How to create a 8 year olds bedroom that lasts

With my daughter having outgrown her house bunk bed that was consequently passed down to her brother, it was time to think about her bedroom and what would work as a timeless theme and last as she grows up. Currently 8 years old, she is in a transition stage where everything doesn't still need to be pink, there are less cuddly toys lying around and she is showing a real interest in the design and function of her room. So I decided to get her involved in the process.

As she has the space, we decided on a double bed. Her room has seen significant bed changes over the years, I am hoping a large bed will be a key item that sees her through a good few years.

Here's a few images from toddler to now, as she has grown up. I could't find any of the cot, as didn't take photos of interiors back then...

Choosing the wall colour was tricky as neither of us wanted to go down the full pink route. Initially we were settled on a mint toned green, however when I was approached by Graphenstone to work with them, we came across a beautiful grey/pink toned lilac colour called Vintage.

Having worked with Graphenstone before I was delighted to be using these gorgeous 100% natural ecological paints. I love the matt finish and the fact that they favour air flow through the wall, eliminating condensation while improving air quality to create a healthy environment in your home, a massive plus.

To add some depth to the wall behind her bed we decided to use wooden beading to create panels and frame the bed area. Using Astragal No.311 beading 38mm by 19mm that I found at Champion Timber, we went about spacing the panels so they worked out central to where the bed would be going.

The idea is the central panel will hold some fun art above the bed when I find the right piece. The panels also work beautifully in bouncing the light across this wall.

After a lot of searching together and some disagreement, we both finally agreed on a double bed that we found at Next, we loved the shape and the blue tones work so beautifully with this Graphenstone Vintage paint shade. It is such a timeless colour that also really compliments whites, pinks and golds. We went for the GrafClean premium finish, which is also washable.

One big girl bed area that will hopefully see her through to her teens and beyond. The wall lights were from Made.com, annoyingly cords had to be added to these in the, as the wiring placement wasn't as planned in the walls. The current side table is one I already had around the house, as there has been a delay on the ones I ordered, which hopefully will be arriving soon. They will offer a lot more storage, but the general look is there.

She is also very lucky to have her very own little en-suite, which has proved very practical over the years to store extra toys in the shower cubicle! However now that she is getting older she is actually going to use it, so we decided to give it a little spruce up too.

The tiling, toilet and shower were all to stay, so we worked around these adding pre primed moisture resistant tongue and groove panels to the back wall. These were Grooved at 100mm centres, with grooves running along the width of the sheet at (1220mm).

All the walls in this space were then also painted up in Graphenstone Grafclean Vintage. We added a new sink unit, as her old one had no storage, I found one that fits perfectly and was very reasonable at Drench.

Before

& After

My daughters room is completely transformed and she is spending so much more time enjoying it and arranging her things in this space. Her desk has also had a full make over, I will cover full details on this in another blog post very soon, in the

meantime here's a sneak peek!

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Graphenstone Paint, which I used to paint up the walls and panels.