Broadway-Themed Bedroom, Baby!

My daughter, for some strange reason, was growing tired of the doggies-chasing-bouncy-balls stencils (in primary colors, no less) that I applied to her bedroom walls when she was a toddler. So, we hatched a plot to redo her room with a theater/music/Broadway theme. We created a Pinterest board and started sharing ideas. Some of the ideas were very, um, expensive, but most were pretty do-able. Ultimately, we started with a few of those sparks but added some of our own, too.

We started by dragging most of her stuff out of her room and shoving it into the basement. We just left the main furniture items like bed, dresser, etc. We moved the remaining furniture into the center of her bedroom and then painted the walls/ceiling white. It took a couple of coats to make the bright red, blue, and yellow dog stencils go away.

Next, I ordered some WallPops from Joann Fabric & Craft. I ordered vertical black stripes. The new paint had to "cure" for a couple of weeks so her room was in disarray during that time. I used that extra time to clean out her bookcase, closet, dresser, etc. It was time to cull all of the little kid stuff (like size 6 underwear) even though my heart broke just a little bit in the process.

I applied the WallPops on two walls (four seemed like overkill). I actually had to do some math (boo!) to get the spacing right. I will say that the WallPops material felt a little cheaper (and was a little shinier) than I might have liked, but it was pretty easy to work with. It was also very forgiving. If a stripe was crooked, all I had to do was to remove and re-hang. I was happy with the end result. There are a few small nicks here and there but I assume no one is going to inspect the walls that closely.

Other parts of the project:

• Replaced 1980s ceiling light fixture with a more modern cover. 
• Put together a really fun puzzle comprised of playbills from Broadway shows. Then I Modge-Podged that mofo, framed it, and hung it. This is my favorite part of the room. A and I were supposed to do the puzzle together but I did 95% of it. She insisted on tapping the last five pieces into place so that she could say had participated.
• My mom made new curtains. Musical notes - perfect!
• I replaced all outlet covers and the main lightswitch. 
• I got rid of her old desk and bought/assembled a new one from IKEA. 
• I kept her old vanity, but I replaced the drawer pulls (which were pink) with black ones to match the new color scheme. I also replaced the seat cushion on her vanity chair.
• I picked up a new memo board to match the new color scheme. 
• We couldn't call it a Broadway room without at least one poster, so I picked up a Les Miserables one from posters.com and framed it. 
• A friend from church gave us an album cover of Godspell. I framed that and hung it. I liked the idea so much that I headed to a record store just down the road and bought three more albums: Jesus Christ Superstar, Hello Dolly, and Evita. (I was hoping to find Cats or Phantom of the Opera, but you get what you get and you don't throw a fit). My stad gave me a tip that Michael's has album frames at three for $25.00. I hit a sale and got them for $12.50. 
• My friend Sarah gave me an old table a few years ago. Originally it was a sewing table and then Geo the Crested Gecko lived on it for about a year. I stripped that table and repainted it black and white. It now houses her television, PlayStation, and occasionally a sewing machine. A chest full of craft stuff lives below the table. Geo now lives in the living room and guess who takes care of him? 
• Most of the rest of the decorating was done with decals. I consider myself to be a vaguely creative person but not necessarily an artistic one. I didn't feel like I was going to pull of any type of artwork on my own, so I went with the decals. I found some pretty fun ones, if I do say so myself: stars, a quote from Hamilton, music notes, etc. 
• Finally, I replaced some items in the room to match the new color scheme. For example, the canvas bins on her dresser are new. 

The most startling thing about this whole process was the fact that she didn't seem to need most of the stuff we moved to the basement. It just goes to show you that we all have too much crap.  The essential items (like her musical instruments, shelves, etc.) were incorporated back into her room. We kept anything with true sentimental value. I took a carload of old books, clothing, and toys to Goodwill. Other stuff was tossed out - particularly anything that was broken or had dried slime at the bottom. If you are a parent, you know what I mean about the slime.

Anyway, I am pretty happy with the results. I'm officially done with the project now. The kid seems happy. In just a few years, she'll be off at college. I feel like the current theme is grown-up enough to see her through until we kick her out and insist that she start adulting.

If you click/tap any of the images, you should be able to view a full-sized version.