Helens Bedroom Makeover

I have been wanting to redecorate Helen's bedroom for quite awhile now. This summer finally afforded us the time to get it done. I am so pleased with the results and glad we finished before school started. Helen is delighted with several features of her new surroundings. The inspiration for a redo came from her need of a desk. Helen is getting a laptop for her birthday. We went a little beyond a desk. :) Here are the details.


This is Helen's wall on the walk in to her closet/bathroom. She has a calender with all her classes/activities and places to hang her umbrellas, purses, and her little Vera Bradley wristlet. She loves to take this everywhere.
We found room on her counter for another owl and a Buckhead Betty's toiletries bag that EP gifted her.
We also found a place for her guest towels. These were a gift from Juliann.
Helen thought her bottle cap necklaces were better displayed on the mirror she cracked while we were moving around. I'm not sure if she's trying to cover the crack or what. It's good she and I are not superstitious. :)
We put her Vera Bradely glasses case (a gift from Katrina) on her boxes next to her lamp. We also put a favorite family photo in the frame that Lauren gave her.
The hairbows got color coordinated. :) Let's all cross our fingers that she still lets me put them in her ponytail.
Helen took on the task of weeding through baby doll clothes and seperating them from the build a bear things.
She also insisted on a big area in the closet for her "salon" where Markus gets a regular trim. Thank goodness for plastic scissors.
Helen's built ins also got reorganized. Now she has a little shelf for her jewelry and lip gloss. I also got her little boxes to organize her scrapbooking. Now it will be easier for us to do that craft together. :)
More closet.
We got all of Helens books culled. We replaced a lot of 'baby' books with the American Girl series. She's on book 6 of Felicity. She is loving to read and I am loving that!
We held onto a few old things like this favorite photograph taken on a day with Mallory at the Hattiesburg zoo. I adore her in hats!
Because we did way too many photographs in the room (see below) I had to find a different source of wall decor. Luckily Helen had ample art leftover from the art show. The school requested one piece to be framed so that it could hang in the elementary hallway. I had the other pieces framed later this month that placed in the art show. I treasure her little artsy side. :)
We found a great place for the Sweden/Holland treasures that 'daddy' brought back from his last trip overseas. Helen stuffs real and play money in this shoe. :)
A positive word and her graduation autograph puppy.
Her bulletin board is now surrounded by framed photos of the last two years. Her friends and family are up there with her in some of our fave memories. I love this wall the best.
More art. Obviously we had a thing for peace signs this year.
The cupcake is her delicate jewelry box and a lovely gift from the Pete and Patsy next door. I put her ipod radio here and some more photos.
Helen said her flashlight had to go close to the bed so along with it we hung an art sign we made awhile ago and her crayon/marker bag.
Another owl. :) Love it! And more photos! Love it! (and an ipod charger for a touch of practicality.)
More art ribbons, Paris souvenirs, and family photos.
Helen is ready for homework and school with all the pencils she sharpened. She loves it that her daddy teases her with this big eraser acting like it's for use on her. lol.
I put the quilt that Leigh made for Helen on this chair along with her first stuffed owl and a pillow. I was creating this space for a reading area but now I realize with all this junk on top of the seat that she might not be reading much here. Oh well...it's cute.
A favorite phrase is on the wall over her bed along with owl decals that Leigh got Helen last time we were home.
Helen now has a spot to charge her ds and to stack her well read AG books and Bible. She cracks me up on this alarm clock. She is determined to wake up by alarm clock this year for school. We'll see how that goes on the first morning. :)
I almost forgot to mention the desk chair. I was really wanting one of these from PBKids but I really didn't want to spend that much on a desk chair. I totally lucked up at Maycomb Mall in town and found this solid oak chair for $18. I sanded and restained it in one afternoon. I am really pleased with the results.
Green baunk baunk (helen's baby blanket) got a treasured location near the foot of the bed. I can't believe she's still holding onto that blanket. It's so old and funky. At least she lets me wash it. :)
We also placed Helen's stuff animal collection in the animal print bag here next to her tv armoire. I am so pleased she didn't argue about their new 'concealed' home. I was going critter crazy for awhile. I mean you could never find the floor or the bed when they were out. I hate to think how much I have contributed to build a bears shareholders. :)
The little rugs from her old room in MS stayed. We found a place for them in front of the stereo. Helen is dubbing this area a disco section because of the fancy light, rugs, and music. LOL. It's supposed to be an organized toy area but I'll call it whatever she wants so long as she is more tidy now.

We went with simple curtains because Helen loves the natural light. She also found a home for her hanging butterfly collection. It now adorns her ceiling fan.

And those are the new details of my little misses room. I think she's really enjoying it now. I am relieved the paint color worked and that the job is done. Now to enjoy it!

Erin