One family, two rooms, with the aim of keeping a touch of South Africa Part 1

The perfect pink girls bedroom for two after you’ve moved from Cape Town to England, with a baby due in a few weeks.

PIA Design to the rescue and they create two fantastic rooms just in time for babies arrival.  

This gorgeous riverside property was in fantastic condition having been refurbished with a minimal colour palette not too long before our clients moved in, but the client felt the rooms could be re-decorated to add some interest and personality to suit their own taste.

Our clients are from Cape Town, South Africa, and wanted their home to be inspired by the textures and colours of their home – they were also interested in designing sustainably, so we looked at natural materials like cork and 100% natural fibre fabrics and started by using the furniture the client already owned.

As the family already live in the house with their two young girls and new-born, we tackled the design a few rooms at a time. We started with the design of the little girls’ room and nursery, which were finished just weeks before the baby arrived. Here’s the Girls room, Part 2 will follow soon. 

For the girl’s room we used subtle colours and plenty of texture to give the room a nature-inspired uplift – and schemes that can easily adapt and evolve as the children grow up. The client wanted the girl’s room to feel restful as well as fun, with spaces for the girls to play and work.

We began the design for this perfect pink girls bedroom by bringing together fabric and wallpaper samples, we wanted to create a room that had a soft and subtle base. This could then adapt easily to furniture and accessory changes as the girls grew and as their interests change over time. We were drawn to dusty pink shades, greys, beiges, and warm wooden tones for this room as they’re easy neutrals that can pair well with other colours.

Behind the twin beds we chose a feature wall using a pink distressed design wallpaper from Elitis, the pattern of which is a subtle nod to the South African inspired mood board we put together for the room schemes. The carpet in this room also needed changing as we had to remove some existing joinery from the house’s original owners that had left indents in the existing carpets. In keeping with the blush tones of the room, we selected a warm beige carpet with a slight rosy hue.  

We had initially discussed designing some bespoke bunk beds for the girls bedroom as a fun feature piece of joinery. We ran into challenges with the sloped ceiling not allowing a lot of room for the top bunk. As well as this, we worked with our joiner to make sure everything was structurally sound, which resulted in some of our design choices being compromised. In the end it was agreed with the client that two double beds were a smarter choice and helped to future proof the room as the girls grew up. Looking back, it was the right choice to make as the final result has a more refined atmosphere.

We designed bespoke wardrobes for this room with ample storage space that had adjustable shelves and hanging rails that would make the wardrobes adapt with the girl’s storage needs as they grew older. The whitewashed oak shaker doors of the wardrobes feature beautiful gold leaf embellished cork panels, and we added an extra touch of luxury with some leather and brass handles from Anthropologie.

Our original design for the joinery in this room had less wardrobe space and a double desk for the girls to work at together. After reviewing this with the client, it was agreed that the girls would need more storage space and that separate desks would mean homework could be completed much more efficiently! We had bespoke fitted desks fitted into the rooms by the windows. On our site visits to discuss the designs with the clients we noticed both girls enjoyed colouring and so we made sure each desk was fitted with custom cork panels wrapped in De Le Cuona fabric for the girls to pin up their artistic creations.

There was not enough space either side of the window in this room to have full length curtains so we picked a beautiful fabric from Christopher Farr to have bespoke roman blinds made. To add a bit of extra luxury to the blinds, we opted for a wide trim around the edges in a stunning De Le Cuona fabric. 

The client had beautiful, framed prints by Mrs Mighetto that we wanted to display in this room, they fit nicely above the beds and we had space in the centre for another piece of artwork. We asked the girls what other accessories they would like in their new room; they loved the grass woven elephant head we had chosen for the nursery (to be revealed here soon) so we found a similar product from Maisons Du Monde which completed the wall nicely.

We specified a sheepskin rug in this room as it proved to be a popular choice in the nursery! The collection of decorative cushions and throws we sourced from John Lewis and gave the beds an extra cosy vibe. We paired the rattan bedside tables with some art deco style table lamps for a contrast between natural elements and contemporary luxury.

Compared to the Nursery, this perfect pink girls bedroom was slightly more challenging to coordinate as it was larger and required the additional time needed to remove and install new carpets. But it came together just as easily with all the thorough planning we did, and the end result is something we are really proud of. It’s a room that will stand the test of time and always have a good balance between fun and neutral. The girls enjoy having a bedroom together, their own grown-up beds and desk spaces of their own which have been used for many artistic endeavours since!

Part 2 – The Nursery, to follow in a few weeks.

PIA Design’s objective is to interpret the style preferences of each client and develop something tailored to them. As a result all projects take on their own, unique direction, but there is also a common thread that underlies each one, apparent in the use of natural  materials – wood, stone, cork, metal etc, that can be used to add texture, but also colour to a scheme before simply specifying paint.

A love of nature is at the heart of PIA’s designs and her philosophy is that the best form of sustainability is a carefully considered scheme and the use of quality materials – natural materials have a timeless quality about them that surpasses trends whilst also standing the test of time: some materials even grow more beautiful with age.

Photography credit – Anna Yanovski

Girls, Girls, Girls…