Inside Suz’s Kids’ Room Makeover: Whimsical Design with Practical Perks

Summary

Dear Alice | Interior Design

Episode: Inside Suz’s Kids’ Room Makeover: Whimsical Design with Practical Perks
Date: September 18, 2025
Hosts: Jessica Bennett (Jess), Suzanne Hall (Sue Hall)

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Overview

In this personal and inspiring episode, Suzanne Hall takes listeners inside her recent makeover of her two youngest sons’ shared bedroom. The conversation delves into the journey of transitioning her boys from cribs to their first “big boy” twin beds, with thoughtful choices around functionality, style, color, and sentimentality. The hosts discuss childhood rooms, design memories, planning for evolving needs, and easy-to-apply professional tips—all wrapped in the show’s characteristic warmth and wit.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Childhood Bedroom Memories & Early Design Influences

• The Power of Childhood Spaces:
  • Both Jess and Sue reminisce about their own childhood bedrooms, highlighting how formative and expressive these spaces can be.
  • Jessica shares memories of shopping for wallpaper with her mom in 1987, emphasizing personal input and family collaboration:

    “It’s like, such a core memory for me when I think about designing my bedroom with my mom and her trusting me to help make these decisions…” (05:05)

  • Sue recalls creating a unique, colorful California vibe in her teen years, complete with beaded curtains, glow-in-the-dark stars, and incense.

    “I just became, like, this little hippie child. And, like, I just, like, loved all the colors, which, again, has never left, you know?” (07:58)

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2. Suzanne’s Boys’ Room: Process & Intentions

• Design Challenge:
  • Transitioning from cribs to twin beds for her youngest sons and maximizing a cozy 12x12 ft. 1970s bedroom.
• Intentional Design Decisions:
  • Involving her sons in the process (using favorite colors/characters for inspiration, e.g., Catboy blue).
  • Reusing and repurposing meaningful items from their green nursery for comfort and continuity:

    “If you can keep some things the same so that they have something familiar around them, I think that's really, really important.” (19:16)

• Room Layout & Space Planning:
  • Priority on function: beds that grow with them, accessible storage, and preserving play space.
  • Use of CAD planning to solve both organization and flow within the small space.
  • Deliberate choice to keep beds slightly off the wall (about 4-6 inches) for easier bed-making and fluidity. (29:41)
• Notable Tip:

  “There’s nothing worse than a one lonely twin bed in a room. You gotta second one…there’s something so cute about [twin beds].” – Podcast Host (11:10–11:14)

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3. Furnishings & Finishing Touches

• Key Pieces:
  • Two Marlo twin beds (with soft, dipped headboards—“smiling” shapes—to counteract the boxiness of the small room).
  • Large Miles nightstand between the beds:

    “We actually opted for the largest, widest nightstand that we make…brought in that really deep, dark, almost coffee-colored wood that looked really handsome—like a pair of dress shoes for a boy.” – Podcast Host (13:54)

  • Mitzi Étagère for flexible, vertical storage of books, collections, and even shoes.
  • Sussex rug (in “little men” 8x10 size) to visually expand the space and add warmth.
• Display & Organization:
  • Importance of vertical storage to keep floors open for play and visually raise the ceiling:

    “That Mitzi totally makes my ceiling…so tall.” – Sue Hall (16:16–16:19)

  • Bookcases and shelves for “pride-of-place” Lego builds and easy-to-reach shoes.
• Window Treatments:
  • Custom Roman shades made by Sue’s 80-year-old mother (Provo Grandma), using cherished Schumacher geometric fabric.
  • Romans hung as close to the ceiling as possible to give the illusion of height in standard 8-ft. ceilings.
  • Sentimental value in handmade details:

    “She’s incredible…she used books from, like, the 1950s to sew these…look how cute she is, here she is on her bed, just, like, sewing these darling Romans for my kids. Oh, I just love. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take them off. Why am I…am I gonna cry?” – Sue Hall (22:51–23:41)

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4. Color, Pattern & Style Strategy

• Color Palette:
  • Wall color is Sherwin Williams “Irises”, with ceiling “Yukon Sky” and trim in “Amethyst Shadow”.
  • Room is enveloped in soothing shades of blue and green (“color drenching”) echoing the view outside.
  • Layered, small-scale patterns (rugs, drapery) used to whimsically “expand” visual space and add a touch of playfulness akin to Minecraft/Legos.
  • Not everything must be perfectly matched—harmony comes from things you love:

    “Things throughout your house should be able to migrate from one room to the next and get along because you chose them...it's not like a perfect formula...these are decisions that have just evolved over time that all come together really harmoniously.” – Sue Hall (26:08–26:44)

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5. Design Philosophy & Practical Tips for Listeners

• Space Planning:
  • Start with floor plans and an inventory of functions/items needed before selecting furniture.
  • Consider circulation, room for play, and future needs.
  • Use larger rugs and hang treatments high to visually expand small rooms.
• Storage:
  • Combine open and closed storage (etageres, large nightstands, lifted pieces to allow air/light beneath), especially in rooms with small closets.
• Sentimentality & Whimsy:
  • Keep special artworks, objects, or details to provide comfort during transitions.
  • Don’t be afraid of fun, childlike patterns, or playful elements:

    “You don’t have to be so serious. It’s a kid’s room.” – Sue Hall (31:59)

• Timelessness Through Love:
  • If you choose things you genuinely love, a room’s style will evolve smoothly as needs (and children) change.
• Final Encouragement:
  • Take pride in curating a room with personal meaning and let it reflect your family.

