Earlier this year I had a chance to work with SmartStuff Furniture to create a Parisian-inspired big girl room. And then- this was even more fun- I got to give an entire room of SmartStuff Furniture away to one of my readers.
There was a flutter of excitement when we announced the winner, Denise M. of Pennsylvania. Then I went away for a month. Then she went away for a bit. But we’re all back now, and we have her new room all designed on paper. This is a great way to approach any redesign, because there’s no backache from moving all this furniture around as many times as it takes in order to get the design just right.
Two sisters share this room. One is a second grader, and the older sister is a college sophomore. She also happens to be one of my favorites because we share the name of Darla.
In a small-ish room that is only 10’3″ by 12’5″, we needed to fit two beds, two dressers, a bookshelf, and a rocking chair. Whew! That’s a lot of function in one shared room. There’s also a baseboard heater along the back wall, and a walk in closet big enough to store two dressers and then some..
SmartStuff Furniture generously awarded four pieces to the contest winner. Denise did have a couple of dressers already that she thought the girls might keep and re-use. By going with a trundle bed, we were able to fit everything in, and also have the flexibility of opening up some floor space by stowing the trundle bed for much of the year, when big sis is away at college.
Here is a peek at the room that the sisters are sharing, before the makeover. It looks like any 2nd grader’s room, I think.
We can not possibly get enough storage in this room. Little sis is still in the toddler bed, and that’s going to need to change soon, so it’s a great thing that she gets an upgrade to this beauty, the SmartStuff Genevieve Reading Bed. The built-in light is brilliant! It tucks away into the bed post when you don’t need it, and it shines a light just where you need it for reading, which is going to be important when they are both at home.
That flexibility I mentioned? It’s going to come from the trundle bed. Gorgeous, isn’t it? This is solid, and doesn’t have to feel like someone misses out on a real bed.
The quality of the SmartStuff Furniture is really surprising. It’s very solid, and is made with lots of clever details, like this hidden jewelry panel. Who wouldn’t love a secret compartment like this?
The Couture Closet is beautiful, not only because of the mirrored front and French styling, but also because the more vertical space we can use, the better! Again, the interior jewelry hooks are going to be helpful for organizing, and the electrical access hole areare a must-have to store everything from curling irons to phone chargers out of the way. The plan is that our college girl gets this beautiful piece. 
Because the main occupant of this room is a youngster, I suggested some fun, bright bedding from Hayneedle to liven things up, and also to lessen the worry of stains and spills. This will go well against the light purple that they already had picked out for the walls.
The ever-functional Raskog cart from Ikea will do double duty as a bedside table that can also easily be wheeled out of the way to access the trundle bed. 
Because it won’t make sense to have a table lamp where it has to be moved often at the bedside, I suggested a pair of these plug-in brushed brash swing arm sconces instead. They are easy to install, and position-able heads will allow both sisters to have the light they need in their own space. 
And, just to liven things up, a triple set of these fun hampers from Hayneedle can go in the closet to hold all the stuffed animals, but still make it easy to get to them anytime. 
Want to see how it all comes together? Here is the floor plan that incorporates the 4 new SmartStuff items. The existing pieces are shown in light pink.
And here are the accessories, and a few notes for the family.
Always put safety first when you are working on a makeover for a child’s room. I reformatted this design specifically to remove furniture away from the baseboard heater, shown on the right side of the diagram. And always, always, always properly secure furniture to the wall in a child’s room, especially if it is taller than it is deep. I made Denise triple promise me that she and her husband would secure these pieces to the wall once they are delivered.
SmartStuff is serious about safety. They include these features in their entire line:
Safety
- Anti-tip restraint hardware
- Built-in drawer stops
- Cord management
- Eliminate entrapment hazards
- Lead-free finishes
- Metal dowels
- Softened edges and corners
- Tests and assured
This was a ton of fun to help this family redecorate a room, especially since they already had plans to make changes this year. I haven’t seen the space in person, but I hope to share it with you when it’s done, later this year.
If you are stumped with a redesign like this, I can work with you, wherever you live, through the magic of digital photography and email. Just contact me when it’s time to build your room plans.
Oh, and it’s probably worth clicking over to follow SmartStuff4Kids on Facebook. They have some nice contests and giveaways throughout the year.
What do you think of these designs and the furniture from SmartStuff? Do you think a design process like this would help you with a makeover you’d like to make happen?
