The Last Night in the Nursery – A Lilac & Sparkle Big Girl Room Makeover

It’s time.
For a last night in the nursery.
Like Wendy, my Darling,
You are already flying.
With my feet on the ground.
Eyes towards the sky.
I want to see you soar.
While wishing for just one night more.
In Neverland.

Ahhh my heart. My little girls are growing and while I've entered this wonderful sweet spot where diapers are done and they still love to cuddle, it's difficult to say goodbye to the nursery forever.

So I'm dealing with this change by getting excited about a creative project. One that my girls actually helped with while my husband was on a hiking trip with my brothers out west. It was a labor-intensive collaboration with plenty of tears, screaming, and excitement - familiar hallmarks of parenthood.

My three-year-old is very sure of herself and her opinions, so her creative design brief for the room was: purple, pink, unicorns, kitties, and a white bed.

We ended up with a wonderfully whimsical girly room that she loves and continues to say "how beautiful" it is.

So here we go with the project.

I always seem to start with a piece of art for inspiration and our nursery started with these three wood prints from Petit Collage. Our first nursery in Chicago 8' x 10' space, so we had to be smart with storage and furniture. When we moved to Michigan almost five years ago, you can see we had much more space. However, we didn't add anything except a bigger rocker (and the tent was a Target Pillowfort gift from Santa). We left the bedroom green to keep in neutral anticipating we'd have another baby, so baby #2 - the now three-year-old with strong opinions - essentially received a recycled nursery from her older sister.

For the Big Girl Room Makeover, my first finds were this piece of art from Minted by Hannah Williams, this dresser from Eastown Antiques, and purple Cynthia Rowley unicorn sheets from HomeGoods. The dresser was the perfect height for a three-year-old who likes to dress herself, plus I love a piece with a little history.

Paint color is Splash of Lilac and I loved this paint from Lowes. Two coats covered the walls and didn't even have that new paint smell!

Homegoods, Minted, and Etsy were my go-to's for finishing touches like these Kate Spade lamps, foil-pressed custom photos, and custom wool felt ball garland from SheepFarmFelt.

I also spray painted the top of a side table from the nursery to fit the sparkle theme.

Before

After

Unicorn Head Wall Decor and Heart Mirror - Target // House Bud Vase - Target // Word Art, Dwell Studio Picture Frame, Kate Spade Lamp from HomeGoods // Unicorn Bank - Homegoods (similar here at Target)

Felt Ball Garland - SheepFarmFelt on E tsy // Cloud Shelf - Target // Bed - Wayfair // Mattress - Allswell // Box Spring - Wayfair // Nightstand - HomeGoods (with updated gold hardware) // Pom Pom Pillow - Wayfair // Lavender Throw - PB Teen // Smocked Top White Curtains - World Market // Unicorn Stuffed Animal - Jellycat // White Pintuck Comforter, Cynthia Rowley Unicorn Sheets, Kate Spade Lamp - HomeGoods

Lavender Rug - PB Teen // Faux Sheepskin Rug - Safavieh

White Rope Baskets - Target // Mermaid - Cuddle & Kind // Dog and Cat Adoption Sets - Crate & Barrel Kids

This corner maintained some elements from the nursery - the rocker (Target), Sheep Rocker & the Madison Bookshelf - Pottery Barn Kids. But then I added the Foil-Pressed Custom Art Print - Minted // Heart & Flower Mirrors - Target Dollar Bins!

Folk Whales Art - Minted // This rack for dress-up clothes was a Pinterest project that ended up costing more than buying one. But it sure looks cute.