    “Hopefully they see, like, there’s a pride in space, you know, and like identifying with this space. I hope that’s something they hold on to.” – Sue Hall (32:54)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s just so calming for the boys and so pretty. I think one of the things that was really cute…was she was like, ‘it’s just like the mountains. It’s like this purpley blue with green trees. And of course, they’re all going to get along together.’” – Podcast Host (25:09)
• “I like that it kind of smiles and dips in the bottom just because you’re in a small, rectangular room. So any…softness like that…it just helps to blur the lines and not make it feel like a small box.” – Sue Hall (19:28)
• “Buy cool stuff, y’all.” – Sue Hall (32:29)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–03:39 Childhood room memories, early design influences
• 09:06–11:55 Beginning of Suzanne’s boys’ room transformation & initial space planning challenges
• 13:54–15:56 Furniture choices, rug selection, and vertical storage strategies
• 16:59–18:06 Space-expanding tricks: patterns, shelf & window treatment placement
• 19:16–23:41 The emotional impact of design, importance of continuity, and family contributions (Provo Grandma’s Romans)
• 24:11–25:09 Paint colors and the calming effect of the color palette
• 26:08–26:44 The evolution and harmony of personal design choices
• 29:41–32:54 Practical advice, space planning tips, and the value of personal, whimsical touches

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Conclusion

Suzanne’s heartfelt walkthrough of her sons’ bedroom transformation is packed with practical tips, meaningful takeaways, and warm anecdotes. Listeners are encouraged to combine functionality with sentimentality, make thoughtful use of small spaces, and fill rooms with things that bring joy and comfort—to both kids and adults. The episode ultimately champions a design philosophy where a home grows and evolves with the family, filled with intention, personality, and love.

Transcript

[Sue Hall]

Things throughout your house should be able to migrate from one room to the next and get along because you chose them. There's nothing more cute than two twin beds. Like a stack between when we go to market, whenever we go through like Julian Chichester or any of them, they just have two stacked beds. You're just like, oh, that's how I'm gonna have another kid. This is so good. Like, I love it so much.

[Jess]

Since we're talking about your kids room, I want to know about your guys's childhood rooms.

[Sue Hall]

Hi everyone.

[Podcast Host]

Welcome to Dear Alice. Today we have a very personal episode. We are having sue hall take the helm. She recently did a remodel in a very cute, intimate space in her home and we are going to have her take us on the journey of her boy's room. She was finally ready to graduate her two youngest out of cribs and into their big boy beds. And she switched rooms with your older boy and made a really darling twin boy bedroom in there. And we're so excited to share this episode with you and the journey that she took. It's so personal. She's going to share how she chose paint colors, how she chose the silhouettes and the pieces and the room arrangement and it was all so thoughtful and there's so many great takeaways and I know a lot of you are working on projects and love design, so you're going to love this episode. So if you can tune in, watch on Spotify or check it out on YouTube because it's full of all the juicy visuals, including sketches by sue and a really great journey. Also, her 80 year old mother Provo grandma made the draperies in this room. They're custom Roman shades and we even have video of that. So you're definitely going to want to tune in. But first I wanted to tell you guys, it's September 18th and that means we are smack dab in the middle of our very best sale of the whole year and this is the best time to buy. So start your engines. It's happening and I just wanted to make sure all of you guys knew about it that was tuning in. I know our podcast is called Dear Alice, but our store is called Alice Lane Home. So check us out on Instagram at Alice Lane Home and check us out online because everything there, every single vendor participates. So whatever it is that you need for your home, if it's chandeliers, lamps, if it's a new rug, new bed, bedding, she, anything, any accessory, any accent, we put the entire site wide sale on and then the things that we're manufacturing as well are as low as 25 off. So go get yourself something really nice. It's a really great time to buy. And then I also wanted to say to those of you that are professional designers, there's a great trade program for you in store with exclusive discounts, extra help, and access to hundreds of our vendors. And you can just. You can just get online, tell them where it's at, Corey.

[Jess]

So go to our website, alicelanehome.com and then go to the design services tab and then fill out the to the trade form and one of our designers will go back to you.

[Podcast Host]

Yes, that's perfect. Okay, let's get into it.

