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Before & After: Liv's Tween Bedroom Becomes a Teen Bedroom!

In Collaboraton with Nordal
My eldest daughter Liv is turning thirteen this summer. THIRTEEN! Where on earth has the time gone? I've noticed her bedroom has become more and more important to her - it's a place to hang out with friends (both in person and online), do homework, chill, spread clothes out ALL over the floor.... you name it! 

The upshot? It's time to transform her room from tween to teen. And the pink's gonna have to go! 

For this, I needed a partner. And who better than Danish brand Nordal - a family driven interior design business selling exciting furniture and accessories for the home and garden - and valued long-term partner of My Scandinavian home. 

Here's what we did:

Before

I didn't think of taking real 'before' pictures, these were snapped with my phone a little into the make-over process (hence the blank wall and tape!), but hopefully it'll give you a hint of what it looked like before. The pink has served Liv well over the years, but everything was starting to feel 'too young'. Plus, at 177 cm (the same height as me!) - and all her sleepovers, it was time to get a bigger bed!


The brief


Liv is a real water babe. She has ALWAYS loved the water. I'll never forget her first bath - it was as if she was suddenly in complete harmony and at one with her surroundings. Over time, she became really fond of swimming in the sea and going to the local pool. These days, she swims four times a week with a local club. Blue was therefore a natural choice for the walls - and natural materials such as rattan, linen and jute would help to bring the feel of the Swedish coastline she so loves, into her room. 

I headed to the store for some samples. Let me tell you now, pale blue isn't the easiest of shades to get right. Firstly, there are about a thousand to choose from (which was a little overwhelming!), and secondly, they never look the same once on the wall. have you found that too? Gaaah!

In the end we settled on Moln by Alcro. Meaning 'cloud', Moln was the palest of pale blue shades - yet on the wall it felt calm and created just the hint of pale blue Liv was after. 

In my world, there's nothing like the last minute (I'm known for it - just ask Per!). All the beautiful items arrived from Nordal the day before the shoot (amazing turn around by the Danish team - thank you guys!), and it was all hands on deck - with help from Per as well as the My Scandinavian Home stylist extraordinaire Helen Sturesson, and even Liv and Allie! A fun day, I have to say! 

After

Tadaaaa! From teen to tween in a matter of days! Let me talk you through the transformation:


There's nothing like rattan to bring a relaxed beach vibe to a space and this beautiful 180 cm headboard was just the ticket! It's a perfect piece as it's stand-alone, meaning it simply slots behind the bed with absolutely no installation required! Hooray! 


I love the imperfection, plus Liv tells me it's surprisingly soft to lean against as it's very smooth. I can already imagine her and her friends leaning against it, chatting into the night! 


A reading light is an absolute essential for any bedroom. Since the room is fairly small - and children tend to have a LOT of things - I thought it was important to go for something wall mounted to keep it out of the way. I love the brass touch of the Athene golden wall lamp - it fitted well with the rattan and can also be tilted and swivelled in order to provide light for both the bed and desk area. 

In the height of the summer, it really only gets dark for a few hours a day, so black-out blinds / curtains are essential. Liv has always been a bit of a poor sleeper too (although a little better these days thanks to all that swimming!) so I placed a lot of importance on getting the window dressing right! These black-out curtains are from HM Home (I got them adjusted to the right length at a local dry cleaners). If you look closely, you can also see blinds!  Yep, not taking any chances! 

The desk has been updated to a lighter look from IKEA (the old one is now in Allie's room!) - and she also has a new ergonomic desk chair (in the hope that she'll sit there for longer doing her homework, worth a shot!). 


Since her bed is also her hangout zone, we ramped up the cosiness with Nordal cushions - including the dark blue Capella, knitted off-white Lyra and beige Capella.

We also added a grey-brown linen bed cover and dark blue cotton yoga blanket for contrast and cold nights! helping to keep warm on cooler nights. 


Another bedroom essential: the side table (this one is the Victoria pillar side table in light blue) for her books, glasses of water, no doubt her phone, earrings and other bits and bobs! 

The wall basket was designed by my friend Maria Gustavsson from Swedish Ninja and made locally here in Southern Sweden. 

Oh yes, and I haven't mentioned the amazing lamp yet! How could I forget that? The oversized SIF lampshade is a real statement piece and instantly brought a relaxed, rustic beach vibe to the room! I can imagine it looking FAB over a dining table too (if you have high ceilings).  

And finally, the rug! This Ava hemp carpet in size 160 cm x 240 cm is so soft and completed the look beautifully. Love the fringe! 

