COTE DE TEXAS: A Teenager’s Bedroom

A Teenager’s Bedroom

image    The inspiration bedroom – teenager Allie wanted a bedroom that looked similar to this.   Around four years ago,  I had designed this bedroom on a budget, using mostly Pottery Barn merchandise. 

 

Recently, I went to a client’s house and remembered that I had never taken pictures of her Allie’s, her teenaged daughter, bedroom.   I worked on her bedroom a few years ago – this is the third bedroom I have decorated for the teenager.   The first bedroom was when she was just out of the toddler stage, leaving behind her decorated nursery.    I designed a room around a Waverly Toile in reds and golds.  I KNOW you remember the toile ????   Everyone and his brother had it, or a version of it, from Waverly.    I mixed it with, yes of course, red and cream checked fabrics.  She had a pine headboard from Pier One and a mosquito netting over the bed.  It was really a cute bedroom at the time.  Even her doll beds were fitted with miniature toile spreads.  That toile bedroom was supposed to last her until she left for college.  Sure!    Actually that bedroom was one of my first jobs as a designer.   

 

  image The famous Waverly toile  in the red and gold colorway.   Ugh!

 

After Allie and her parents moved to a new house, she continued to use the toile bedroom decor for a while, until she discovered Bombay Kids, when they opened a new store in the Rice Village.   Allie insisted we redecorate her room ala Bombay Kids.    Do you remember that awful crap they sold, pardon my French??   No wonder they went out of business!    It was all purples and zebras and faux Indian Maharajah chic.   I even had a skirted table made to match with a crystal beaded trim.  Beautiful.   Her carpet was a scrolled dark purple.  It was all God-awful and thankfully she outgrew it quickly.

 

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Bombay Kids – Faux Maharajah Chic

 

A few years earlier, I had decorated a bedroom on a budget for a mutual friend using mostly all Pottery Barn merchandise.   Allie asked if I would recreate the bedroom, in feeling, for her.    The two rooms do look similar, but there are several different important design elements.   In the PB bedroom,  the curtains in a large bay window  were the focal point, but I absolutely could NOT persuade Allie’s mother to agree to curtains in her bedroom - a decision that still bothers me to this day.    Conversely, while I could not get the PB bedroom owner to buy a two toned patterned carpet, Allie’s mother happily did, and  the carpet adds so much to the room.   Another main difference was the fabric, of course,  and the wall color.  We used a creamy gray in the PB bedroom, but Allie wanted a soft aqua on her walls.   What Allie wants….

 

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Allie’s bedroom, Version IV, if you count her nursery.

I used a Laura Ashley fabric from Kravet and a velvet for the pillows and the bench’s slipcover.   The Laura Ashley fabric, a linen-cotton, is Briston Seaglass LA1301.324 and is very, very inexpensive.    We had a strict budget for this room and nothing in it was too extravagant or expensive.    For instance, the cute, white end tables came from Target – the Shabby Chic line.   We paid next to nothing for them.    The large wing chair, a hand me down from her parents, has been in her room for years and has been recovered at least three times now. 

 

 

imageAcross from the bed is a mirrored chest from Z Gallerie.   We bought it on sale, but it’s usually $999. 

 

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We bought the bench from the Shabby Chic store in Austin and then made a slip cover for it out of the aqua velvet. 

 

image I luckily found six matching aqua lamp shades and two inexpensive lamps (but I can’t remember where they are from!)   Allie wanted sconces just like in the PB bedroom, and she also wanted the oval mirrors flanking the bed.  The sconces came from Indulge HERE.   Another item Allie insisted on was a crystal chandelier.  We bought this one online from one of those huge lighting stores and it was under $200.

 

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The carpet is a trellis pattern in white and aqua – again, it was very, very reasonable.   While not as inexpensive as plain pile carpet, the custom look is worth the minimal extra cost.  

 

 

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Allie needed something to put all her invitations and pictures on, so I made her a bulletin board.   There was a large blank space between the bathroom and bedroom doors – and I had it made to fit that space.  It is 5’ tall!     If you look closely, you can see that it is tufted with buttons made out of the velvet fabric.  I added a small pleated ruffle to dress it up and soften the edges.   At first while it was still empty, the bulletin board looked odd – a huge blank piece of fabric hanging on the wall.  But,  Allie filled it up very fast.   It has really helped keep her room neat and clean looking.  Once she leaves for college,  her mother can either take it down or hang a few prints on it, framed or not. 