[Jess]

All right, so since we're talking about your kids room, I want to know about your guys's childhood rooms. Like, you know, when. When you started to kind of like, I don't know, add things to it to kind of express your individual. Individuality.

[Podcast Host]

I'll tell you what, I remember going with my mom, I had to be elementary school. I don't even think I was middle school aged yet. And wallpaper was huge. So I was born in 1975. So I'll bet you the year was like, mid to mid-80s.

[Jess]

Okay, 87, let's say.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, let's just call it 1987. We went up to wallpaper warehouse in the University Mall. I think Mom. Or maybe it was a strip mall in Provo, Utah. We drove all the way up north, two hours in our car, and we would look through the wallpaper books. And back then, the wallpaper books were set up in large pages, and then they would have, like, a middle border running through it. So you would. So what we did in my childhood bedroom when I got to help choose, was we did a lower wallpaper on the bottom and usually chose something dark. Like maybe it was a dark ground of, like, navy blue with a stripe. And then you would do like a floral on top. And then the border in the middle would look like some type of molding. Yeah, it was just wallpaper.

[Jess]

It was flat wallpaper molding.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, wallpaper molding. You could even do a wallpaper crown molding.

[Sue Hall]

Oh, I don't think we did the.

[Podcast Host]

Crown, but I know we did the lower. That was for the te and the upper.

[Sue Hall]

The crown.

[Podcast Host]

That's right. And then we did the middle belt line going around the room. And I feel like it was. I feel like it was a navy blue ground on the bottom one. And I think it was a white ground on top with floral. And then I Can't remember what the stripe was in the middle, but I'm sure it was classy.

[Jess]

Yeah. Super cool. Very 87. Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Navy has been in your blood for a long time, everyone. Jessica Bennett's one of her favorite colors. Navy. It's part of our brand color.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. It's not super original, I know, but I just love it. I can't help. It's you.

[Sue Hall]

It's you.

[Podcast Host]

I'm just drawn to it. I'm also embarrassed to say I'm currently driving a Navy.

[Sue Hall]

Don't be embarrassed.

[Podcast Host]

I completely OD'd on it. But it started young, and it was just so. It's like, such a core memory for me when I think about designing my bedroom with my mom and her trusting me to help make these decisions and, like, guiding those decisions with me. And she even wallpapered it, guys. Back in the days, I love that you would get a wallpaper trough. Yeah. You'd get the tools and supplies there, and then you'd have the trough sitting in your bathtub. And then you would reverse roll the paper.

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

You can feel it, right?

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And then soak them in there for a little bit and let them get good and sticky. And then you'd pull them out, and then you would. You would book match them on top of each other while it sort of cured and got extra gooey. And then you would put it on the wall, and then you'd use the tools to sort of scrape and trim. And I feel like my mom and dad, somebody was on a ladder, and they were helping each other. And there's usually a little bit of bickering involved because it was quite. It was like doing surgery, right?

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

There's a lot involved in it, but even that I was a part of that. That's awesome. And making. My sister and I lived in this bedroom together.

[Sue Hall]

Call.

[Podcast Host]

Were you with us? Like, I feel like I couldn't have just done this alone with mom. I feel like we all went together, but it was just so fun to get, and I was so proud of it when it was done.

[Jess]

Oh, yeah. I bet you were just, like, favorite space in the house. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And then, like, you'd have to go show your rooms, like, the reveal. You'd have the room closed.

[Jess]

Like, wait till you see.

[Podcast Host]

And you open the door. And the smell of wallpaper paste washed out.

[Jess]

Yes.

[Sue Hall]

And you're like, all the off gassing is. Wow.

[Podcast Host]

It smells brand new in here. Here.

[Sue Hall]

How about you?

[Podcast Host]

How about you, Sue? Do you remember anything about your childhood bedroom? Did you get to choose it.

[Sue Hall]

In California, I shared a room with my sister, and she's eight years older than me, so I had, like. I just had Barbies everywhere. She was very organized. Katie Kitty, the cleaning lady. And I just had so many Barbies. I loved Barbies. I had all the Kons for every Barbie thing. So I was just messy.

[Podcast Host]

We're the same person. I'm messy. Jesse. Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

I need an acronym. I need a nickname. Okay. But then I think the first time was when we. We moved up to Provo, like, in my junior high or in Utah. Right. Moved from California to Provo. But I remember before or, like, one of our trips back to California, we had already lived in Utah. I had my own room. My sister's in college. Like, I'm like, an only child right now. And we go back to California. We go to the promenade in Santa Monica. And I remember going to an urban outfitter. Like, it was the only urban outfitter that I ever, like, had heard of. It was probably one of the first ones. And I remember getting a beaded curtain. Like, a colored beaded curtain. And. And my mom let me do it. And, like. And I told. And I remember there was, like, this Rastafari bishop, like, on the street of the Promenade having, like, incense, and my brother had incense. I'm like, that's cool. I should burn incense, too. So I remember getting, like, incense, and I just became, like, this, like, little hippie child. And, like, I just, like, loved all the colors, which, again, has never left, you know? So I like, my mom, like, letting me just, like, kind of just like, have my walkabout on the Promenade and get incense from the Rastafari bishop and get the beaded cranes and get all the glow in the dark stars. You guys remember.

