Flora June’s Room

We’ve been living in the Tall House for a year and half, and I’m happy to report that Flora June’s room is officially finished! And it is so cute I can’t stop staring at the images.

I’m going to give you a tour in photos, with notes in the captions, and then at the end I’ll show you what the room looked like when we first visited the house, and some of the in-between stages. First I’ll start with some overall shots, and then we’ll look at some details.

The rug we found for 20 euros on Facebook Marketplace. It’s 100% wool.
The wallpaper is the real hero in the this space, right? It’s so good! The pattern is called Atacama and it’s from Farrow & Ball. The design looks white at first glance, but it’s actually metallic and catches the light wonderfully. The paint color on the trim and lower half is called Stiffkey Blue (also from Farrow & Ball), and it coordinates wonderfully with the paper. We used a gloss finish for the paint.
The big gingham print curtains are one of the only things we puchased new for this room.
We used matching gingham panels for the interior of the canopy.
The chair is a lovely little reading spot — with a spectacular view out the window.
The yellow velvet chair we brought from Oakland. It used to live in our primary bedroom and now gets a second home overlooking a cathedral from the 13th century.
The artwork in the room is made up of vintage botanical prints we found at brocantes, and random frames we found at vide greniers or second-hand shops. The theme is: Flora (obviously).
This was an unpainted desk when we found it at a brocante — just dark stained wood. We loved the scalloped edge and knew it would be perfect for Flora June’s room. First we painted it yellow, then we decided to add the coral-pink to make the scallop stand out.
The armoire has shelves but no hanging rod, so we added this small rod on one side, for dresses and jumpsuits and longer items.
Every dressing room needs a full-length mirror — we installed one on the inside of the armoire door.
This tall slim dresser we found on Facebook Marketplace. We painted the top and sides green, and added the green details to the front.
Flora June asked for a chalkboard for Christmas. She’s been using it to practice her fancy lettering. (And the Oakland A’s hat, because Oakland still feels like home to her when she thinks of the U.S..)
Flora June is having a mushroom moment — she has a string of mushroom lights, a mushroom water bottle, and she received this handblown glass mushroom necklace in her stocking.
We found this ceramic lamp for 50 centimes at a second-hand shop, and bought this sweet little floral shade for it at the hardware store.

For bedding, we tried to use what we had for the most part. The duvet cover with yellow trim was once on Ralph’s Bed. The yellow pillow case and velvet turquoise pillows were on Oscar’s bed. The polka dot sheet were chosen new for Flora June — the polka dots are slightly metallic.

Ben Blair built the lamp at my request. I found the lamp shade at a second-hand shop for 1.50 euros. And I had the pretty mustard braided electrical wire from another project. So Ben added a plug, a switch, and a lightbulb socket — and then we wrapped the excess cord around a shelf bracket.
The bed we found at a brocante for a bargain. It was unpainted, dark-stained wood. We painted it in Oval Room Blue by Farrow & Ball, and then added details with craft acrylic paint.
The canopy I designed and made myself. It had been awhile since I pulled out the sewing machine and it was fun to figure out how to make this. I created a scalloped edge to connect to the scallop on the desk.
The pom-pom blanket came with us from Oakland — it used to live in our reading loft. The armoire also came with us from Oakland — it was in our Oakland house when we bought it, and we used it in the entryway.
This is the original hardware from the door. It was covered in many layers of paint, which were scraped and sanded off. And yes, the key works!
This little woven backpack has been with us since before we were a family. Ben Blair was given this as a gift when he was a missionary in Athens, Greece.
This adorable little cupboard hanging above the desk was found for just 1 euro at a second-hand shop. We gave it a new life with the same paint we used for the bed. It’s the perfect size for storing a stash of washi tape.

I think she likes this space. : )


And now, here are some before images and process images for those who are curious.

The first four images are when we were thinking about buying the house, and taking the kids to check it out for the first time. The room was a kitchen at one point — and you can see the sink in the corner in the first image.
This is a fun progress shot. It shows the walls with repairs and full new plaster on the window wall. It also shows the restored window, and the carpenter, Antoine, who is measuring for a chair rail. We hadn’t pulled up the old flooring yet.
Here is the bed before we painted it.
And here is the bed with the oval room blue base paint — the details were added a few months later.
Here you can see the kids working on the floors. You can also see the walls are painted, and the chair rail is installed, and waiting for paint.
Here we are placing the bed in the space for the first time.
Painting the desk and dresser.
Primer coat.
Yellow coat. The coral front was painted after this coat was fully dry.
The white sections of the dresser were painted green.
Here’s the initial canopy without the topper. I didn’t really know what I was doing, and was just sort of making it up as I went along, and I was so pleased that when we hung it up, I could tell that it was going to be good. The little side shelf in the image (with the clock) is still in her room, but we painted it to match the Stiffkey Blue of the lower walls, so now it blends in.
This was wallpaper install day. Here’s a little video of me installing one panel.
Here’s Flora June looking at possible botanical prints at a brocante.
And here’s me trying to see if the frames I had collected would fit the artwork (some did, some didn’t).
This is Ben Blair building the lamp.
And here’s Ben installing the curtain rod.
Lastly, here’s that little cupboard before we painted it.

