Hey there! If you are just joining us, we are on Step 2 of a series I am calling "I'm Not a Girl" where I am sharing my journey in designing a new room for my 13 year old daughter by going the DIY route on a budget.
You can find the list of links to all posts you can expect in this series here.
Today I wanted to talk a bit about spatial planning. I am an event designer and the concept here is the same as it is in my work. This is key in creating a room with great flow, keeping in mind the use of the room and who the room is for.
In this case, the room is my daughter's bedroom. In addition to sleeping and keeping her things in this room, it also needs to be a place where she can crash with her friends when they sleep over, where she can sit and read and do her homework, and it needs to have a great organizational system to help her keep her room tidy... since she is a teen and cleaning her room is not a priority for her. So she needs function and comfort. Additionally, because she is a teen now, I would love to provide her with a full-length mirror so that she can try on clothes and select the outfit that makes her feel her most beautiful everyday.
Now that I know what I want to do in the space, I need to measure the room so I have a better idea of what I can do and how I can make it work without being crowded or cluttered. I am a visual person, so it helps me to have the room drawn out. I tried out an online program called Sweet Home 3D. Now you could break out the good old fashioned paper and pencil but keep in mind that paper is in 2-dimension and will not look quite the same as it would once you place your actual furniture in the room. That is where Sweet Home 3D becomes handy. I simply dragged my mouse to measure out the walls in her room. I then placed the door, closet and window. Then I was able to play around with the best layout for my daughter's new space by plugging in furniture pieces. Through Sweet Home 3D, I was able to check out the room in.... 3D! Go figure! Check out how it looks:
Not perfect and kind of blurry but still cool, right? The thing is, I get to see how things will fit in her room.
It was very important that the room has as much open space as possible to allow room for friends to crash on the floor when she has sleepovers. Therefore, I only chose pieces of furniture that were necessary. To free up some of her floor space, we decided we will design her closet in a way that allows the proper storage of all of her clothing and place her twin bed against one of the walls in her room. She prefers the bed to be centered to the wall in the same way you would place a daybed. Since her bed has no headboard (and looks nothing like the one in this 3D image), we thought placing the bed this center wall was a cool and unique way to show her style. We opted to forgo a nightstand or side table and will instead place a floor lamp in the farthest corner.
I am hoping it will be easy to find a comfy chair to place in the corner next to her window, which will allow her a nice little place to read or talk on the phone or sit with her laptop. I am also hoping to find a nice little ottoman that I can turn into a storage ottoman, giving her a place to store her laptop and giving her friends an extra place to sit when they are over. A nice mirror in the corner near her closet will pick up light from the window, making her room light and airy and give her a place to try on and select outfits.
Now that I know what I am looking for in terms of furniture, it will really help me keep an eye out for those pieces when I go out to thrift stores or browse Craigslist. Sticking to the plan will help me stay on budget.
Now that we have the room all planned out, we can get to work! Next up... we plan to tackle painting over her dark walls. YIKES! I hope to see you there.
You can find the list of links to all posts you can expect in this series here.
Today I wanted to talk a bit about spatial planning. I am an event designer and the concept here is the same as it is in my work. This is key in creating a room with great flow, keeping in mind the use of the room and who the room is for.
In this case, the room is my daughter's bedroom. In addition to sleeping and keeping her things in this room, it also needs to be a place where she can crash with her friends when they sleep over, where she can sit and read and do her homework, and it needs to have a great organizational system to help her keep her room tidy... since she is a teen and cleaning her room is not a priority for her. So she needs function and comfort. Additionally, because she is a teen now, I would love to provide her with a full-length mirror so that she can try on clothes and select the outfit that makes her feel her most beautiful everyday.
Now that I know what I want to do in the space, I need to measure the room so I have a better idea of what I can do and how I can make it work without being crowded or cluttered. I am a visual person, so it helps me to have the room drawn out. I tried out an online program called Sweet Home 3D. Now you could break out the good old fashioned paper and pencil but keep in mind that paper is in 2-dimension and will not look quite the same as it would once you place your actual furniture in the room. That is where Sweet Home 3D becomes handy. I simply dragged my mouse to measure out the walls in her room. I then placed the door, closet and window. Then I was able to play around with the best layout for my daughter's new space by plugging in furniture pieces. Through Sweet Home 3D, I was able to check out the room in.... 3D! Go figure! Check out how it looks:
Not perfect and kind of blurry but still cool, right? The thing is, I get to see how things will fit in her room.
It was very important that the room has as much open space as possible to allow room for friends to crash on the floor when she has sleepovers. Therefore, I only chose pieces of furniture that were necessary. To free up some of her floor space, we decided we will design her closet in a way that allows the proper storage of all of her clothing and place her twin bed against one of the walls in her room. She prefers the bed to be centered to the wall in the same way you would place a daybed. Since her bed has no headboard (and looks nothing like the one in this 3D image), we thought placing the bed this center wall was a cool and unique way to show her style. We opted to forgo a nightstand or side table and will instead place a floor lamp in the farthest corner.
I am hoping it will be easy to find a comfy chair to place in the corner next to her window, which will allow her a nice little place to read or talk on the phone or sit with her laptop. I am also hoping to find a nice little ottoman that I can turn into a storage ottoman, giving her a place to store her laptop and giving her friends an extra place to sit when they are over. A nice mirror in the corner near her closet will pick up light from the window, making her room light and airy and give her a place to try on and select outfits.
Now that I know what I am looking for in terms of furniture, it will really help me keep an eye out for those pieces when I go out to thrift stores or browse Craigslist. Sticking to the plan will help me stay on budget.
Now that we have the room all planned out, we can get to work! Next up... we plan to tackle painting over her dark walls. YIKES! I hope to see you there.