[Podcast Host]

I love that.

[Sue Hall]

I remember getting, like, just hundreds of glow in the dark stars and piercing the top of them with a hole. Taking my dad's fishing wire, tying a knot to that. Tying the other end to a nail, nailing them to my ceiling. The popcorn ceiling.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, you did.

[Sue Hall]

So they all were just, like, hanging just, like, everywhere. I know. And then I, like, slept on a hammock.

[Podcast Host]

Interior design, weird design, y'.

[Sue Hall]

All. Like, I love it. I know. And I just burned incense. Like, I, like. Like, I have, like, I had a riff with the world or something. Like, why did little Suzanne have to get up?

[Jess]

You had to ground yourself. Yeah. Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

It's true. That's hilarious. Yeah.

[Jess]

Was that mid-90s?

[Sue Hall]

Probably? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. That was probably, like, 90, 95, 94, 95, I bet. Yeah.

[Jess]

That's when I remember experiencing incense for the first time as well.

[Sue Hall]

The LA riots, like in California. We saw the fires.

[Podcast Host]

That's why she needed all of this.

[Jess]

Yes. There was so much going on in the world. Yeah. That's amazing.

[Sue Hall]

Okay.

[Jess]

Yeah, that's hilarious. Let's get into. Okay, this kid's room now, though.

[Sue Hall]

Okay. Okay. So we're gonna talk, like, just said, we're gonna talk about this, like, transformation. So I have three kids now. They're 10, five and three. And my 10 year old, Nolan, he has a queen bed and he had the blue room. And when my two little ones were in. Oh, yes, here they are. Here's little. There they are. Aren't they cute? So that's Nolan and Manolo and Louie. And Nolan has his own big boy room. Here it is. And he. When we moved into this house, we painted it this really pretty blue because he loved Catboy. So it's kind of fun when you are doing your kids room. So try and like, figure out what is it that makes them pulse, you know, what's. What's the tick that like, will get you their buy in. So, like, everybody wins.

[Jess]

Tie it to something that they love.

[Sue Hall]

Something that you love. He loved Catboy. And I was just like, we're gonna paint your room blue. It's gonna be awesome. I get to pick it. But it's blue like Catboy, Mom's choice, my filter. But then you gotta get there buying. And so it was his room for, you know, the last, like five years since we moved into this home. We painted it this blue and it was awesome. It was great. And then I had not one kid, but two children during the pandemic. And they were in this cute little nursery next door, which I painted green. And so after I had these two little boys that were really close in age to each other, they just started to outgrow the crib, y'. All. And it was time that we finally had to, like, figure. I had to start doing some space planning and figuring out, okay, like, if I. Nolan doesn't want to give up his queen bed, but I can't, like, so I moved that one to the green room. And I'm like, I need to move both of the little boys to like, big boy beds from the crib in the pack and play. And so Jess and I started, like, kind of going back and forth. I'm like, I think I need twin beds. I think I need two little twin beds. And you guys, there's nothing more cute than two Twin beds, like a stack between when we go to market, whenever we go through like Julian Chichester or any of them, they just have two stacked beds. You're just like, oh, that's how I'm gonna have another kid. This is so good. Like, I love it so much. There's nothing worse.

[Podcast Host]

Have a one lonely twin bed in a room. You gotta second one.

[Sue Hall]

I know. I feel so, like that's why they're called twins. Peter Pan, Mary Poppins about it. Like, you just like, want to see like all the row of all the children at once. Anyway, there's. There's something so cute about that. But yeah, so it just. It came time that I'm just like, okay, we have to switch the boys. Like, they were just like outgrowing the crib and everything. And so I started putting it on. On cad. And one of the biggest problems and like, things that you're trying to solve for, um, when you don't have a huge space is just like, really looking at like, what are the functions that you need to have. I need them both to be able to grow into this, like, bigger bed. I need storage. Like, these kids have a lot, A lot of like, books, shoes, you know.

[Podcast Host]

Just was two of them to two of them.

[Sue Hall]

Two of them. And they're busy.

[Podcast Host]

And also since you. Since you moved into a 1971 home during the pandemic, the closets were just smaller back then. I think they really relied on the fact that people had bedroom dressers and so they weren't walk in closets like, or in homes today. So you not only have one small closet that two boys need to share.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah, right.

