I’m so excited to show you this adorable room which we recently installed. The makeover was a surprise birthday gift for a sweet ten year old from her mum and dad. Mum sent me a video of the moment she revealed the room. Safe to say, it was one of those delightfully emotional moments. There were tears. The good kind. And for me, it was so rewarding to see the joy on her face.

Kelsey is approaching her teen years and her mum wanted to give her a room that would grow with her as she enters this next phase of adolescence. The brief was to create a space that was feminine and fresh without being too ‘girly’. Pink was on the wish list but it had to be in small doses so we decided to contrast blush and dusty pink tones with shades of grey and black. The pièce de résistance being a bold black spotted wallpaper (which we are kind of obsessed with) from one of our new favourite finds, Chasing Paper.  A few gold accents added in here and there gives the room a sophisticated and more grown up feel.

One stipulation for the room design was to have a reading / relaxing corner, which we created with a beautiful linen canopy from Numero 74. A sheepskin and some cushions on the floor below the make for a comfy and cozy spot. The Ikea HEMNES day bed provides storage and as well as extra bed space for sleepovers – and when it’s not being slept in, it’s a gorgeous sofa dressed with lots of soft feather cushions, mostly from H&M Home. We changed the knobs on the drawers to simple gold ones to give this well known furniture piece a more refined look.

Above the bed, we created a small gallery of prints which reflected two of this young lady’s passions – animals and fashion. A last minute addition that we just love was her name cutout in bamboo from an exciting new local company, The Party, who also custom made the feather garland strung around the top of the canopy. And speaking of custom made, the rug in this room was handwoven by artisans in India! … (more to come on this exciting find later). The white wire chair from one of Dubai’s new online stores, Ebarza, is a favourite of mine – as is the adorable ‘Geomingo’ print from another local store, Miniterior.

We had such fun putting this room together and we hope it’s young occupant will enjoy many happy days in her new space.

All images Natelee Cocks Photography