Brothers Atticus and Oscar may have opted for eye-popping wallpaper, but little sister Maeve's brand new blue bedroom is fueled by pretty fabric and delicate embellishments!
Three's Company
Do you remember the worldly wallpaper featured in Atticus and Oscar’s rooms from our recent post: Twin Rooms, Two Treatments, and how our dream clients decided to build a third story addition to their gorgeous Edwardian home? Well, we may have skipped the prettiest room of all - Maeve’s!
Originally, the family had planned to move just the boys upstairs before deciding to create a dedicated, kid-friendly space for all three children. The third floor includes a study area, two bathrooms - one for the boys to share, and one just for Maeve (which, in my humble opinion, is some seriously great parenting) - and three bedrooms. As there are two boys, it felt natural to give the book-matched rooms to them while saving the original space at the front of the house for Maeve.
Colour Confidential
It can be easy to fall victim to colour stereotypes when designing children’s rooms or to get conceptually stuck on preconceived palettes. You’d be surprised at how you can utilize any colour as a base, and in Maeve’s case, we created a delicate look in her favourite shades of blue. A child’s favourite colour is their favourite colour, and that should always be celebrated!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the biggest challenge when designing a child’s room is longevity. It’s always really important to me that I include kids in the design process, as it helps me source major elements that can excite and easily grow with the child while ensuring a safe long term investment for the parents. Maeve was involved in choosing everything from the fabric to the studded headboard design, in effect letting her personality shine through the types of embellishments we included. She’s definitely a girl’s girl, so we incorporated 'hat box' style storage boxes and beaded pillows to give the overall aesthetic a clearly feminine touch.
Fabric Fanatics
It's no secret that the entire SRD team is mildly (okay, more than mildly) obsessed with fabrics; and, since the launch of Sarah’s first collaboration with Kravet coincided with designing Maeve’s room, we were beyond excited to play with Sarah’s patterns! Shannon and I knew ahead of time that we wanted to use a lot of fabric for this design, which can be tough in a kid's room because overly precious materials are immediately off the table. The Affinity Collection is mainly cotton and linen, making it perfect for the wear and tear we knew to expect in this application.
Maeve’s room is the original front bedroom of the new addition, giving it all of the natural angles from the ceiling. We decided that the best way to enhance its’ character while tying in the fabric treatment was to use two different paint colours. Powder blue on the dormer walls creates balance with the rest of the room that we painted in a soft blue with a touch of green. It was tough to delineate the wall from the ceiling, so we had fun with coordinating the tones of the paint with the patterned fabric.
Whimsical Windows
We could’ve gone for plain linen drapes, but… Brookhaven is one of my favourites from Sarah’s Kravet Collection and I really couldn’t wait to incorporate it into a project! Although the Brookhaven Chambray colourway is fairly sophisticated, pairing it with alternating adjacent fabrics provides balances to the overall graphic treatment. Plus, the custom upholstered 'hat boxes' adds a playful touch to storage that she might just actually use to put things away. The 8 ft. wide window needed about 12 yards of fabric for the drapery and 5 yards for the roman blinds, which works really well for it’s size.
Pretty, yet Practical
It may seem a little crazy to include a large white carpet in an almost tween-ager’s room (hello, spilled nail polish!), but this inexpensive bound broadloom adds a soft finish to the flooring. One of my favourite tips to share with clients is that 100% wool is much better than synthetic, as any spilled liquid will pool on top long enough to give you a chance to clean it up! It also lets designers install gorgeous white carpets without fear of long term staining. We included a sculptural Coco chair from the Sarah Richardson Design custom furniture collection, which has a big enough scale to grow with her. I always like introducing a chair in kids’ rooms if there’s the space to do so, and the sculptural Coco chair was the perfect addition!
Back to Back
The two bathrooms on the third floor are back to back - so, for simplicity's sake and to create some visual consistency, we used the same materials in both spaces. Carrara marble is one of the least expensive natural marbles on the market, making it a prudent choice for both kids and savings accounts. Mixing in the inexpensive subway tile and utilizing the same plumbing, shower systems and faucets across the board all contributed to balancing the budget.
As Maeve’s bathroom is smaller in size and layout, we focussed on the little details that help emphasize the room’s unique features. Her flooring has a mosaic 'carpet' tile treatment and features a different scale of tiles in comparison to the boy’s counterpart to suit the size of the space. We also splurged a little on her shower by installing a full back wall mosaic - the boys only got a stripe!
Stretch your Space
To me, this room evokes an incredibly clean feeling... as every bathroom should! Tiled walls and a chair rail make the space easily washable without compromising on dimension, while the tricky angles create a sophisticated anchor for the entire room. The placement of the sink was dictated by two specific factors; room for a mirror and head clearance. The L-shaped counter we installed extends the surface space and creates additional storage, letting us make the most of the room’s dimensions.
Source Guide:
Bedroom
headboard, 'Vanessa', Sarah Richardson Design Bespoke Furniture Collection | headboard fabric, '50 Bluebell' Glynn Linen, Designer Fabrics | sheet set, 'Scale', Serena & Lily | duvet cover, 'Ofelia Vass', IKEA | bird pillow fabric, 'Dancers Seafoam' Lulu DK, Y & Co | white pillow fabric, '9020D/Bristol Oyster', Design Fabrics | beaded pillow trim, 'T30391-35' Kravet | side table, 'Jenny Lind White Nightstand', Land of Nod | lamp, 'Milano Cream Glass Table Lamp', Union Lighting | glass dish on side table, vintage | tea set, client’s own | storage boxes, Silva 4 Home | storage box fabrics, 'Hazelwood Chambray', 'Scollard Chambray', Sarah Richardson Design Kravet Fabric | drapery fabric, 'Brookhaven Chambray', Sarah Richardson Design Kravet Fabric | drapery fabrication & rod, Wesley Seto Design | light sconces, vintage, Residential Lighting | Chair, 'Coco Tight Seat Chair', Sarah Richardson Design Bespoke Furniture Collection | chair fabric, '25107', Kobe Fabrics | chair pillow, client’s own | stuffed lamb toy, client’s own| rug, client’s own | turtle painting, client’s own | wall paint colours, walls: 'CC-608 Dew Drop', dormer walls: '2122-50 Iceberg', ceiling: '2122-60 Palest Pistachio', Benjamin Moore
Bathroom
mirror, custom, Elgin Picture & Frame | sconces, '131545 Single Downlight Wall Sconce with Seedy Glass', Union Lighting | sink faucet, 'Rubinet R10', Taps Bath Centre | toilet paper holder, Rubinet, Taps Bath Centre | l-shaped vanity, custom, Chooka Kitchens & Millwork | vanity paint colour, 'OC-65 Chantilly Lace', Benjamin Moore | vanity knobs, 'Slade Pull', Ginger’s | toothbrush holder, soap dish, Ginger’s | 2 jars, client’s own | towels, client’s own | toilet, 'Toto', Taps Bath Centre | floor tiles, 'Tartan Carrara', 'Thassos', 'Moonstone Mosaic', 6x24 'Carrara honed', Creekside Tile | wall tiles, 'Carrara Pencil round', 3x6 'Spa white glossy', Creekside Tile | shower tiles, 'Honeycomb Oriental White', 'Moonstone polished', 3x6 'Spa white glossy', Creekside Tile | shower system, Rubinet R10, Taps Bath Centre | wall paint colour, 'OC-17 White Dove', Benjamin Moore | ceiling paint colour, 'P5211-24D Powder', Para Paint