[Podcast Host]

You've got all of their stuff. So. Yeah, things were just different today than then. So you had to try and figure out storage for this space for all of their stuff.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah, because I. Yeah, I wanted them to have like, enough storage for like all. Just all their clothes in general. There's so many. And then just like again, just the. We have toys down in the basement. Like, we have a playroom, but like, just the things like the books and like, things that like, you want to grab to be able to read to them at night. And you don't want to schlep downstairs to grab that. So just trying to accommodate for all those things. There's just. There's certain functions that like, I needed to have happen. And you also want a space for them to just like, play. Even though this isn't their primary playroom, you just want spaces for them. They're gonna like, roll off the Bed, they're gonna like tumble and they're gonn and do all those things. And so it was really just trying to figure this out on. On plan, like plan view. How am I going to get all this without shoving everything to the very corners of the room? Which kind of did by pulled it out a little bit. So what you're seeing on screen right now is again, when we start with anything, we usually go to like the floor plan and try and figure out what are my functions. And so here I'm showing two twin beds that are pulled a little bit off the wall just so it's easier to make. I don't want it totally against the wall just because that makes. That's a nightmare. But again, just to allow like optimize the amount. I remember when I showed you, you're just like, maybe we could pull those in. Let's do a smaller nightstand. Pull those in a little bit. Because I think that's what we would normally do. But just like understanding just like that they needed.

[Podcast Host]

They needed more space to sit and play with their toys. Yeah, yeah. Build Legos or whatnot. So.

[Sue Hall]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. So we actually opted for the largest, widest nightstand that we make. And you use the Miles nightstand in between the two twin beds, which brought in that really deep, dark, almost coffee colored wood that looked really handsome. Like a pair of dress shoes, I think, for a boy. I know. Which is really fun.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah. So. And then I wanted to have a rug.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

And specifically I've been crushing on the Sussex rug for so long since we introduced it. And I'm like, that's such a handsome rug for like little men, you know, to like grow up into. And so I was just like, jess, I think I need to use a Sussex rug. So I had all these like kind of like ideas and thoughts of just like product that we make that I've fallen in love with. And so I'm like, if I do the Sussex rug and just kind of like stretch it from side to side, I can do like the biggest size I can get, which I believe was the 8 by 10 in this space. And I do two little twins with the miles in between them. I would have all this space in between to put like a little poof. Like a little nightstander or not a nightstand, but like a little ottoman for us to like just play with. And we usually have like, I have lots of little accent chairs and stuff. But anyway, just in figuring it all out, this is kind of what we came up with. So we have the two twins, we have the big nightstand with just like one shared lamp in between. And then a bookcase. Intermittency.

[Podcast Host]

Intermitzi and Termissy guys, the brand new Etager. It's a bookshelf. I think we've told you guys before, Edgier is just a fancy name. It's. It means it's an open shelf on all four sides which allows you to display things. And I think for sue, your boys have these cute collections of Legos that they've built and books and collections that they've had. And even the bottom two shelves, I think you ended up putting shoes on, which is so cute. So the stuff at eye level is like the things that they're really proud of. And then the stuff on the bottom is this utilitarian stuff that they can take on and off every single day.

[Sue Hall]

So cute.

[Podcast Host]

And their clothes are cute.

[Sue Hall]

You know what I mean? Like kids clothes and shoes are darling.

[Podcast Host]

So cute. So why shouldn't they get that fancy closet moment of having, of having shoes on a shelf, you know?

[Sue Hall]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host]

And not just on the ground of their closet. Exactly. It's so cute the way that you ended up displaying. Displaying this.

[Sue Hall]

And I will say I'm like, however tall. I'm like. Because I'm only 8 foot ceilings. And so that Mitzi gives so much. It's kind of like when you like take your window treatment all the way to the top of the ceiling. Right. And just how elongates you've walked in there.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Like that Mitzi totally makes my ceiling.

[Podcast Host]

The MIDI made it feel tall.

[Sue Hall]

So tall.

[Podcast Host]

And your Roman shades, you went all the way to the ceiling, make it also feel tall. You would not guess it's eight foot ceilings. I also wanted to say, just for those of you listening, the room size that Susan's in, let's just call it a 12 by 12. Yeah, it's like 12 by 11 and a half. But that's a very, very small bedroom. And it's a normal size for, for homes that were built in the 70s and 80s. So this is, this is a cozy space, but doing a few space expanding tricks. Like having a huge rug in there. Right. Made the room feel really big and that really little pattern felt space expanding. I also feel like you did a really cool thing on the window treatments with another small pattern.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

That gave that. That sort of illusion of something bigger. The tall shelf, the tall window treatments. And you did a tall lamp in front of the window.

[Sue Hall]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Which really stretched your eye too.

[Sue Hall]

I know.

