For the past year Sophie has been lamenting that she has a "child's room." She's been wanting something more grown up, and something a little less pink. She wanted a French theme, and everything that goes along with it – the Eiffel Tower, French poodles, and anything that says "Paris" on it.
When you peruse the aisles of your local stores, you may notice that many American retailers' idea of a French theme generally means black-and-white, with a little pink thrown in. I doubt real French women decorate everything in black and white, but it seems to be a very popular idea around these parts. Just check your local Hobby Lobby store – there's a whole aisle dedicated to everything French/black-and-white/a little pink thrown in. And don't forget all the "Ooh-la-la!" signs.
As far as Sophie's new room idea went, I wasn't sure the Americanized French theme would work, bc she chose a bedspread full of colorful medallions, insisting it was the one bedspread in the world meant just for her. I told her I'd do what I could with it… (in the meantime, Mike was planning a super fun trip to Kansas City for spring break, and invited all of us to go. Sophie's request to me was this: "Mom, do you think you could stay behind and re-do my room and surprise me with it when we get back?" Sweet child.)(I actually granted her request, bc I thought the quiet time would be excellent for a project like this.)
You may remember that Sophie's room used to look like this:
I wasn't sure she was going to get more of a grown-up look, considering that very colorful new bedspread – full of bright medallions - I was telling you about.. I kept thinking I'd need to decorate her room with lime green or orange accents and force her to completely abandon her ideas of a more Parisian-like theme. But the more I scoured the aisles, searching for ideas, the more I started realizing that I was getting tired of limiting myself to the colors of that crazy bedspread.
I had a cart full of things that certainly did NOT go together… everything from bright green feathers to dog cartoon posters. Then I spotted the most gorgeous black-and-white prints of 2 French models. (They had to be French, bc it said so on the back sticker. So there.) And then I decided what her theme would be (I knew she'd approve, of course): Hodgepodge Couture! I'd ignore all the bright colors in that bedspread and go with her original idea of some black-and-white French-y accessories, and then add a little fashion in the mix!
This was her room halfway through the project… I was pretty hyped up on paint fumes and gensing tea, which made me able to move large furniture pieces in a single bound…
The one thing I did have going for me was that Sophie chose WHITE as her paint color. White? What ten-year-old chooses white? (And may I say that I was more than thrilled, as I'm one of those who loves white walls?)
Here is one angle of her finished room, taken at night:
Here's a little bit to the right of the bed…
Don't all French women have black bejewelled candelabras stuck to their walls? (Lili, please say it's so! LOL)
I don't know what's supposed to be French about this hook, but it was in the French aisle, so I bought it for her to hang her scarves on…
And look at these awesome prints! I really did love these. They're from the March and April 1956 issues of Couture...
I was going to take a close-up of the French model prints, but the glare from the glass was awful, no matter what time of day I tried. Trust me though, they're gorgeous! As all French women are. 🙂
There you have it: Sophie's new almost-Parisian, hodgepodge-couture, mixed-up but less-pink room.
And she loved it.