 

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Here is the link for the Target Shabby Chic nightstands – HERE.    And here is the link for the  Z Gallerie mirrored chest – HERE.    I’m sorry to say, but I absolutely have no idea what the paint color is!  I”m sure it’s a Pratt and Lambert, but otherwise, I just can’t remember!!!

 

 

image And finally, the sheets came from Pottery Barn, from the Pearl Embroidered line.  HERE.   Houstonian upholsterer Hien Lam made the headboard from a sketch.  HERE.

 

 

 

SOLVING A DESIGN PROBLEM:

image Bookshelves for a large bedroom.

 

We’ve discussed this issue many time before – what to do about those oversized bedrooms - huge, echoing, cavernous spaces that leave you cold?  Alllie’s parents bedroom had that problem.  Even with a large bed, an armoire, and two chairs and ottoman in a sitting area, the room still felt empty.  What to do?   My clients are voracious readers – in fact the entire family is.  They have a million books, seriously, maybe even 2 million.   Once they moved into their new house, all the built in bookshelves in the family room were quickly filled up.   Next we added more shelves in the downstairs study.   On the large second floor landing, we built a large floor to ceiling bookcase.    Still, there were numerous leftover books needing to be shelved. The solution to the book problem and the empty bedroom problem was to add a floor to ceiling, wall to wall bookcase.  I designed these shelves along the wall where  the bathroom door is.    And yes, the door is not centered on the wall – but there was nothing I could do about that – and in the end, it looks fine just the way it is.     We finished this project over five years ago, and to do it again today, I would make the shelves thicker and fixed for a more up to date look.    Once the shelves were built, the atmosphere in the room changed dramatically.  It became a very cozy space – warm and friendly – despite its large size.     This is a solution I would offer to anyone looking to fill up an oversized bedroom.   Even if you don’t have a lot of books – you can always go to Half Priced Books and buy their Box of Books,  filled with new hardbacks for just $25 – a steal of a deal.   

 

 

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Other things I did to cozy up the room was to add the two toned, trellis patterned carpet – in place of the cream Berber that was previously there.  The client’s furniture was all pine – so, we restained most of the pieces dark brown which also helped ground the room.   I added curtains and bamboo shades to the windows to further soften and warm up the room.   The client used  her own existing bedding in gold, while I brought in blue in the checked curtain fabric.    The now stained dark armoire was short for these extra tall ceilings, but rather than buying a new one, I layered a collection of drawings on top of it to fill in the blank space.    Looking at the room today, it’s hard to remember how it used to look before the bookshelves were added! 

 

NOTE:  THERE ARE THREE – YES, THREE – GIVEAWAYS COMING SOON!!!  BE SURE TO WATCH AND ENTER.  THE GIVEAWAYS ARE ALL REALLY GREAT ITEMS, I PROMISE YOU!!!!

60 comments :

  1. Great room! What's that great soft aqua wall color? Love it!

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  2. I love the girl's bedroom. Great inspiration for my own bedroom that needs to be done.

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  3. Oh Joni, Allie's room is gorgeous!
    Wonderful inspiration, thank you.

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  4. a teenager with exquisite taste, I might add!


    you're up late, eh!

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  5. Thank goodness Allie outgrew the purple faze. Love her newly decorated room and yes, she has good taste whether a teenage or not, gorgeous!

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  6. Beautiful bedroom.
    Lucky girl. No doubt you are her fairy godmother!

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  7. It's beautiful! Love the fabric and the slipcovered bench.

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  8. I am sure she feels all grown up in her new room Bravo! --Gretchen O.