[Podcast Host]

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[Jess]

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[Sue Hall]

The pieces that you're seeing on the screen right now. We have our rug. We have again, I think one thing too that helped with this room being a small rectangle is I was crushing so hard on our bed. Or Marlowe. Marlowe. Right. And we had it in the queen. And you guys know I love green. I love green. And therefore my children will love green too. I know, but just really fast to just try and like migrate. Like they came from like this cute little green nursery which had this like painting of this jaguar on the wall. And I knew I want to bring that with them. I think there's something too about when you're switching kids rooms, if you can keep some of the things the same, even though the space is going to be different, they're going to have a tough time at the beginning just because it's new. But if you can keep some things the same so that they have something familiar around them, I think that's really, really important.

[Jess]

It's a great point.

[Sue Hall]

So the over. Yeah, right here on the Screen over the crib is this, like, original Jaguar with this really cool gold frame. So I knew I want to keep that with them, and I knew I wanted to keep this lamp. Again, it's whimsical. It's animals. I've had this for a really, really long time, and I'm like, if I can keep a couple of these key pieces with them, they'll feel like they're home. So that's a great tip. And I. So I started before anything, because I'm like, am I gonna have to repaint the room? It was Catboy for Nolan. I'm gonna have to, like, paint it green, you know, and swap these guys. And I just. I took that painting, and I just put it on the blue wall, and I was just like, that's magic. And you want to know why it's magic? It's just, like, greens, blues. They're all the colors I see when I look out my window. Fun little thing about this room, too. And where Nolan's at like this. When we bought the house, we have a barn in the back, and he has the cutest straight shot of the barn, so we'll get to that later. But anyway, also say is that I didn't have to repaint the room a different color because everything got along. And I. When I put that painting there, I was just like, okay, if this green looks good on this blue wall, the Marlo is going to look awesome. Awesome on this blue wall. And the thing I was also really excited about the Marlo is that the headboard isn't crazy tall again for my. But it was, like, a perfect height, and I like that it wasn't a rectangle. I like that it kind of smiles and dips in the bottom just because you're in a small, rectangular room. So any. We know anytime that you can add just, like, softness like that, it just helps to just like, kind of blur the lines and not make it feel like a limited, like, small box. Right. I knew that I would have to peekaboo into that window just to give myself that open play area. And I'm just so happy with how it turned out. A couple other things that we did. Jess mentioned on that. Roman, I've crushed on this Schumacher fabric for the longest time. It's so, so cute. Here's a little video showing just kind of, like, in the development when I was like, I had so many fabrics I was playing with. I'm like, what should I do? Should I add more? Should I do solid? Should I do, you know, something more Botanical or something. But I'm just like. There's something just so handsome when you have, like, these structured prints and you layer them with each other and stripes and boxes, and it feels kind of like a Minecraft.

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

You know, which they're also into in Legos and all the things. And so I'm like, okay, this is gonna be. I showed my. My mom is an amazing seamstress. She. She sewed my wedding dress. Like, she's.

[Jess]

Wow.

[Sue Hall]

She's incredible. And she's 80, you guys. Pro grandma.

[Jess]

And there she is on the floor.

[Sue Hall]

Just on the floor.

[Jess]

Sewing room, guys.

[Sue Hall]

And this fabric. My friend told me. She's like, oh, my gosh. It looks like this, like, famous Ozark quilt, but it's a geometric. And, like, talk to any wallpaper hanger that has to, like, hang a stripe. Like, they want to shoot you. And Sweet Provo. Grandma, she took this, like, geometric pattern and centered all those blocks, like, on the window. She's incredible. So.

[Podcast Host]

But bless her.

[Sue Hall]

But what I have to say is that when it was Nolan's room and it was just, you know, just the blue, I didn't have Romans. I didn't have window treatments up, because it was just, like, just one of those things that I think as parents, it kind of just goes to the back of the mind, and you're just like, okay, that's expensive. They're boys. They'll just rip it down.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Anyway. But I knew that, like, I'm like, oh, we're gonna do this. I'm like, let's do it. And I really wanted to kind of tie that blue back in the textile. And so, you guys, it is so crazy. The power of a window treatment.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

And just, like, pulling that sucker up to the ceiling. Look how much taller.

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

That room looks with the Roman going all the way to the ceil.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Versus it, feeling squatty. Because, I mean, they didn't. In the 70s, they didn't do big one. I mean, like, they're fine for the size of the room, but, like, they're not going like they would now nowadays. So my mom, the saint that she is, she agreed to make these Romans for me. And you guys, I should. Ryan, do you like. She used, like, books from, like, the 1950s. You guys, I love her so much. Look how cute she is. Here she is on her bed, just, like, sewing these darling Romans for my kids. Oh, I just love. I don't think I'll ever be able to take them off. Why am I. Am I gonna cry? So cute. Oh, and she used these. Anyway. I just have to. I'm like. She's like, do you want to borrow my books when you guys talk about it? I'm like, yes, I do, Mom. Anyways, she used, like, books from the 1950s to, like, sew these again. Still works.

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Anyway, the original Google, like, little bookmarkers and everything like that. So I just. I love these wonder tournaments because I think of her and they saw her, like, install it, so it's so cute.

