Minnie and Genie's Playroom Reveal

by Kristy young May 3, 2020

Happy Birthday to Us!

Today is our third birthday! And what better way to celebrate than with three things we all love… a SALE, a beautiful room reveal and a floral wallpaper launch. Woohoo!

Creating a playroom for Minnie and Genie has been on my to-do list for some time. ISO has allowed me the time to finally get it done.

We started this project with the Brooklyn Single Bed in Pink, Remi Indoor Cubby in Pink and the Galaxy Table Set in White from Hide and Seek Kids (which was weird for me, as I usually begin a room design with the wallpaper).

Why add a bed to a play space I hear you asking? For two reasons… this room doubles as a spare room when guests come to stay, and secondly, the girls love to snuggle up with their books, or just play games on the bed… creating a zoo, tucking their dollies into bed, or using the bed as a boat to escape hungry crocs, the bed can be used for many adventures! This particular bed also contains lots of storage (we all know how important that is in a playroom)… a bookshelf and cute little bench seat at the foot of the bed, and a draw underneath to pack away toys after use. I styled the bed as a day bed with bedding, a cosy throw and cushions that we pre-owned (why buy more when I had beautiful pieces already?!) You’ll notice I added some custom wallpaper pieces to the seat and little shelves at the foot of the bed, any excuse for a hack!

Both of my girls love dolls. In fact… they are obsessed! They get it from my Mum; she is a doll lover. Before the pandemic, my Mum would play dollies with them by the hour. Minnie’s faves are her American Girl dolls, which we purchased during a special family trip to the States a couple of years ago. Given this, the cubby is a dedicated space for their dollies. I added our favourite dolls furniture from Tiny Harlow, The Grande Wardrobe, High Chair, Change Table and Bassinet. Rather than wallpapering the back wall, I decided to add wallpaper to the cubby door, I think it looks super cute.

We added a kids table set for dolly tea parties, or art and craft. Whatever tickles their fancy. You’’ll see that it’s styled with the cutest little rattan tea set that I ever did see by Juni Moon Store.

Next was the wallpaper, wall decals, art work and wall decor.

Here are the mood boards that we pulled together to help us decide on which wallpaper to use:

We added a big statement Fairytale Castle Decal by Bek Halliday x Minnie and Me Interiors to the opposite wall, isn’t it dreamy?! Minnie is obsessed with it… both my girls are right into anything princess right now! I’m sure most girl Mums out there are nodding their heads knowingly as they are reading this!!! On the feature wall, we included huge custom gold signage by Harlow and Luxx… our girls have the cutest names ever, so why not make them a feature?!

The final beautiful piece we added to this space was a rattan pendant by Elok store. I was thrilled when Casey Raso, the lovely lady and founder behind the brand, allowed me to be the first person to style this stunning piece. The Flora pendant was handmade with love using rattan and wooden beads. It will available to purchase around mid July. It’s so important to always add some natural pieces into a room to balance the chosen colour palette. You can achieve this with rattan, timber or even a textured rug.

In my opinion, a big rug is essential in any room to complete the look and to add sense of coziness and warmth, even if your space is carpeted. I added a pre-owned rug from Adairs that we previously had in Minnie’s room. I’m all for re-using where I can! We also have two squishy play mats from both Grace and Maggie and Lilttle Wiwa that we can add to the room when needed for floor play.

We are blessed with lots of storage and space in our home, so we didn’t need to add extra storage in our playroom. If however, you need to add storage, Ikea have some great options. I’d suggest checking out the Besta System, Kallax range or Trofast range. Don’t forget you can hack them with our wallpaper to give them that personal touch. Adding bookshelves, baskets or a toy box with a bench seat are also great storage solutions. A word of warning: always secure your storage units firmly to the wall as per store’s safety guidelines.

My top tips for creating the perfect playroom:

1/ start with a mood board, even if it’s as simple as a creating a board on Pinterest, or pulling together some screen shots on pic collage.

2/ always add beauty to your feature wall #teamwallpaper.

3/ include a place for quiet time (reading/rest/relaxation), a spot for play and a spot for art and craft.

4/ storage is a must, having too much clutter is visually unappealing, and is over stimulating for little minds. It also dampens the creative spirit.

5/ add a sense of coziness with rugs, throws and cushions.

6/ keep your little loves in mind when designing the space. Mine love dolls, so having those as a key feature was a must for me.

7/ sheer curtains are always a good idea… in any room!

A word on our wallpaper…

Given it’s our birthday… I wanted to share with you why our wallpaper is the SIMPLY THE BEST! Let’s be real, all wallpaper looks the same in pretty images on social media, so it’s tempting to think that all wallpaper and wall decals are created equal. I can tell you, and our customers can tell you… that is simply not the case. I guess it’s like anything; you get what you pay for. We’ve had so many customers, content creators and our new buddy, Gary from Thistle Wallpapering tell us that our wallpaper and wall decals are truly the best they have used. I’ve asked them why, and this is what they’ve told me: they love the big panels, meaning fewer joins, they love the texture and thickness of the fabric, they love that if they make a mistake, they can remove it and start again, they love that if it gets stuck together accidentally, they can pull it apart with zero damage to the wallpaper, and they love that it is fully re-positionable, removable and reusable. They love that it is 100% DIY… there is no more to pay… unlike traditional wallpaper; you don’t need messy glue or steaming for removal. To install… you need to PEEL, STICK and SMOOTH. Check out our DIY installation instructions here: https://www.minnieandmeinteriors.com/pages/product-information-terms-conditions

We tried and tested several self adhesive products before settling on this one. So I can tell you... this one is freaking awesome! You might compare price and wonder why some wallpaper companies are more expensive than others. Here is the simple answer… it’s the media they use. We bring you the kindest removable fabric wallpaper and wall decals on the market! Made from the highly trusted removable fabric that is PhotoTex (most companies won't even tell you what product they are using, but we think you have a right to know). Click here for more product information about PhotoTex: https://www.minnieandmeinteriors.com/pages/product-information-terms-conditions

Our product contains a patented glue formula that means that the glue will never harden or weaken, so it’s never going to harden and take your paint with it! #winning. But still, you’ll probably notice that we never use misleading catch phrases like “perfect for renters” or “rental safe”. Whilst our product is absolutely gentle and kind on walls, let’s break this down… it is not about the wallpaper or wall decals, it’s about the wall!! Unfortunately what happens sometimes when people paint their walls is they forget the prep... they don't use a good quality primer / undercoat on its own first! We have even seen some newly built houses where professionals haven’t done this step (whoops). We have also seen some issues in older paint jobs where the paint is already starting to deteriorate. In these situations, it doesn’t matter how ‘kind’ your wallpaper or decals are, there is a possibility that the paint will come off anyway (decals, wall hooks, even a bump will knock the paint off if is not correctly applied over an undercoat)! So before applying anything to your walls, make sure they are in good condition. More info here: https://www.minnieandmeinteriors.com/pages/product-information-terms-conditions