Needless to say, Liv's thrilled with her new room! 

But it's not quite finished. 

On the opposite side of the room, some new shelves are needed (update to follow!). And most importantly of all, this is a mere 'backdrop' for whatever she'd like to do with the space - including layering the wall with posters and photographs and surrounding herself with all her favourite things. 

In other words, it's time for me to step back and let Liv take over!



I hope you enjoyed the make-over!

If you're curious about any of the items, please do ask away in the comment section below. I'd be happy to help! 

You can find Nordal items in these webshops

Right, I'm off downstairs to see what Liv's done to her room (I can hear her pottering about!). I'm sure some posters and prints have already gone up! 

See also Albin's teenage bedroom make-over and Allie's before and after bedroom make-over (they certainly don't look as tidy as that today!). 

What did your childhood bedroom look like? Mine was covered in Laura Ashley wallpaper and my clothes were stored in an antique chest-of-drawers (I remember having to pry the drawers open!). 

Naturally, I ruined the entire look my Mother had created with posters of Bros, Aha and the Pet Shop Boys (totally showing my age here!!). Later, I remember adding framed black and white Robert Doisneau photographs. 

Those were the days! 

Niki

Photography by me, shoot styling by Helen Sturesson

This was a paid partnership with Nordal - however, all words and products choices were mine and Liv's (with a little guidance from Helen!). Thank you for supporting the wonderful businesses that help make My Scandinavian Home possible. 

LATEST COMMENTS:

  1. Early 70's. So: purple and white and lilac. White dressing table and stool, white metal bedhead, lilac curtains, lilac and white lampshade. Huge white pinboard to stop me covering the wall in sellotape to hold up my pictures and posters. Purple carpet, purple gloss paint on the inside of my door (my mother flatly refused to allow it on the other side). Old built in wardrobe converted to shelving unit and desk. I loved it.

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    Replies
    1. Wow - so well thought out! And the lilac wouldn't look so out of place today! I was thinking about cork board or pinboard for Olivia's room!

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  2. '80s: Morten Harket, Depeche Mode posters, dark brown, old inherited furniture, wall carpet, books, plants and a pair of zebra finch.
    Lucky Liv!

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    Replies
    1. Morten harket was my favourite!! I even went to an A-ha concert in Brighton!

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  3. Beautiful room, Liv is very lucky. Mine was quite opposite of hers: 80s nightmare with old hand-me-down furniture that I used self-adhesive wallpaper on to try to make better (didn't work), my sister and I shared the room and had bunkbeds that I constantly moved around (we split them into various configurations) and Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran and Bros posters. I still loved that room though as we could do whatever we wanted with it but I would have liked something serene and beautiful like Liv's. I hope she likes it for a long time.

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    Replies
    1. Haha, I can remember the posters of all the bands you mentioned Miruska. I liked their music but my walls were occupied with other bands' posters :)

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    2. LOL. I still love them though. They say the music you like the most is the music you listen in your teenagerhood. I can attest to that as I still love to listen that music when I need a pick me up, or when working/cleaning. I also liked a cute boy, as you can see all the groups were cute-boy groups :-).hahaha

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    3. You're so right - I still love it when some of the 80s classics come on the radio!

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  4. What a great room Liv! Love the natural rattan choices. I personally was burdened with a custom made maple bedroom set complete with cannonball 4-poster bed, twirly desk and dresser. Oh and my very floral wallpaper matched the swag back draperies. So of course I covered it all up with Duran Duran posters.
    Question: I see the stacking organizer boxes in many of your featured homes - in bedrooms, playrooms and closets. Liv has one on her desk in pink. Where are these from? I am hoping available in Canada! Great feature, thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, Duran Duran has been so cool!

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    2. The boxes are from HAY, but Sostrene Grene has a cheaper version as well.

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    3. Thanks Sonia! HAY seems to deliver to Canada. I realize there are loads of organizer crates in the world, but these ones are cute too. :)

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    4. Hi Sonia, those boxes are available in a lot of places. My local store in Calgary that sells mid-century stuff and most of these iconic pieces has them. I think if you do some search, you might find them on Nordic Nest or another place in Canada where you leave, with some discount. They come in tons of colours and sizes.

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  5. This looks so lovely! My childhood bedroom is now my partner's office, and still a soft pink, but I still like it! The color was chosen from the way the wall turns pink with sunset over the water, and it feels like it has aged well (more so than the baby purple it was when I was young!)

    Also, could you perhaps share where your beautiful blue button up shirt is from? It's such a perfect length!

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  6. It's nice when you see such a great work! Continue writing

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