Mermaid Big Girl Bedroom -

The project of the summer has been my daughter’s mermaid big girl bedroom! We went with a mermaid “theme”, but I use the word theme lightly. I wanted to pick elements that could easily (and inexpensively) be interchanged to update according to her interests. I love how it all came together, and her reaction was just the best. It made all of the late nights worth it!

Mood Board

Some of the goals for the room were: scalloped painted walls, a big, pretty rug to cover the old not so pretty old carpet, a gallery wall, and a full length mirror. I also wanted to do a few DIYs including an Ariel Minnie Mouse head, a mermaid tail wreath, a rattan seashell, and a Pottery Barn Kid inspired bed canopy.

Paint Colors

Let’s start with some paint colors: the blue scalloped design is Aquitaine by Sherwin Williams, the upper white portion of the wall is just the white, ready made can from Glidden at the ol’ Walmart. The pink ceiling is also a Glidden mixed paint in the color Heirloom Pink.

The pink ceiling was a very last minute decision. Pink is my daughter’s favorite color, but initially the bedding I had picked out was pink, so I didn’t want to paint the walls pink as well. After I’d gotten the wall paint tinted, I’d found the purple comforter (womp, womp).

So in order to giver her something pink, I painted her closet interior pink. Afterwards, as I was looking at the ceiling and deciding that, yes, it also needed a fresh coat of paint, and decided it should be pink too! I’m so happy that I did. It adds just the perfect amount of whimsy.

I decided that when I painted the scalloped bottom section of the wall that I wanted to to be all encompassing- the doors and trim in the room were all going to be painted with the same colors/techniques. I definitely think that was the right call.

You can see how I painted the scallop trim border here.

Thrifted Finds

So many items were thrifted in this room- like the rainbow shelf that usually holds her trinkets and knickknacks and the little shell “basket” on her dresser that holds her nail polish.

The gallery wall really showcases some thrifted finds like the frame I painted pink around her dinosaur, the mirror (could it be any more perfect??), and the small bookshelf.

Another random copper seashell thrifted find holds small hair bands too.

Lastly, I also thrifted the shelf that I used to make her bed canopy. You can see all the details on how I made it here.

When I purchased them, I did not have a plan for most of the items but they all came together so perfectly in her room.

Gallery Wall

Let’s take a look at the gallery wall. It is made up of thrifted or DIY items. I wanted a mix of functional and pretty, and I certainly think this covers both!

I made the sunglass holder and hair accessory display from scrap wood and ribbon. You can see how here.

The mirror was thrifted last year to go with her dress up closet that I made her, but it is serving us much better right here. After a failed attempt to make a thrifted tie holder into a nuts display, I settled for using this vintage accordion drying rack that I had. I may replace this eventually with this gold on from target.

I painted the pink dinosaur and added a thrifted frame that I also painted an ombré pink. Why a pink dinosaur in a mermaid room you may ask? Well, when everything had been ordered and the room was in the final stages of coming together, my daughter decided she wanted a pink Dino room. This was our compromise (lol!).

Next to the painting you can see the DIY Little Mermaid Minnie Head and and thrifted bookshelf. I plan on changing out the displayed books to match the seasons/holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, etc.).

Finally, there’s the DIY hair accessory holder and DIY mermaid tail wreath.

Mermaid Theme Items

I had mentioned earlier how I wanted to display the theme in ways that could be inexpensively swapped out as my daughters interests change over the years. I tried to do that through smaller decor items, bedsheets, and throw pillows. Let’s take a look at some of them.

I found the cutest little seashell pillow at Five Below.

These sheets pulled all the colors that I was looking for! I found them on Amazon.

The little clamshell night light was an exciting find from Walmart for only $12. Similar items were over $20 on Amazon.

Other Finds

Searching for a rug seemed to take forever. I wanted it to be fun with bright colors, but not too “kid-y” so that it can grow with her. Finally, I landed on this one from Amazon. I ordered a 7’x10’ so as to cover most of the old, dingy carpet.

I saw these wire words that say “once upon a time” on Amazon and bookmarked them. They add just an extra little touch they add in her reading corner.

I adore the curtains that I found from Walmart. They are a velour black out curtain with tilled overlay- SO pretty. Though I do wish that they were not grommet top, it’s not enough to look for something else. I was able to get 95” panels for only $12.97 each!