Whimsy and Cinderella for Juliet

Before

My niece is turning 3 this year and is ready for a "big girl" bed.  When her mom asked what type of bed she wanted, Juliet quickly replied "A Cinderella bed...with glass slippers."  It is incredible that one little sentence from one little girl could cause such a tornado of activity - mostly caused by her crazy aunts who immediatly charged into action when they were asked for help.

So how does one go about creating a "Cinderella" bed without purchasing all the lovely crap items that a certain mouse lead conglomerate produces on a regular basis?  We opted to stick to a royal theme and added elements from the movie to create a little whimsy and elegance perfect for a little lady.

 We started with the crown - a beautiful focal piece from a local antique shop in Toronto to anchor the room and have white tulle curtains dreamily flow down to the bed.  As the crown was not meant to be mounted to a wall - I was ever so grateful for my brother's mad design skills and the fantastic wooden mount he was able to create.

We choose beautiful Michael Miller fabric in glittery damask and crown patterns, added little mice from Ikea and of course, glass slippers!

And the whimsey - we added hand made blue birds to hold back the netting, similar to the blue birds  that hold up Cinderella's veil at the end of the film.

My sister-in-law accessorized the room with a beautiful mirror, hung at toddler height for a cozy costume nook and added some vintage flair in the form of an antique lamp and her Cinderella storybook that belonged to her when she was young.

The addition of crystal knobs to the existing dresser and new blue-stripped curtains added to the overal royal theme.

I know a big question is coming to mind - where was my niece when all of this was going down?  We enlisted my mother to keep her busy in the backyard and kept the door closed in time for a big reveal!

So it does take a village - but was so worth the effort as you can see from the reaction below.

Crown Hardware