Minty Real Room: Scarlett’s Magical Toddler Room

June 28, 2018
BY Nicole Ray

Working to a very specific brief can at time present challenges. In this case, Kristina Van Rooyen of All is pretty, was guided by her 2 year old daughter, Scarlett, to create a room that was pink. Just pink. And as the mother of a toddler there is one thing I know for sure. Do not mess with their brief.

I love pink. But my goodness can it be hard to work with. Luckily, Kristina’s design expertise lead to a room that is most certainly pink. Yet, not at all overwhelming. Paired with a statement monochrome wallpaper and soft greys this toddler room is a magical, beautifully resolved space for Scarlett to enjoy now and in the future.

Kristina kindly shared her tips, tricks and inspiration with us here.

TELL US ABOUT THE OWNER OF THIS ROOM:

‘The owner of this room is 3 year old Scarlett. She loves ballet, singing, nail polish, dresses, lipsticks, sparkles and pink! Lots of pink!’

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS:

‘All is pretty is an interior styling studio that specialises in creating dream rooms for little people. My focus is on designing beautiful, functional and unique spaces for children that will be loved and enjoyed, spaces where families can build great memories together, rooms that children will never want to leave!’

WHAT WAS THE BRIEF FOR THIS ROOM:

‘The design brief came from Scarlett, who was 2 years old at the time – pink! That was the biggest and most important request. Typical for very girly girls, so I needed to go with what was important for my client. I also wanted to create a very pretty room that both of us would love, and a room that just feels good.’

WHAT WAS YOUR MAGICAL INSPIRATION:

‘My inspiration was my sweet girl and her personality and her love of pink (which I embraced with her). I wanted to create the space that would be just for her and that represented all the things she loves.’

The other thing that was very important in creating this room was to achieve a magical element, something that really sparks imagination. So just next to our beautiful canopy where Scarlett loves to play, hide and read we put on the wall little fairy doors with a little mailbox and we write letters to fairies and imagine what they are doing when we’re sleeping.’

HOW DID YOU SELECT YOUR COLOUR PALETTE?

‘Scarlett wanted a pink room, so that was the start and I wanted a neutral base for the room so the room could grow with my little girl or be easily converted later into a guest room. I choose black and white wallpaper first and soft grey wall paint as a base so hits of pink would come from the toys and the fabrics. That way, I could easily change the vibe of the room without turning it inside out. At the beginning she wasn’t particularly happy with the grey walls, but once all the pink furniture and details started coming in, she was getting more excited about her ‘big girl’ room.’

On the walls:

Romantic peonies, coloraydecor.com

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FEATURE IN THE ROOM AND WHY?

‘To really personalise the space I chose the wallpaper to be the hero of the room. I’ve always loved wallpaper as you have a great choice of colours, patterns and textures – so many possibilities. For me, wallpaper is like art for your wall, so it was important to choose something that I really loved and hopefully my little girl would too. In one day we (my husband and I) transformed the room and gave it a totally new look and feel. The big romantic peonies in black and white give the space an elegant, feminine feel and they worked beautifully with magical pink details.’

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE?

‘My favourite part of the project was creating a design that would fit my daughters personality and also to work with whatever else was going on in the house. That was my challenge and now when the room is finished I can say both of us are really happy with the outcome.’

WHAT IS YOUR OVERALL FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS SPACE?

‘Overall my favourite thing about this room is that it feels nice, it feels good when you walk in and that my little girl loves spending time in her room.’