I’m writing this while on the last stretch of a trying week. I’m tired and everything hurts, and I really just want to return my adulting card because the suffering I’ve endured trying to work in this state has been spectacular. But here I am, still trying to do right by you. I’ve been choking on guilt every time I go on Instagram to post something that is not this bedroom update, and some of you have been very quick to remind me that I’m a breaker of promises who obviously can’t be trusted.

This project took me a while to figure out for several reasons: I couldn’t make up my mind about the bed I wanted for my daughter (Gong); I knew I didn’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on the transformation so I needed to keep a lot of the existing features of the bedroom – including the paint, and I wanted to give her a room fit for a toddler but not childish.

I had picked out the colour palette of soft grey, white, pink and gold by the time she was born, and had kind of tried to work with it but somewhere along the way I just couldn’t be bothered and I stopped working on the room. But when she outgrew her crib, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give it another try.

This couch is pretty much a family heirloom at this point. It was my husband’s first couch back in his bachelor days and provided comfort in our first few months of marriage when we were too broke to do up our little apartment – or live the lifestyles we had envisioned for ourselves after paying for that wedding.

Fun fact: it used to be a dark blue, and I thought it would be a great idea to reupholster it in a soft pink for the baby’s room when we moved to a larger apartment. I picked the velvety pink fabric myself and thought I was being so cool and creative. I was horrified when the seat was delivered: it looked like it had been drowned in Calpol. I literally gagged, but I didn’t have the money to get it done again so we kept it and tried to work with it. I still don’t find it pretty (remember that my favourite colours are neutrals), but we’ve made so many memories on that couch that I see why my husband has a hard time allowing me to get rid of it.

One good thing that’s come out of having to see so much pink in a room is that I’ve become less averse to the colour, which is just as well because Gong is obsessed with it. Plus I recently used pink in another bedroom makeover so by the time I was working on Gong’s room I’d had a bit of practice, so I tapped into that reduced aversion to pink to create a largely neutral space with pink accents, and ended up with this:

I would’ve loved to give the room a fresh coat of paint in a softer grey, but that would’ve meant removing the gold polka dot decals and I didn’t want to do that, so we kept the paint.

Now the bed: I decided to skip the toddler bed phase and get something that could be used for much longer, so we got this queen sized one from Odds & Ends during their sale in November last year. I had actually wanted it in grey but they were out of stock, so I settled for beige and hoped it would work. It’s not bad, but think the upholstered headboard would work better with a different shade of grey on the walls so I might try that out later.

I love that we can all cuddle in there and have sleepovers, and Gong’s favourite thing to do now (apart from jumping on the bed) is to have us lie down with her and read her a story book before she falls asleep.

Speaking of story books, we have a small collection that I hope will keep growing. I really want her to love books as much as I do, and displaying them on these Whitebull shelves I had installed more than two years ago is a constant reminder to her that books are her friends. And being smart is sexy.

My other favourite thing about the room is these nightstands I had custom made for her by my main fundi Daniel. They’re larger than the standard size, which is what I wanted not only for the styling opportunities more space would give me, but because of the extra storage provided by wider, deeper drawers. 

The design was inspired by this McGee & Co. nightstand, which I would love to own one day. Y’all know I’m obsessed with that brand!

I don’t know how kids end up with so much stuff without jobs or sources of income, so creating storage options in the bedroom was a major focus for me. I use these baskets from Erika’s Antique to maintain some order around here. We’ve been playing the “tidy up” game with Gong since she learned how to walk so she’s not a messy person, which is just as well because her father and I are both neat and I might have been forced to return her if she turned out different LOL.

Then there’s this pendant light I got, which brings a softness and “girliness” to the room. I had to dash out for a meeting the day this light was installed for the first time. I came bak to find it upside down, with the feathers pointing to the ceiling the bulbs exposed. I had to call the electrician back to fix it and the entire time he was working I was like: did you genuinely think the feathers were supposed to face heaven? Seriously? LOL

So that’s it. That’s the bedroom I’ve been wanting to show you. I’d still love to make a couple of changes to it, but I’m going to give it a few months before I do anything else. I think my favourite thing about the room is that it can easily transition from toddler to teen with just a few accessory updates. Heck, if we just get rid of the toys and kids’ books Gong can use it as is until she moves out. Win!

I’m curious: what do you guys think of buying adult beds instead of toddler beds? Is it something you’d do? Drop your comments down below!