NYC Apartment Meets English Cottage-Hannah's Room
NYC apartment meets English cottage charm in Hannah's teen bedroom revamp that combines an eclectic, personal aesthetic with meaningful décor. With just a few tweaks to accessories, this room now reflects all the different, wonderful sides of Hannah and gives her a collected space to grow up in.
Well, it's only been eight months since I revealed the first version of Hannah's Timeless Teen Girl Bedroom Makeover, but things are looking a little different in here. Hannah and I agree that it's part NYC apartment, part English cottage, and fully her. We loved that first version of her room, but I knew all along that these changes would be made. It just took some time to collect everything since things like the wallpaper for her ceiling and different fabric choices were inaccessible during the pandemic. *To access all sources, please visit the original reveal post.
NYC Apartment Meets English Cottage Bedroom
I'm thrilled to be sharing the post-reveal reveal of Hannah's bedroom with you today, and I hope you enjoy the tour. I realize there will be some of you who prefer the first version, and that's okay...I'm proud of that look too. But if I could introduce you to my firstborn through design, this room would describe her to a tee. So, without further ado, let me show you around Hannah's newly-refreshed bedroom...a little bit NYC, a little bit English cottage charm. 
When I wrote that first post, we were four months into the pandemic, and we believed Hannah would be heading off to public high school in the fall. Little did we know that she would be homeschooling this year and using her bedroom all the time. After we made it through our first semester of homeschooling, I was able to take a breather and figure out a game plan for changing up a few areas of her room.
Changing the Textiles
First up was her bedding. While I still love the box pleat bed skirt I made for her bed, it needed a little color. When I found twelve yards of beautiful, vintage floral trim in the most perfect berry shades, I knew it was just what her bed skirt needed. I used a hot glue gun to attach it, and I think it breaks up the neutral tones of the bed skirt and rug beautifully. 
I also knew she needed anything except white bedding and that her bed situation needed to be simplified, yet more interesting. Four sleeping pillows plus three decorative pillows and a big, fluffy duvet, all in light colors, were just not working for my low-maintenance kiddo. So. I purchased this beautiful brown quilt from Target and added a vintage pink plaid blanket to the end of her bed. It ties in perfectly with the trim on the bed skirt, and is light enough that she can easily straighten it in the morning when she makes her bed. Oh, and I did away with her top sheet, which was really only there for the photoshoot the first time around. She has never liked a top sheet.
Hannah avoided making her bed because it was too fussy. So, I replaced her three decorative pillows with one long lumbar and two polyfill euros that are light and easy to throw on and off the bed. I sewed the covers for both, using Hannah-approved, neutral gingham fabric from Hobby Lobby and black floral fabric from Joann's...easy and affordable. 
Hannah is now able to make her bed daily without feeling frustrated that her designer mom wants things to look just so. I've set her up for success, and we are all happier because of it. 
Functional Curtains That Tie Things Together
Did you happen to notice the new curtain fabric? The original curtains did nothing to block out light or break up the white walls, so I added a gray green fabric that picks up on the contrast color in her rug. I was going to change out her rug until I introduced this curtain fabric, and suddenly, the rug made sense. With all the textile changes, it really feels like an eclectic NYC apartment, but with classic English cottage patterns and textures.
New, Vintage Lamps
The rattan parasol lamps in the original reveal of Hannah's room were very unique and cool, but always intended for Noelle's room (which has taken forever to finish). As we've been pulling both spaces together, I knew I needed to find a replacement for nightstand lamps, and these vintage ceramic lamps were a whopping $20 for both on Facebook Marketplace. I'm still on the hunt for something juuuuuust a tad more interesting, but for the price, I love these, especially paired with the fabric pleated shades I DIYed at the last minute. 
I also changed up her desk lamp because the original task lamp just wasn't cutting it for the amount of light she needed to do work. Plus, I scored an amazing vintage gold lamp with black shade at a thrift store for $10! It was meant to be. The lamp adds an eclectic, NYC apartment vibe that Hannah was begging for in her room, and it sheds much-needed light on her work area. 
The final change to her lighting was a new, pleated shade on her dresser lamp. It adds so much interest. 
Chair Swap
Another swap I made was the vintage chair for her desk. I've experimented with rolling desk chairs and they do not work in this small space. But, Hannah is tall and really needed a larger chair to sit in. So, I bought two of these beautiful vintage chairs for $20 off of FB Marketplace and will use the smaller-scale vintage chair from the original design in Noelle's room because she's still pretty little. Look at the beautiful details of this chair... 
Different Accessories for a Different Vibe
Hannah has two sides...sweet and sassy. She loves the feeling of comfort that cottage style gives, but lives for the energy of the city...specifically New York City. We've visited a couple of times, and her favorite place is Times Square. She loves the bright lights, the hoards of people, and the 24-hour buzz of activity she remembers from our pre-pandemic travels. I knew I wanted to reflect her love of NYC in a piece of art above her bed, and when I stumbled upon this photo, I gasped.When I showed it to Hannah, she gasped.It was beyond perfect. After all, she loves theater, performing, dancing, and New York. 
If this isn't the most adorable representation of the Big Apple, I don't know what is. It's now her favorite part of the room. 
I kept the abstract art and floral paintings that were already in her room, but reframed the abstracts in a modern, black frame. Hannah requested black accents, so I worked them into the design in key areas. I love how the black floral pillow fabric ties in with the floral paintings and black frames. 
One of the first post-reveal changes I made in here was giving Hannah a wallpapered ceiling. As soon as the paper went up, I knew the vintage mirror I'd been hanging onto belonged in her room. Before, her room was full of pastel colors without much contrast...totally not Hannah. This incredible reeded mirror adds so much warmth, character, and dimension to her white shiplap walls, and it really brings out the color of the birds in the wallpaper. 
For her dresser accessories, I wanted to display the juxtaposition of city and cottage dwelling. So, I added a vintage magnifying glass and handmade pottery vase filled with faux flowers (I've given up on any living plants in my girls' rooms). I love the softness and interest of these new items that are better suited to Hannah. 
One additional accessory change we made was for a more practical purpose. My girls both sleep with fans, and they've always had those black plastic ones (read: eyesore). I've been wanting to buy them each one of these little Vornado fans for awhile, but just never got around to it...until now. This little baby makes me so happy because I don't have to try and hide the cheap plastic fan anymore, and it works like a charm to block out noise. It also adds a retro NYC apartment vibe without sacrificing classic English cottage charm. 
Favorite Spot in Hannah's NYC English Cottage Bedroom
Now that you've seen all the changes I made to Hannah's NYC apartment meets English cottage bedroom, are you ready to see my favorite spot in this space? Here it is...
I made that oversized, upholstered bulletin board with the hopes that it would look just like this. Every teenager should have a spot like this in their bedroom where they can display photos and memories of their childhood. I tell Hannah all the time that her pin board is my favorite thing in her room, and I fully encourage her to add as many memories to it as she wants. So, what do you think about Hannah's NYC apartment meets English cottage bedroom revamp? That's a mouthful, but this room is now bursting with personality, color, interesting and eclectic details. I really couldn't love it any more than I do. Even Jeff mentioned how beautiful and cozy the room feels now (that's when you know it's good). Best of all, Hannah loves every detail and goes to bed each night with a design hug from her mama wrapped around her.I'm so happy this room is complete, and I'm ready to finish up Noelle's room next!
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