Gwen, have you looked at our Gallery? I posted a ton of gorgeous pictures over there. I think you'll enjoy the bedrooms thread and the cottage decor thread. You should find some great inspiration, color schemes and ideas there for all sorts of things like dressing up the bed, curtains, wall decor and more. You know how to find it, right?

Did you see where Target is offering Rachel Ashwell products?

Here is a link that might be useful: RA's Simply Shabby Chic at Target

From the Gallery -- and there are more there...

I look at the pics I like and study the details to get ideas and to figure out what I like about them. I try to imagine myself in the room to see how it would feel. I look at the wall decor and think about if I have anything like that around here. I look at the furniture and remember I can paint, and I can glue trim on things. I think about how I could sew something, or do something on a shoestring budget that looks like a million bucks. I watch the decorating shows and I know you can stamp on flowers or fluer de lis, or tape stripes for your own "wallpaper" and save yourself a few hundred... and other tricks.

I think all of these rooms are pretty, each in a different way. I hope you like them too.

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Here's chenille used in a cute way:
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Those should give you some good ideas, and maybe you and your DD (dunno her age) can discuss a few of them once you've narrowed things down in your mind, so she has some choice and input too (but not a dangerous amount).

Girls' rooms are such fun! If you can paint and you can sew, and maybe glue and hammer, and you have Craigslist and a few thrift stores around, I don't think you have to spend a lot of money. I think the biggest problem with a girl's room is just deciding *which* kind of pretty to make it!

I hope you can post pictures as you go along and especially of the finished room.

The curtains linked below are pretty (from Target) from the Shabby Chic collection and at 19.99 a pair, you can't beat the price. You can somehow hang them behind the headboard too. I like them because they are pink, solid color, and lightweight, so they won't overwhelm the room but still give it that touch you are looking for.

I'd also slipcover that plaid chair, if that is in fact staying.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sheer pink curtains from Target

Don't you love it, Oceanna, using stamps on the wall like a wallpaper. That's one of my favorite ideas. And I think you just gave me an idea too in there!

Gwen, those skirted chairs or slipcovers are really pretty for Shabby Chic.

I would buy a few more of the pillow shams in the floral fabric and sew rod pockets on the back to make them into a valance for above the window. Then use white eyelet panels for the drapes, and for the skirt on the bed.

Above the bed I would think that rather than fabric, I would hang a grouping of flower botanical prints that pick up the bedding colors, all framed in distressed white frames.

As for the headboard, I would paint the routed edge on it in a deeper pink or use rub-n-buff to put on a antique gold finish, and perhaps add some of that on the other painted pieces or in the hardware.

Thank you for all the advice and suggestions!
Oceanna - Girl rooms are SO much fun! My little gal has two older brothers and this is my first attempt at a girly room! Much to my delight she loves everything flowery and feminine so it makes it all the more fun for me! I've poured over the gallery pictures you posted and appreciate the ones you pulled (many of them are already saved as inspiration rooms!)

Squirrelheaven - The duvet is actually from the Target Simply Shabby Chic line too. My only hesitation was that the only lengths I found in-store were 84" and I think a longer 95" curtain would look better. I see online that they offer longer lengths in some styles.

Les - Always love your suggestions and I agree that a lovely botanical print with the bedding colors would be lovely. My mother-in-law is an artist and does beautiful florals - maybe I can convince her to do a few for her granddaughter's bedroom!

Oh - and the stamps idea sounds like fun but we have Orange Peel walls (the standard in our area of the country) so certain paint/wall treatments won't work.

I'll keep you all updated with pics as I make progress. Thank you again!

Gwen, you're welcome and I'm so glad you enjoyed the pictures I posted. I think those rooms are dreamy.

One of the things I love about the more "modern" decorating is the two-toned curtains. Also, when doing shabby chic or cottage, there is a lot of mixing of fabrics. Since you sew, I'm wondering if you can buy the too-short curtains, cut a little off the bottom or top, lengthen the curtains, and use the cut off fabric in bed pillows or chair cushions along with whatever fabric you use to lengthen the curtains? I'm not sure if that woule work or not but it's something to think about.

That said, white is always used a lot in cottage decor and shabby chic. Lovely white window treatments are easy to find. One of the prettiest I ever saw I think was carried by Pottery Barn and they were a thin semi-opaque cotton, maybe a batiste. Along the top they were smocked. They were just yummy.

I have Orange Peel walls too and I wouldn't hesitate to try out the stamping. Just grab any paint you have around and stamp something on there pushing hard and see what you get. You can have a damp sponge in your other hand ready to scrub off whatever you did. Another thing about the shabby chic look is that it's rather chippy and broken looking, so if your stamp didn't do a perfect print it might add to the charm rather than subtracting from it. I'd give it a try if the idea appeals to you.

Shabby Chic is a lot of white, with a bit of pastel colors thrown in. It's new and old objects, some used in their usual way, others in a different. If you need items for the room to decorate with, I would hit the thrift store and yard sales (kind of the wrong time of year here! LOL) and get lots of WHITE paint :) You could use pretty plates on the wall...I've seen that in a few examples :)

You could use your lamp that you have in there if you want. Paint the stand white and get some sort of bedding or fringe to add to the lamp shade!

DD has a cutesy room right now but I almost have all the furniture painted white. Eventually I'm going to get her into Shabby Chic! LOL I know she'll love it because she's very girl and loves anything pink and floral! I just love hitting the antique stores and thrift stores for items...perfect combo! LOL

Here is a wall treatment that would look super pretty in a little girl's room, since your mom paints gorgeous florals:

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I could do that and I'll bet your mom could too. Or it could be stencilled.

Or, maybe your mom could echo the floral of the duvet on the headboard? And/or paint you a pretty picture or two to hang on the wall? That way if you move you could still keep and treasure your mom's wonderful work, rather than having to sell it with the house.

I don't know about you, but I live in earthquake country. I'm not very scared of earthquakes as I've been through many all my life. But, I'm terrified of being beaned by anything hung above my bed. So I'd either anchor something in there extremely well (kids jumping on beds?), or make sure that whatever fell on me was very soft, such as fake flowers or a tapestry. It would be nice if something fell straight down the wall and landed behind the bed, but if a quake is violent we can't be sure that would be the case. I might be the only one around here who thinks that way, but I always keep an eye to earthquake proofing my decor.

Not to make a pest of myself, but someone else's post just reminded me of another solution for short curtains (depending on how much too short). You can hang them on clip rings. That adds a couple of inches.

You could make curtains from vintage hankies,well, it would be more of a valance.
I've seen them take a hoop suspended from the ceiling, using toille,ribbons,etc,for a sort of canopy effect.
What about shutters with a window box,florals inside?
If you're handy, maybe you could make her a lamp out of a teapot.
Good luck. I have boys, no girls to do that fun stuff for.

I bought the voile curtains from Target (Shabby Chic) for my younger daughter's bed. (My dad said it was so girly it made him ill :)) Ten years ago I couldn't find cotton voile anywhere, it was great to find it cheap and charming at Chez Target.

Demeron, that looks great! I'll bet she loves it.