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I am blessed with a little boy and girl and took great pleasure designing their bedrooms on a shoestring. I did, however, invest in some neutral decent quality white furniture that would see them through from toddlers to teens, thinking it false economy to buy cheap that would not last or nursery furniture which they would outgrow. I managed to get this on sale though so it didn't break the bank. I also invested in two small, black cast iron bedroom fireplaces which I got from a reclamation yard and re-finished myself. Combined with black cast iron beds (Ikea) this adds depth to the rooms and a more "furnished" look.

A Pretty Girls Bedroom Scheme

First I exposed the floor boards, sanded and painted them white. Not only is this cheap but is the starting point for the whole feel of the room. The walls, ceiling and woodwork were also painted white. Now I have a blank canvas on which to layer the pretty things which I gathered to create a pretty but stylish room.

I bought a simple flower shaped stencil from a hardware store and stenciled pale pink flowers all over the wall about six inches apart. The finished effect is a pretty floral wallpaper.

The bed linen is a mixture of Laura Ashley, Cath
Kidston and a fabulous throw from Tommy Hillfigure. Sound expensive? It wasn't. I managed to find all of them brand new on eBay or at Winners and other discount brand stores. The overall scheme is white, pale pink and green mixing rosebuds and other small floral prints with gingham and stripes to create a retro/vintage look. I bought offcuts of fabric and made cushions to accentuate this for the bottom of her bed.

The windows are dressed with a simple wooden pelmet with vintage fabric bunting attached and a very simple white roller blind.

To add an princess touch I bought a totally plain white fabric canopy and then attached the same bunting to the hoop.

The last thing I now wanted was a stack of plastic toys ruining the whole look so well organised storage is important. Stackable plastic Ikea boxes combined with under bed storage baskets and a white painted storage box help keep these things out of eyeshot. Books and prettier toys are displayed on a dolls house shaped bookshelf, white painted shelves and baskets lined with pink and white gingham. The final touches are a gingham rug and a basket of teddy's inside the fireplace opening.

A Boys Bedroom to fire his imagination!

I decided on a scheme that would last from baby to little boy without major changes. Again I exposed and painted

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