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  9. So pretty - so well done!! As usual a fabulous job!! Love it!
    xx-Gina

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  10. its a beautifully decorated room, i just love the decor and furnishings, the bed, the chairs and the chest, they are all so beautiful and make the room so pretty and cozy

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  11. wow, the furnishings and the decor is too good, please let me know where do you shop for all these perfect looking things, they are soo pretty and make your bedroom so pretty looking

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  12. just looks like an elegant hotel room, very smartly furnished to suit the users' need

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  13. Love the Z Gallerie mirrored bureau. Even at full price, it's not SO bad and really makes the room look chic, modern and sophisticated. And like your client, I can never have enough bookcases - I think they look great in that bedroom and also help out, as they do in my case, with the never ending framed photo collections!

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  14. thanks for sharing the link to the upholsterer in Houston. I'm in a Houston suburb, and feel like I never know who to call. Now I do!

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  15. This teenager must be away at boarding school, hahaha! There is no teenager anywhere near that room. It's beautiful and I so wish I could afford an Allie (My Allie's all grown up and her name as y'all my know her is "prettystuff" but she's my Patterson and she has exquisite taste just like Allie.) My still teen, Hobbs, is 19 and going to have a fit when he comes home from college to find his room COMPLETELY redecorated! Decorating moms....UNITE! Red Rover, Red Rover send Hobbs home for FALL BREAK! (blindfolded) xo

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  16. Wow.. I have been reading (pouring over your images!) for a while now. You blow me a away with your talent. Just beautiful.

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  17. What an unbelievably lucky girl. She gets her room redone by Joni Webb 4 times!!!! I think you did a fabulous job and I love everything about it. I actually love when you do post about your own work, please keep it up.

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  18. What a gorgeous room! Lucky young lady! The bookshelf solution is wonderful and I am right now trying to figure out how we could do that too. Our MB is huge BUT we have almost no wall space as we have 2 sets of 5 foot sliding glass doors on one wall and floor to ceiling windows on the opposite wall. This will take some brain storming but thanks so much for the idea!!!! XO, Pinky

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  19. First use of aftershave in a girl's bedroom? Or am I reading this wrong: "made a slip cover for it out of the "Aqua Velva."

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  20. Gorgeous!! I just bought the bedding in the first image but haven't put it on yet ~ now I want to make that my priority today!! xo

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  21. Joni the teen's bedroom, a dream for any girl. It will be a perfect guest bedroom later,although they probably have one in the home!

    Great work and so fun to see the changes you made over the years for her.

    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  22. Joni, so much fun to see these rooms as you have puch your special touch on each one! Amazing job and beautifully thought out. I just finished a teen room and it was so much fun to learn about her style and do just what she wanted. The best part was that "young" teens are so expressive and she was incredibly animated and excited when I did the reveal!

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  23. Love, love the room Joni...the colors/fabrics are timeless and a very relaxing color. Bulletin board is too cute....
    is the aqua velvet also Kravet?

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  24. That room is gorgeous! Just beautiful! What a lucky young woman. I have been looking everywhere for a duvet or fabric like that. Does Kravet sell to the general public or just designers? Curious if the aqua velvet is also Kravet? One more question for you....is there any way you would be able to find out the paint color for the walls? It is stunning!

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  25. Joni, That's a really lovely room for Allie--and you did a fabulous job on a budget. I love the colors.

    Also, that's a great idea for a large master bedroom. Books always cozy up a room.

    I also like the idea of the trellised carpets.

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  26. What an elegant and pretty room...and the color so soothing... which every teenager needs!

    Beautiful job!

    Victoria

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  27. Absolutely beautiful, Joni! I am going to show this to my 10 year old, who has been planning her room in the new house. She will love this room...

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  28. That bench with the velvet slip - Yummy! I want it! Really, REALLY want it! Beautiful, as always!

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  29. Hi Joni!
    Looks like the room turned out great! I love that LA Briston Seaglass a great look for the price!I'm sure she loved her room, nice job! Maryanne xo

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  30. i love this bedroom. definitely a design that will grow with her, lucky girl!

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  31. The bookcases in the bedroom are my favorites. I also have so many books and I love to be surrounded by them, I have them in my living room of course but also in the dining room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, hallway, you name it.
    They speak about me!

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  32. Joni! What a lucky teenager! Very pretty, and I love the idea in the Master Bedroom. Especially for those new houses with little to offer in the way of architectural interest. (There are a lot of them in the outlying Sacramento area!!)

