If you follow us on Instagram, over Thanksgiving you probably saw us on Stories, as we were working on our niece’s bedroom makeover. But just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me back up for just a second. Our niece, Penelope, is currently in the third grade and her dad (our brother, Doren) had told her that after she read 10 chapter books she could paint her room. Doren is SUCH a great dad and I loved his idea with this. I personally struggled with reading as a kid at first, but it’s such an important skill and I loved how he was encouraging her with positive rewards to read more. I asked Doren if Elsie and I could basically kind of insert ourselves into his goal (ha—gotta love big sisters, right?) and when she read all her books we wanted to give her an ENTIRE ROOM MAKEOVER!
Doren said yes. Penny finished all her books in November. So the time had come for a massive room makeover! Here’s what her room looked like before we started.
I had been over to their house quite a few times already so I had already taken some measurements for wallpaper and other things. We also noted that we need to include plenty of storage for her clothes, toys, and other things. We didn’t really want to take away anything she loved, we just wanted to update the room with colors and features we knew she’d enjoy. We had asked her to give us a few ideas, and she said: pink, teal, white, eyeballs, cactus, Sailor Moon, maybe a pink door … she had quite a few ideas. 🙂
We also were hoping to create a space that she would love for years into the future. As much as we hate to admit it, she will be a tween before we know it (ahhhh!!!!). So we wanted the space to feel both whimsical and fun, but also something that doesn’t feel too young so that she grows out of it super fast, if that makes any sense. 
Here’s a little before and after of the space—so fun, right? I think the wallpaper and the bed frame really steal the show. 🙂
We filmed her reaction to the room the first time she saw it. Elsie worked on the room with me while she was in town for Thanksgiving, but she wasn’t able to stay until Monday when Penny returned to actually see the room. So Doren and I filmed it so Elsie could see how she responded. 🙂 Her little squeal kind of melts my heart.
We painted the walls, inside the closet, and the door. We also added wallpaper to two walls, and we updated most of her furniture. It seriously took us basically a full two days to do all that, so I don’t know how those HGTV shows do entire houses and stuff in a week or whatever. I was pretty tired after—but obviously it was totally worth it.
I want to share a little bit more about the room, so here’s a mini tour of some of the features we added.
We added a small bookshelf to one wall. She had been storing her books in a drawer before and I think having them on a shelf just makes it easier to grab a book and read for a little while. To encourage her on her reading journey, we also bought her a few new books. As I was picking out books, I realized she’s at an age (9 years old) where I am a little unsure of books and the reading level they may present. So if any of you have kiddos around this age who like to read, let me know your recommendations in the comments! I’d like to get her a few more books for Christmas and I’d love some ideas.
We also got her this cute little vanity set for storage and a place to get ready or play with makeup. 🙂 We got her a caboodle and filled it with extra or random natural makeup we had around just because it’s fun, and she’s at an age where she likes to play with that stuff some.
We painted and organized her closet, adding more storage with baskets and using the upper shelves as a display for larger toys. We also bought two of these storage bins (similar here) on wheels that fit under her bed for extra clothing and toy storage. I kind of want to get some of these for my room now. They are pretty awesome!
We had a light up globe like this at summer camp this year, so we got Penny her own (and it’s pink). I showed her how it lights up, changes colors, and will rotate when I gave her a little tour of her room and she was really into it. I don’t care what age you are, pretty twinkle lights in a bedroom are always a good bet. You can see a full list of resources below. Thanks for letting us share our niece’s bedroom makeover! It was seriously one of the most fun things I’ve worked on in a while. We love you, Penny!!! xo. Aunt Emma + Aunt Elsie
Sources: Wall Paint/Whisper White from The Home Decorators Collection at The Home Depot (HDC-MD-08), Door Paint/Energetic Pink from Behr (P150-2), Door Wreath/Target, Wallpaper/Icons from Chasing Paper, Bed Frame/Amazon, Vanity/Amazon, Bookshelf/The Home Depot, Similar Side Table/Amazon, Similar Under The Bed Storage Bins/Wayfair, Closet baskets/Amazon, Gold Wire Basket/Target, Light Up Star Globe/Amazon, Caboodle/Walmart.
And the books we gave her are: The Adventures of Nanny Piggins, The Great Cake Mystery, Whatever After Book 1, The Haunted Library #1, and The Phantom Toll Booth.
Love the room! I would love to know wht makeup you gave her.
this is such a perfect present ! you aunties rock !!!
Such a darling and sweet reaction to her new room!! AND it’s so cool that you tied that in with her reading 10 chapter books! Way to go! Thanks for sharing! Love this site!
