The largest present she'll ever get: Emma's new room.

     Emma turned nine last month.  She is nine going on 15 and is turning into a teenager faster than I would like.  She wants to go to Taylor Swift concerts.  She is constantly asking us to turn the radio to 97.5.  Her friends tease her about her latest crush.  She wants to pierce her ears and get a cell phone.  Just thinking about all this gives me heart palpitations.

   But, there are wonderful things too.  I find that I can actually have an interesting conversation with her.  She is becoming more helpful with Taylor, giving her baths and reading her stories at night.  Emma will put herself to bed, take showers on her own and is now doing her own laundry.  She loves to read and is obsessed with Harry Potter since getting the books for her birthday.  Emma is very successful at school, is learning piano quickly (amidst much whining and complaining), and is great at keeping her room clean.  Ah, yes, her room.

     For her birthday, Emma got her own room.  Brent and I felt like it was time to give this tween some privacy and a place to call her own.  So, I have been busy painting, sewing, rummaging, organizing, painting, sanding, refinishing, shopping, etc.  It have enjoyed it so much and am quite pleased with how her room turned out.  Here is a look at Emma's new sanctuary:

All the furniture was bought/given to us used and I spent many hours sanding and painting.  (Then I got sick of it and my sweet mom helped finish them while she was in town).

The best find was this armoire!  I picked it up for free off someone's driveway. Yes, I am that person.  I couldn't believe they were getting rid of it. 

One drawer was missing and it was covered in some kind of glaze gone wrong.  All it took was a handy husband, hours of scraping, a little touch up painting and that baby was gorgeous. I wish we'd gotten a closer picture so you could see the detailed molding that gives it an upscale girly feel.  I might have to steal this back when Emma leaves for college.

To the left of the bed, is another refinished piece of furniture that was given to me by some friends.  I can take no credit for this one.  My mom did it all from start to finish.  Thanks mom!  Emma loves having a desk and a place to feel mature while styling her hair....or just making funny faces.  The stool is a photo prop I stole from  Brent.  I'm not in love with it, but it was free and it works. So, it's here for now.

Next, let's talk about the bed.  This was the biggest headache of the whole project.  I searched and searched for the perfect quilt and couldn't find one.  So, my mom talked me into making one ourselves (really, that means she does all the work and I tell her how amazing she is).  Although, I did make some pillows..more on those later.

My mom spent hours at the fabric store, hours sewing, hours flying it to Utah to have a friend quilt it in order to save money on the quilting, hours trying to teach me how to bind it without making it look like awful, and then she didn't even get to see the finished product.  Here you are mom, a nice photo or your handiwork being loved by your granddaughter.

The bed itself was a craigslist find that I repainted.  I wasn't in love with it when I bought it, but that's the great thing about craigslist...no returns.  So, I painted it and switched up some of the kid's mattresses because the headboard is so short.  I find that I am loving it more and more now.

 I had some fun with the details too, but won't bore you with the details of the details.  Just ooh and ahh at the pictures.

Here is the lamp shade I made.

And the corkboard I made from a salvaged frame.  It is huge (3ft. by 4 ft.) and I can see it filling up with posters and photos over the years.

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  And, the obvious subtle message and other things I put above her bed

 

I painted the closet turquoise to add a little splash of color.  I had to really restrain myself on several projects to not go crazy with the turquoise.  It is such a fun happy color.  In the end, I'm afraid I refrained a little too much and wish there was more color.  I'm thinking of adding a stripe on the walls or some decals or something to make it less gray.

 If you'll look under that corkboard, you'll see some large floor pillows.  I made those all by myself  (go me) using a picture I found on pinterest. Those have been well loved already in the weeks since Emma has moved in.  She sits there to read or hang out with her friends. Also, Emma's only request was a shelf to put all her things.  So, we put one by her bed.  This girl is a collecter!  She keeps everything and now she has a place to put all her treasures.  She also has some hooks to the right of the armoire to hang her hats and purses.

 Sure love that Emma and sure love this room.  It is a great feeling to finish a big project like this and have it turn out as you'd hoped.  The problem is, I am itching to get started on another project.  My room?  The backyard?  The garage?  The pantry?  Stay tuned to find out what is on the horizon.