    BTW...Bombay has resurfaced on QVC....I thought you would like that! (Hehe).

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  33. Allie's room is lovely, peaceful, calm and it transcends any age. It would make a wonderful guest room too.Yet another post for the inspiration file. Thank you.
    Margaret

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  34. Both the PB bedroom and Allie's bedroom are beautiful! You were able to take what they wanted and make it spectacular. They are both bedrooms I would love to sleep in each night. You are a very talented lady. Thanks for sharing. Another great post.

    Janice
    Pemaquid

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  35. Gorgeous!! I'm inspired!

    Such a lucky girl . . .

    Jennifer

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  36. I'm sconce-hunting, and unfortunately Indulge no longer has the sconces in Allie's bedroom. Joni, you need to come out with your own line!!

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  37. Joni, I love your style and taste, and Allies room came out darling. I wish she would have curtains too. The ruffles on the inspiration board totally make it.

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  38. very nice designs. It's imposibble not to be inspired :) Sarah James Decorating Ideas

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  39. Fabulous bedroom! Even if my taste is more contemporary eclectic, I absolutely love what you have done and on such a string budget..... that takes real talent. The color palette is very calm and soothing

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  40. Joni, It looks beautiful! You would have never known that this was on a budget.

    Have a great Sunday!
    xo
    Edyta

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  41. Wow! Just LOVE that bedroom. I am sure the client was overjoyed.

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  42. I'm seconding the question about the velvet - it is very hard to find a nice velvet in a good color. Can you let us know where its from?

    Thank you!

    Love the post and the blog!

    Cris

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  43. Both bedrooms are so beautiful,elegant and serene! Great job(s) , Joni!!!

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  44. Joni,
    As always you do a marvelous job. I was wondering if you could mention how much slip covering or reupholstering the chair cost. Congrats on getting Allie off to college. I saw your St. Edwards post and was wondering where she settled on. My daughter is off to some college ??? next year.

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  45. What a lovely bedroom! How fun that you have designed for her and her family for years. The slip covered bench, aqua walls and mirrored dresser are excellent.

    xo,
    cristin

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  46. Absolutely love this room from the fabric to the wall sconces... though it's been 4 yrs it's still fresh... Fay

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  47. Beautiful bedroom! Fabulous work, Joni. And the wall of books in the master is perfect.

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  48. Joni, great job on this room! It's gorgeous, love how it all came together. Those colors are so soothing.

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  49. It must wonderfully fun to watch a client grow and hone his/her tastes. Luckily, they would have quite a bit of guidance and countless nudges in the right direction with you at the helm of their projects.

    thenerochronicles.blogspot.com

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  50. This stunning again as usual...listened to SRTable after your suggestion and LOVED it, who needs TV anymore! Check out my blog today I posted a little something about your magazine post..thanks Joni for all your time & effort that goes into educating us passionate for all things design.

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  51. Both rooms are beautiful. I'm so glad the purple phase didn't last too long.

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  52. Does Allie have any idea how lucky she is? :) I want her room for myself, so gorgeous, Joni. And about the bookcases in the bedroom -- such a warm, homey, cozy way to snuggle up at night. I loved them both.

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  53. Just a beautiful room - lucky Allie! I love that it's not too teenage or girly - her mother will certainly be happy to have something that versatile in a few years. It's an adult space for a young adult, and deliciously french. And nice use of the Tar-jay!
    Where is the rug from? I've been looking for a similar pattern.
    -SF

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  54. love both of the aqua toile rooms... and that her parents can leave the room as-is when she heads off to school.

    beautiful as always
    xoxo,
    lauren

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  55. Oh how beautiful! What a lucky young lady. I love that trellis carpet. The whole room is so soothing and so incredibly gorgeous! The master bedroom looks beautiful too. laurie

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  56. Great job, Joni! I like your choice of fabrics and the rug, too. Loved seeing this, and I really like the bookcases in the master. You're right. Nothing like having books in a bedroom... warms the room up. Love it! Want it!

    XO,

    Sheila

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  57. Your work is so beautiful Joni! The patterned carpet is so great!

    Best,
    Michelle

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  58. I Always prefer to read The Quality and glad I found this thing in you post. Thanks
    allergy free bedding

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