The Penderwicks Series (5 books) is charming, whimsical, and SO fun. I just read it as an adult this year and only wish it’d been around when I was a kid as I know I would have loved it then. Maybe you could read a series or book with Penny as a book club? That would have been really fun as a kid to talk about my favorites with someone older. (I REALLY tried to get my parents to read HP and neither were interested.) https://www.amazon.com/The-Penderwicks-4-Book-Series/dp/B00WTJU8OS
The Betsy-Tacy books were ones I loved when I was young, and where the series grows in difficulty/length so you can continue it as you age. (Not a great one for binge reading 🙂 necessarily.) The author, Maud-Heart Lovelace, is from MN – my home state – and actually has book awards for childrens lit. I used to read all of the nominees in my age range as a kid. Great place to go for book ideas! http://www.myrahome.org/mhl-nominees-2018-19.html
Such a cute bedroom makeover and a super sweet reward for your niece! She is super lucky! Thanks for sharing 😀
My 9-year-old boy loves the Alvin Ho series. We got them on cd from the library for a road trip over the summer and the whole family enjoyed them (2 adults, and 5 kids ages 11-2). They are really funny and have enough illustrations for even my graphic novel reading kids.
High school English teacher here, so I’m a bit older, but a book that I love giving friends with kids around her age are The Wild Robot books. THEY’RE SO GOOD! The art is beautiful and it’s so wonderful.
It’s so true that the wallpaper and bed frame steal the show. Maybe when she gets a little older she’ll want to paint the bed frame. And it will be fine because the wallpaper is a neutral color. The room looks great!
Elementary School Librarian here! A great series for her when she has the stamina to read longer books is the Wildwood Chronicles, a nature/animal fantasy that takes place in the woods outside of Portland, Oregon. The illustrations by Carson Ellis are awesome and the books are written by Colin Meloy of the Decemberists. I really loved reading these and am sharing them with my daughter who is also 9.
http://www.wildwoodchronicles.mobi/books
I like the concept and the outcome.
Less is more! 🙂
http://lifestyleandberries.com I A lifestyle blog by Vana Verouti
i forgot to mention—mary pope osborne (best known for the magic tree house, which is also a recommendation) did a book called “favorite medieval tales” which is really beautifully illustrated and not only does arthurian stories and robin hood but also has some lesser-known (to anglophones) ones like bisclavret and finn mccool. she’s also done collections of greek and norse mythology; on a more general note, penelope might like some mythology/folktale collections? donna jo napoli’s got some greek/norse/egyptian/persian ones published through national geographic with great illustrations, but there are a lot out there.
when i was that age i was mad into the warrior cats series. depends on her tolerance for fantasy violence because warriors can get kinda dark for a kids’ series, but it’s at about the right reading level and i slurped that series up with a spoon until my parents refused to keep buying me them (which, a warning: if she gets into warriors there are A LOT of those books). the wonderful wizard of oz and its sequels were also super formative. if she’s got a good tolerance for kinda scary stuff nine-ish was also when i got into the animorphs series, which i think is recently coming back in print? you might have to get the later ones second-hand. the series deals a lot with issues of war and ethics in a pretty complex way for kids’ books.
anyway this room looks really nice, i like how adaptable the color scheme looks—it’s a room that definitely will grow with her
Okay I have no idea what it’s like to be a 9 year old nowadays, but I wish I was as cool as Penny when I was her age! You guys are seriously cool aunts as well 🙂 I was a pretty avid reader as a kid but I started reading the Harry Potter books when I was 8 (I think only the first 2 or 3 were out at that point). A lot of the classics people have mentioned already, and Phantom Tollbooth is still one of my all-time faves! I also loved chapter book series like The Magic Treehouse, The Boxcar Children, Junie B. Jones, and The Babysitter’s Club. Not sure what age this is appropriate for, but Nancy Drew as well (I wonder if there’s an updated version of the series?). I bet there are a lot more empowering and socially aware options for young girls these days!
This is such a great project , love the concept and outcome . She is adorable, best client ever!
Love the room! And now am obsessed with a patter from Chasing Paper for a spot in my home! Would you be able to estimate how much it cost to cover that wall?
Oh my god! Love this one so much!
It’s so cute! The black and white with the pink is so pretty…and the eyeball wallpaper! ????
Get her Chris Colfer’s The Land of Stories series. My daughter inhaled those! If anyone is road tripping, I highly recommend the audiobooks- they are amazing and the whole family had driveway moments.
Get her Chris Colfer’s The Land of Stories series. My daughter inhaled those books! And I agree with her. If anyone is planning a road trip, get the audiobooks- they are amazing and the whole family was having driveway moments!
Growing up my favourite books were by Astrid Lindgren (Ronia the robbers daughter, The brothers lionheart, Mio my son – these were my favourites), Michael Ende (Momo, Neverending Story, Night of wishes), Erich Kästner (available in English: Dot and Anton, Emil and the detectives) – these books are wonderful for all ages, (some of them have been made into beautiful and touching movies!) and I cannot wait to read them with my daughter one day. They all have deeper meanings while telling engaging, fun and exciting stories and I consider them all classics.
The room looks so fun! What a great surprise for Penny.
Greetings from Vienna, Austria from this booklover 🙂