Beautiful Accent Wall in a Teen Room Makeover

I started writing Renaissance Dad in 2014. My kids were one, three, and five at the time. Now, 9 years later, they are 10, 12, and 14 (see how quickly I did that math!). My girls were little girls, and now they are young women. My son couldn't walk, and now he's jumping off of the trampoline and breaking bones. And my beard. Not a single gray hair back then... 

How we all feel at Ikea...

So when my girls recently said that they wanted to change their room, painting over the little-girl yellow and green walls and replacing the butterfly ceiling fan, my inner Renaissance Dad shed a tear. And then I shed a few

more tears when I realized that my 7th and 9th graders would be redoing their room most likely for the last time before they head off to college. Cue up daddy's tears with Father of the Bride. I get you, Steve Martin. I get you. 

The girls drove this train. They picked out loft beds (used), IKEA dressers and desks for under the loft beds, a new ceiling fan, and paint. Lots of paint. 

But there was one major shift with this project. I was guiding, but I was not leading. I taught the girls how to cut edges with paint. And then I stepped back and let them do it. I showed them how to roll the spaces between the edges. And then they did it. We worked together to assemble the furniture, and then they had it. And the piece de resistance? Their highlight wall that they sectioned with tape, designed, and painted on their own. 

The end result? A Pinterest worthy room that my girls did on their own. And while I cannot take credit for it (all I can say is "It's shake and bake and I helped"), there is a part of me that looks back on all of the projects that my girls did with me and knows that somewhere along the way things sunk in. 

Paint fumes make us all silly...

So, parents of younger children, cheer up. As Annie said, "The sun will come out tomorrow." Or, more importantly, the kids will start to do some of their own things in just under a decade. That's not as catchy, but maybe it's just as hopeful. 

The finished accent wall

Mom and Auntie LOVE Ikea furniture.

The big push to finish the furniture

My little girls are so grown up...