are from Ikea, both under $10 (!),

so we won't mind changing them in a few years when

 she decides she would like electric blue and purple walls..

Every tween has posters, Natasha contains hers on two cork boards I found at winners.
I like that the black frames almost disappear here.
And what girls room would be complete without Edward and Jacob present?

 

We have been looking for a desk for a while, 

Natasha wanting this one from Ikea, and me trying to find something similar that 

was made from better materials.

Last weekend I caved.. it fits perfectly into her space 

and hopefully now she will spend a bit more time doing her homework here!

The balls are all gifts from her friends.. 

the happy face is Natasha's favourite symbol.

She has a snow globe collection, 

and loves rocks and crystals..

and books.

Storage is a huge priority here.

My husbands maternal grandparents were Japanese and Chinese.

Her late Great-Nana gave her this:

The girls both have the same furniture.

It was actually given to us, never having been used,

by a divorced man we knew whose twin daughters

 lived quite far away and had not once visited him.

So sad, isn't that?

He sent everything, including down duvets and mattresses,

to our house several years ago when he moved back closer to his girls - 

saying that he knew two little girls here

who would get a lot of use from them.

We were shocked and thankful, it's lovely solid wood furniture

that will work for them until they move out onto their own.

We made simple half panels here to provide a little privacy

 but still allow her to see the sky - repeated in each of our children's rooms.

The mirror was once dull beige.

 I brought it home from the store, painted it happy, 

and it hung in our previous homes powder room.

Natasha always loved it, and giddily claimed it for her bedroom here..

Jewellry abounds...

What do you think?

Would that make anyone re-think black in a kids room?

Natasha thinks she has won the jackpot :)

and that's really all that counts around here.

'til next time