I hope you enjoyed this photo tour! Do you have a favorite element in this room? For me, it’s probably the wallpaper. I love it so much.

33 thoughts on “Flora June’s Room”

  1. Ariane Stinglhamber

    This is just MAGNIFIQUE!!!🤩😍 I love that you take your time to make the space with vintage founds, that You reuse old furniture and make it look so charming and fresh ! And I love once again that your whole family helps making things happening !🥰

  2. Such a beautiful space!

    Love the colours you chose and the sweet details like the floral artworks and that woven backpack.

    (I only wish it was magically somehow wide enough for a double bed.)

    I’d love to see the view from the reading chair. What a great home you’ve all created.

  3. Absolutely beautiful! I’m in love with the yellow scalloped desk!! 😍
    What a great job and great work on the canopy!!

  4. Cherie A Visconti

    I love the canopy and painted furniture! So crisp.thr original floor looks so interesting was it just not salvageable? Also, are we able to keep that cool iron based at what looks like marble top table in the corner when you were first looking at the house.

  5. Meg Manion Silliker

    I could look at these photos all day! Such a lovely room. So cozy, vintage elements with splashes of modern done to perfection. Just gorgeous!! 🌸

  6. I can’t pick a favorite element, because it’s how it all comes together that I love. I do appreciate the painted furniture. I can’t bring myself to paint wood, after having stripped several pieces that should never have been painted, BUT I am so glad you went for it. The painted pieces are lovely.

    1. Gaby, I swear you have the Midas touch of design. Everything you touch turns to gold. What a lovely room! I am at least 3x older than Flora June and I’d love this room for myself, ha! I love the armoire, and also love the pieces incorporated from your past lives (the bag, the chair, etc). It is just perfect- chef’s kiss – as usual!

  7. Beautiful. Love how all the elements –seemingly disparate — coordinate so beautifully. Flora June’s space, while small is robust and gorgeous.

  8. Agnèslamexicaine

    Such a wonderful room! My kid s room is full of books and looking at your daughter s room Im thinking it would reaally give some space to put the books somewhere else…

  9. Lovely room! 10/10!!!

    Where is the pendant from? It fits perfectly.

    And since the european and north american bed sizes are different, did you get new beds and sheets for every bedroom?

  10. I so love the painted details on the bed and the canopy… and how well everything came together. I like that you took your time for the room and that it was a team effort. And it makes me wish I also has rooms that needed me to redo them. 😊

  11. Yellow and blue are just my favorite so this room is a delight. You have such a way with color. My six-year-old looked at the pictures with me and wants to move in. :)

  12. Everything individually is pretty, but it all comes together so vibrantly and beautifully. Thank you for the inspiration.

  13. My daughter would love to have you as a mom!!!😂 She is fun and creative and I lack that skill, he-he. Honestly, I probably would have liked to have a creative/resourceful/artsy mom too!
    I loved this post, seeing the many parts of the project, all the family members that were involved, and how it all came together. I see the “before” images and I almost want to have a panic attack, not sure how you can see the possibilities without being overwhelmed by the disarray of the space. Kudos!!!

  14. I love every single thing… truly I don’t think there’s one thing that I wouldn’t swoon over individually. BUT – if I had to pick a favorite I have to say that hanging lamp is the coolest idea ever. I would LOVE to have that on my bedside! It’s so interesting and yet simple. It fits perfectly with the mood of the room and you completely thought it up and that makes it all the more incredible. I am really impressed (but not surprised).

  15. It is just stunning. Your creativity knows no bounds! I love the painted wood so much and it balances out perfectly with the armoire and plants. Flora is so lucky to live in this space. 💙

  16. I’m so glad to see this finished space. It is so perfectly Flora June. I love so many of the thoughtful details The yellow velvet chair is probably my favorite.
    (I want the bedside light to be on a pulley though so so she can move it up and down as her heart desires.)

  17. I love this room! Excellent work and amazing transformation to “formless and void” to abounding in beauty, fun, and imagination. Really elegant and cute at the same time. So inspiring!

  18. The visual photografic report is formidable. All family having a chance in the metamorphosis of a ruined room into a happy-happy place to be enjoyed by the owner girl or whoever enters it.
    Congrats by the millions to such a tight family leaded by such a clever mum!

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