Nursery Reveal: Faux Paneling Pink Princess Girl Nursery

Passionate about design and pouring over design magazines is something Krystal from Sassy Sanctuary does regularly.  While she was pregnant, she watched an episode of Divine Design with Candace Olsen, who created a little girls room with the faux paneling. Krystal fell in love with the romantic, whimsical feel of it and knew that she wanted to recreate that in for her daughter Ava’s nursery. While she’s never worked in the field professional, Krstyal did earn a bachelor’s degree in interior design before having children, which gave her an opportunity to put her training to amazing use.

The soft pink color came from Ava’s crib bedding, one of her biggest indulgences. “Since it such a major component in the room and the jumping off point for the whole color scheme, I feel it’s a good place to spend a little extra. I knew I wanted pink and a romantic feel, so I found bedding that I loved and built it from there. I took the bedding with me to the paint store and pick the wall color off the bedding.” The amazing wall paneling was all done by hand. With measuring tape, a lot of painters tape and a couple of cans of white paint, the project took a few hours to complete. “The paneling is my favorite part of the room for sure.  It makes the room and gives it the romantic, old world feel I was hoping for.  Without the paneling, it would just be a pink room.”

“Our nursery is mostly DIY.  We are young parents and the budget is always the biggest factor.  While I did purchase some of the décor, we saved a lot of money by re-purposing furniture and sewing my own curtains.” One DIY project Krystal is especially happy of is the paintings in the nursery, also done to match the bedding. ” I knew I wanted ‘princess’ art to go with the theme we were creating.  So I went to my favorite children’s site, Posh Tots, and browsed the art.  I found a scene that I liked, saved the picture as big as I could and printed it.  I was then able to trace the main elements of the painting and add in my own details. All I used was colored pencils!  To give the art more presence, I painted stripes on a mat and put it in a great frame. I find that if your art is mediocre, a great mat and frame can make all the difference.”

The dresser was actually Krystal’s mom’s as a child. “It had been in every house I can remember growing up and was ugly! It was painted cream, avocado green, and mustard. All it needed was a fresh coat of white paint and new knobs. I’m sure it has many, many years of life still in it.”

The crib was another hand-me-down.  It was a natural wood color and she painted it white. The window treatment really made the room come to life. “I hung them floor to ceiling not only for drama, but light control. We have an arched window that streams unwanted sunlight in at the crack of dawn. The sheers behind were store bought and the green panels were made by me. They are simply constructed with the fringe attached by fabric glue.”

Krystal says she loves painting and crafting so it’s fun for her to put her own touches to things.  “I love saying ‘I made that!’ and I was so proud of how the letters came out. The greatest compliment I got was when someone said ‘I thought it was wallpaper.’”