[Podcast Host]

So cute.

[Sue Hall]

Anyway, so I love. I love that Schumacher fabric. I love that they go to the ceiling and just, like, soften everything in that room. I think that's what it also did, is it just softened the edge.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

On everything.

[Podcast Host]

And those of you that are curious, if you're watching this, these are Susan's paint colors, your wall color. Sue, do you want to tell them what that.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah. It's called irises. And this is a Sherwin William colors. And so I did. And again, this is again, color drenching. We painted this probably, like, five years ago. And at the time, I did. You know how we've talked about how you can take, you know, the same color, you can lighten it a little bit. Like, just go that, what, the one ring rung up on that paint strip. I did do that in here just to kind of play with it and see how it works. And so we did the walls and irises. We did the ceiling in Yukon sky, and then I did my trim and door in a semi gloss in the amethyst. Amethyst shadow. I tell you what, that ceiling, you can't really, like. You can go back to the picture. You can't really tell that I changed the color. So it's kind of a waste of a paint change.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

So just know that when you hit that ceiling like crazy, that you have to, like. You have to, like, lighten it up a lot there. You can kind. Not really. You really can't.

[Podcast Host]

I think the shadows, too. It's just hard to tell. But I just thought they might love to know the color because it really is so soothing.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Like, I feel like this feels like you just took a melatonin. It's just so calming for the boys and so pretty. I think one of the things that was really cute that sue mentioned when we went over there to shoot the room was she was like, it's just like the mountains. It's like this purpley blue with green trees. And of course, they're all going to get along together.

[Sue Hall]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

I just love this pairing and. And the blue almost has a dot of periwinkle to it or purple, which I noticed.

[Sue Hall]

I don't know. People's eyes pick up on. I love that you picked that up, because I'm, like, every time, even, like, when we're in the design center pulling things, I always, like, gravitate. My eyeballs love a little bit of that violet.

[Podcast Host]

Me too.

[Sue Hall]

In the blue.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. It's just a little obscure. It's not so on the nose. Feels a little more special. And it's funny that you made this decision five years ago, and then you make the drapery decision today.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And it's just, like, so perfect, this room. Just, like, the way it came together with all your loves. Of course you're gonna love it. It's all the things that you love.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah. That cute little whale that we bought at an art show, like, a decade ago.

[Podcast Host]

This.

[Sue Hall]

This is also another really fun note that, like, they're your kids. They're gonna probably. At some point, they're probably gonna have Spider man sheets or something. But things throughout your house should be able to migrate from one room to the next.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

And get along because you chose them. You know, like, whether it was just you solely or with, like, your partner or your kids, all those decisions, I think, should live harmoniously together. And it's not like a perfect, like, formula. Like, these are. These are decisions that have just evolved over time that all come together really harmoniously. And it feels right because it feels like us.

[Podcast Host]

Yep.

[Sue Hall]

And that is timeless design.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jess]

Yeah. Is that, like, art? That's on the left right there. That was that in Nolan's, like, when it was when he was in there, like.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah, that's a piece that I bought for tomorrow, like, on his 30th birthday, because he loves that story of the donkeys and all the press and stuff. But then it sat above, like, the changing table when Nolan was a baby in the attic, and then it migrated to this room. And then, like, I kept it in here just because I loved it with the pink color. And then just, like, the collections of little paintings, you find, like, little walls and things are kind of opened up as you rearrange furniture. You can do interesting stacks like this just to kind of balance out art in your room.

[Podcast Host]

So.

[Sue Hall]

And, guys, let's just. Let's talk about the Mitzi real quick. You can see it here.

[Podcast Host]

The Mitzi Ediger is. Was a piece that we launched during House Candy. It is a wood shelf with these radius top, and then toward the bottom, you get these radius shapes Again, which sort of soften it. And I have to say, the white shelf up against a wall color. This was, like, such a beautiful move. It's clean. It's really slim. I think it's only 14 inches deep, but it holds all the treasures. It doesn't take up much room of the floor print, but it really stretched the ceiling and brought the soft shapes of the Marlow bed.

[Sue Hall]

It feels vintage, too, that those radius corners, like, really. I feel anytime that we've had a flood or emergency remodel or anything like that, like, it's been important to me to be like, hey, this house is from the 1970s. I'm not tearing it down. We're trying to embrace what it is. And anytime you can add those, like, little nods back to just the architecture and just the history of the house is, I think, just so it's one of those just, like, unidentifiable things that make it feel right.

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

You know, like, it's not. It's not. I'm not yelling like, this home was built in the 1970s, but hopefully these, like, little winks kind of, like, go back to that era, you know, in a fresh way, in our way. And I just. I love how much space there is on that shelf. It's amazing.

[Podcast Host]

Like, all their collections just look so intentional and cute and pulled together, and even their shoes are adorable. Honestly. Cute.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah. You're so cute. And that little toad stool, guys. That little mushroom ottoman in the tiger. Oh, gosh. In the Annie jar.

