 | SUGAR AND SPICE: Pickling the wood floor, adding a subtle sheen to the pink walls, and introducing feminine fabrics “and flounces “totally transformed the girls bedroom. (Below) Wendy and her daughters, Catherine and Mary (not pictured), turned to Claudia Strasser and her team of helpers to turn a bland childrens bedroom into a place of magic and make-believe. |
Sweet Dreams
Author and designer Claudia Strasser sprinkles a little fairy dust over two little girls bedroom to create a place of frills and fun.
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At the 2001 Cattle Baron’s silent auction, Wendy Kumpf was determined to place the winning bid on item No. 227, a bedroom-makeover consultation with Claudia Strasser, author of The Paris Apartment. But she wasn’t envisioning a sophisticated retreat for herself; Wendy wanted to redo the bedroom shared by her daughters, 6-year-old Catherine and 2-year-old Mary. I wanted their bedroom to be a retreat from school and all of their activities, she says. Something soft and soothing, where they can just be little girls. Or fairy princesses, which, if you ask, is what Catherine and Mary will tell you they are.
And that’s a sentiment with which Claudia, the ultimate girly-girl, wholeheartedly agrees.
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| BEFORE |
To transform the girls room from a mishmash of overstuffed shelves of books and toys on kid-stained carpet into a fairy-tale palace, Claudia gathered her team: creative sidekick Didi Rainey, floral and clothing-design genius Luis Andrade, sports agent Alex Balic (a jack-of-all-trades who flies a plane he built in his garage), and friends Erin Pennington and Dana Southerland. Our inspiration was a photograph of Meriweather Post’s childhood bedroom in Vanity Fair, Didi says. It was elegant and whimsical—all satin and fluff. Exactly what Wendy and the girls had in mind.
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| FIT FOR A PRINCESS: Claudia designed the room with the girls future in mind. They might just be playing dress up now, but in a few years they’ll have grown into the vanity. And, in the meantime, it can double as a desk. (Left) A 1920s chandelier gives the girls room a bit of a secret garden feel. |
But Claudia remembered the practical necessities, as well. With Mary barely out of her crib, Wendy needed beds close to the ground. And every child’s room needs storage “lots and lots of storage. Enter Alex, who designed and built bed frames with storage drawers. He also built a kidney-shaped vanity table to the dimensions of a striped silk taffeta cover found at Horchow Finale.
Proving that little changes can have big impact, Claudia removed the carpet and pickled the wood floors with a diluted white stain. And she transformed pale-pink walls into something really special just by painting on an oyster sheen.
To add fluff and frills “on a budget “Luis sewed a multitude of pillows, as well as the valances and curtains, out of girly fabric found at Room Service. Window-seat cushions and twin-sized duvets and dust ruffles were fashioned from king-sized bedding from Horchow Finale.
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Meanwhile, Erin and Dana added white paint to trim moldings that were purchased for a song at Elliott’s Hardware. They staple-gunned the trim to the walls and added other finishing touches, such as antique wall hangings and vintage prints. And no little girls room would be complete without a mirror for playing dress up.
We call this look ˜Bebe Boudoir, Claudia says. We used fabrics and accessories the girls can enjoy now and pass on to their kids later. This stuff goes from sandbox to sassy.
This is so perfect, says Wendy of the finished room. Who says fairy tales don’t come true?
| Didi gave this circa 1890s print panache by spray-mounting it on handmade paper and adding a satin-ribbon trim to hide the edges. The frame is a flea-market find. |
Claudia’s Bebe Boudoir Makeover Tricks
Scour old design magazines or rent movies from the 40s for romantic and feminine ideas your princess won’t outgrow when she goes from bebe to boy-crazy.
Take shortcuts. Split king-sized bedding into twin-sized bedding, or paint a layer of glaze over existing walls for a fresh look.
Shop places like Horchow Finale, Marshall’s, flea markets, and garage sales for inexpensive finds on bedding and accessories such as lamps and mirrors. You can create a new look in a room by adding simple touches: a floral trash can, satin pillows, and a vintage poster will make a world of difference.
Get creative with wall hangings. Hang a mirror with a velvet bow, or add fancy ribbons to a print before framing. Install wood trim pieces around pictures or on blank walls for a more finished look.
