Last fall we featured a redesign Nancy created for her son Owen. She’s back with another lovely room makeover—this time for a family with a heartwarming story. Here’s her letter:
Hi John and Sherry! A while back I entered the Creating with the Stars contest hosted by East Coast Creative and was teamed up with Kari from U-Create. I had the wonderful opportunity to makeover a space for a couple who have been trying to get pregnant for over ten years. While they’ve accepted that biological parenthood may never happen, they joined a foster-to-adopt program and are adopting three siblings. KK is the youngest, and the family will be able to finalize the adoption in February! For my entry, I transformed one of the couple’s guest bedrooms into a special space for KK. Even though I was eliminated in Round 3, I kept going and completed Round 4—and I’m so glad I did!
I usually love black and white in home decor, but for this room I wanted color and playful patterns. It was such a fun project that I didn’t want to leave when it was finished.
I originally planned to use fabric on the wall—an Ikea bird print in black, white, and green that I later discovered was no longer available. Instead, I used a projector and six Sharpies to trace and recompose elements of the pattern directly onto the wall. I didn’t copy the fabric exactly; I moved pieces around and placed what I liked where I thought it worked best. The process was fairly simple, though it did wear on my wrist and shoulder. The final result made the effort completely worth it.
I kept personal handmade touches to a minimum for now, since I like to sew and make things by hand. Leaving space for the family—and especially for KK—to add their own belongings and personality will let the room grow with them once she arrives home.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did — xo, Nancy
There are many more photos of this playful room for KK on U-Create’s blog. For a full source list and more details about the inexpensive wall treatment she used, visit Nancy’s blog where she explains the $5 “wallpaper” technique and provides the project sources. Thanks to Nancy for sharing this sweet makeover for such a meaningful cause. As for favorite details: Sherry loves the homemade wallpaper and the purple bed, while I’m drawn to the planked walls and the painted ceiling.