[Podcast Host]

What a transformation.

[Sue Hall]

Lucky duck.

[Podcast Host]

It's crazy that this is obviously the same room that you once had the queen bed in, and it felt cozy and very individual, you know, both ways. But I have to say, like, gosh, window treatments for the win in here. And I just really love. Oh, go ahead.

[Sue Hall]

I was saying color blocking, like, the neutral bed. I mean, it's cute.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Don't get me wrong. But when, like, you put the green against the blue.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

That is such an outfit.

[Podcast Host]

Such an outfit.

[Sue Hall]

Such an outfit.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, Sue, Bravo. This turned out so cute.

[Sue Hall]

Thank you. I love it. They love it.

[Podcast Host]

Love it. So a few things to. To just tell the listeners to when they're planning to do kids rooms space planning with function in mind.

[Sue Hall]

Yes. Right.

[Podcast Host]

And you needed to be able to not just make it comfortable and familiar by taking things. Things from the old space into their new space, but also you wanted to have space to play so that they could really embrace this. I also thought a funny but really key note here was that you didn't just push the twin beds against the wall, you held them off like maybe 4 to 6 inches to help you easily make the bed or for your kids to be able to make their own beds.

[Sue Hall]

Right. Which was.

[Jess]

Yeah, yeah, you're making them.

[Podcast Host]

And I have to say, I think Miles nightstand in between where it's a wider girth that gave you. Allowed you to push those further apart in 12 foot room. Also that little ledge to be able to display their. Their things at their eye level. I think it's so cute. They each have their own like shelf if they want to. This great big huge pole, I think feels like a toy in this space. And those drawers can be almost like a second set of drawers, like a dresser.

[Sue Hall]

Definitely are. That's what they act up as. I was gonna say the nice thing about the Miles too is that it's not sitting on the ground. It has like a lift up. We have a. We have a floor vent right there too. So that was also an important thing. That couldn't. Like what nightstand do we have that like can like make sure the air can circulate and everything. I'm not trapping it. And the Miles like one. And I love it so much. I'm like if it did any more, I. I like just being when you're there live and you feel that the air can just kind of like peek under there. It doesn't feel as like. I don't know, like is crowded stale.

[Podcast Host]

No, just crowded.

[Sue Hall]

You know, things are just like sitting on the ground. It's just like that's the only space you have. But if you can peekaboo that there's light going through all the way to a wall. It expands your eye and it makes it feel.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

So in that same thing with the Edda's air and same thing with the beds. Like nothing sitting completely to the ground. So the air can kind of still circulate.

[Podcast Host]

Your eye can see under and through it. Yeah, I love that. The silhouettes in front of the windows adding fun shapes, fun patterns for kids both on the rug and in the Roman your space expanding tricks of pulling the. The Romans all the way to the ceiling. The Mitzi all the way to the ceiling. Having room to display their favorite things, their familiar things. Blackouts on the Roman to help them sleep better and just. Yeah. A place for everything and everything in its place.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah. And I think whimsy. Look at that lamp too. You know, just as far as there's nothing. You don't have to be so serious. It's a kid's room.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jess]

That Makes it feel. Yeah, that makes it feel like a kid's room too. It's like it's not taking itself too seriously. But yeah, yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Myself, that lamp, before I even had kids. You know, we're at the orange store. But anyway, again, these things, like, it's fun to see how they, I don't know, regenerate themselves in different locations and, and then what it does for the room because I'm like, it looks different in here than it did in total.

[Podcast Host]

Buy cool stuff.

[Sue Hall]

Buy cool stuff, y'. All.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I love it.

[Sue Hall]

Point.

[Podcast Host]

So good. Well, so thanks so much, sue, for sharing this with everybody. I know it's been a really personal journey from working with your mom on the draperies and considering your boys and changing your whole house around. I think it was totally worth it. And yeah, we're just so, so happy you shared this all with, with all of us today. So.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

I'm glad you wanted to hear it.

[Podcast Host]

Of course, of course.

[Sue Hall]

You know, and I love going in and making their beds. I don't know, someday they will. And hopefully they're watching mom and being like, oh, wow, that really does make me feel better at the through my day is that my bed's made. Yeah. But hopefully they see, like, there's a pride in space, you know, and like identifying with this space. I hope that that's something they hold on to.

[Jess]

They will. Yeah, definitely.

[Podcast Host]

So good, you guys. Thanks so much for listening. And don't forget, it's the very best sale. Go get yourself something nice. It's the best time of the year to buy. So it'[e-mail] and give us a follow on at Alice Lane home on Instagram and at Alice Lane Interiors, also on Instagram. And yeah, give us a comment, write a review. Every little bit helps. And if you guys have an episode idea you would like us to cover, send those to Dear Alice, alicelanehome.com and we'll catch you week next time. Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.