Blog for Digs: My Childhood Room & Ideal Girl's Bedroom

In support of the great charity Dwell With Dignity, Claudia Clobes of Stonehouse Love has organized a blog crawl with the theme "my childhood bedroom was..." with the assistance of Beth from Hello Splendor. More than 55 bloggers have or will participate to support Dwell with Dignity, which works to "help families escape poverty and homelessness through design; one household at a time." If you'd like to help check out their website.

I had quite a few different bedrooms and bedroom designs when I was a kid, but the thing I remember most is the freedom my parents gave me to create my own space. Sure, my mother had a strict rule about nothing hung with tacks or tape (if I wanted to put up a poster I could only do so on the inside of my closet door), but they also always let me choose the paint colour and scheme of my room.

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When I was about six or seven my dad took me shopping for a new bed. I think he figured a little girl should have a frilly canopied thing or one of these Cinderella beds. Imagine his surprise when I pointed at a bright blue bunk bed (I had no one to share it with except stuffed animals and the occasional sleepover guest). "Are you sure?" he asked doubtfully. I was sure. We got the blue bed. That room had walls that looked like clouds, decorated with sponge (hey, it was the 80s) flowers, all done by my dad. I loved that room, blue bed and all. And I loved him for not forcing me into something that wasn't "me."

Amanda Nisbet, Oprah at Home [via]

My next bedroom was a decidedly girlie affair. Pink walls and a pink bow border (hey, it was the early 90s). When I was a pre-teen I chose lavender, something like the colour scheme above except that my bed was also black and wrought iron. And so it went, with every new room I got to reinvent myself and my space. I'm thankful that my parents gave me the room to experiment. More recently they didn't even wince when my brother decided to paint his room black and red, and didn't bat an eyelash when my sister requested fluorescent pink and black. "Are you sure you'll be able to sleep with that pink?" was all my dad asked her, with the same doubtful look he'd had about my blue bed. She was sure. And so he painted.

These days if I had to describe my ideal girl's bedroom it would look something like these...

Massucco Warner Miller

I've always had a thing for daybeds and window seats!

Amanda Nisbit [via]

Massucco Warner Miller

Tamara Mellon's daughter's room via Elle Decor

I also certainly wouldn't have minded a closet like this...

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Check out yesterday's post at Size Too Small. Thanks to Claudia for organizing this great blogger initiative! For more information or to contribute please visit Dwell with Dignity.

I'd love to hear about your childhood bedroom--or what kind of bedroom you'd always dreamed about.