Dunphy Love: #theyearofemma | a royal bedroom makeover

I've never really had a "little girl". Granted I have a daughter, she was once an infant and toddler, she was never really a typical little girl. We've always joked she was an old soul, always 2 going on 20, 3 going in 30. She's been gifted and bought all the standard toys, and dolls that seem like a right of passage into girl world, but there was rarely ever play that happened. I know most people work really hard to keep their littles, little. To preserve that last bit of "baby" their children have. But our Emma just never really fell into that category. Her interests have always been more mature. While kids her age spend hours in fantasy land with Barbies + make believe, she's consistently been content on a gym mat, dance floor or in a book. I actually realized the other day, she doesn't color, that she's never even created art.. ART? Then, for the first time ever, she brought home something from an art class, and I was amazed.

Her soul, the one that's seemingly ancient, is a beautiful, wonderful, amazing little soul. I feel like too often she's not heard enough, not listened to like she should be. But, I was listening.. I listened to my girl whisper how she wants to be famous one day.. not Princess famous, but known for actually doing something. I took in all her tiny little desires and interests and tried to box that into a bedroom. She believes mermaids can be real (and secretly I hope that too) and loves her friends whole heartedly. She doesn't sit for hours, she needed space to move + grow.

In the middle of a move from one side of the country to the other, I decided to surprise her with a bedroom makeover. So, while she didn't complain or mention that her room was still in boxes compared to the rest of the house, I was plotting and collecting and crafting and painting. It was so worth it, to reveal this new special place to her after school one day, and she cried.

My sweet girl cried because she didn't expect it, didn't feel entitled to it. She cried because she loved it, because she had a mirror of her own, and brushes of her own - because someone was thinking of

her specifically - and I wanted to cry to.

I found inspiration for her little cove in a Pottery Barn Ad.

But instead of going online and simply clicking "order collection", I made it my own.

I took items already in her room and spray painted them gold + black. In fact, everything you see that's gold, was once another color. I think I went through 3 cans of gold :) My favorite however were the trophies.. Our pageant queen owns more than her share, and they always get shoved in the back of a closet somewhere - so I took a few and gave them that monochrome look!