Teenage Triple Bunk Bed Beach Themed Bedroom Makeover
A room for 3 pre-teen and teenage girls gets a dramatic beach themed bedroom makeover with triple bunk beds, camp art, smart organization, and cozy lighting.
This post is sponsored by Romabio.
Ever since Robert and I did the boho cottage shared bedroom makeover for two of the five sisters who live down the street from us, the other three sisters have been begging for a bedroom makeover of their own. (I mean, it’s only fair to even the score, right?)
The challenging part was figuring out the best bedroom layout with plenty of function, room for a triple bunk bed setup, and combining the girls’ different styles into one cohesive look.
The girls number one request was a room that felt calming but bright, and the one color they could all agree one was light blue.
So a cottage beach themed bedroom with a little bit of a camp-out vibe felt like the perfect direction.
Before
Here is what their shared room looked like before with a rather cramped triple bunk bed.
Multipurpose Furniture Layout
The biggest needs for this shared room were storage and multipurpose “zones”.
So I found these dressers that can transition into desks or vanities with a simple drop down panel in the top drawer. It can still serve as a clothing drawer, if the girls need the extra storage. But if the girls need to do homework or they need a place to do makeup as they get older, these dresser desks can do it all.
The scalloped chairs work perfectly as desk / vanity chairs or can be moved underneath the loft bunk as a hang out space and reading nook depending on the girls’ needs day-to-day.
This was the one little desk / vanity setup they had before.
Before
Beach Themed Bedroom Wallpaper and Paint
The main color the girls could all agree that they loved was light blue, so we painted their ceiling, trim, and doors in Romabio Carolina Sky Low Lustre from our Bless’er House paint color line.
I absolutely LOVE this color because it can appear blue, green, or gray depending on the lighting. It’s fresh and clean but cheerful.
Romabio paints are zero VOC and non-toxic, making it the best the healthiest paint choice especially for kids’ spaces. The interior paint is made with natural mineral ingredients crafted in Italy using an ancient Italian technique that adds a gorgeous luminous finish.
For the wallpaper, we used a peel and stick that can easily be removed one day if our neighbors ever choose to change the look of this room in the future. But we went with this classic striped pattern (customized to the colors Eggshell and Celery) that would easily transition into an adult bedroom.
The combination feels so vintage, timeless, and slightly beach themed without being too over-the-top “theme-y”.
Don’t the vertical stripes and painted ceiling make the room seem so much taller than before? Stripes help elongate a room to create the illusion of more space (just like wearing a vertical striped dress can make you appear taller).
Before
Storage
Burl Wood IKEA Hack Dresser
I created a look-for-less DIY burl wood dresser by adding burl contact paper to this IKEA Hemnes chest of drawers. Adding these gold and glass knobs gave it a little feminine touch.
The dresser is SO MUCH bigger than they had before so it could provide lots more space to store clothes.
Before
Rattan Bookshelf
Since the girls are avid readers and specifically requested the need for book storage, I adding a reading nook underneath this loft bunk with a rattan bookshelf to bring in more coastal style textures.
These scalloped chairs were surprisingly very comfortable. In the middle of this project, I plopped down in one, and honestly I didn’t want to get up because it perfectly hugged my back.
They’re perfect to lounge in but still have the right amount of support to use with the dresser desks.
The scallop detail is another subtle knod to the beach themed bedroom since they look a bit like seashells.
Command Center Zone
I originally meant to order this cheaper bookcase but totally forgot until we were in the middle of this week-long room makeover, so I had to settle for this more expensive shelf with next-day shipping.
It totally worked out though because Robert came up with the idea to use the backside of the bookcase as a command center for the three girls so they could keep track of schedules, jot down reminders, and hang up art or notes as they needed.
We just used Command strips to hang this chalkboard calendar, magnetic white boards, and cork boards on the back.
Coastal Wall Decor and Camp Art
For kids’ and teens’ rooms especially, it’s fun to be vibrant and expressive with a collection of art and objects. So I wanted to hang up a few camp art vintage style pennants, some objects for variation, and a couple of coastal wall decor pieces to communicate the style of a beach themed bedroom.
But I didn’t want it to feel cliche; it needed to feel fresh and like something authentically curated over time. It needed to have texture, and it needed to have FEELING. (If you ever need help, here’s my favorite gallery wall hanging trick.)
Here is what this corner of the room looked like before we added the coastal wall decor and camp art gallery wall.
Bedroom
Coastal Paintings
The piece of wall art that inspired this entire bedroom is this Castle Coast Print by artist Teil Duncan. It’s been one of my favorites for a long time, so I was dying to use it in a teen room.
We hung it in this gold frame since the girls all mentioned how much they love gold. (And a little glitz never hurts, right?)
Beside it, we placed this coastal painting of a vintage Woody Wagoneer with a surfboard on top called “How About Jupiter?” by artist Maja Cunningham. By mismatching the frames, they feel like they’ve been collected over time.
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Vintage Pennant Camp Art
To add some texture, different shapes, and sweet messages, I found these two vintage style pennants to give this beachy bedroom a little camp out vibe.
This “It’s Cool to Be Kind” pennant added some shape variation, and I love the great message well suited for preteens and teens.
The “These Are the Good Old Days” pennant adds an extra dose of vibrance with its pop of yellow to tie in the hints of yellow in the beach art, bookshelf, and pillows around the room.
Decorative Wall Decor Objects
I took a page out of Lay Baby Lay’s book and found this vintage ribbon that added fun dimension and more color to the gallery wall.
And to incorporate more beach style into the mix, we hung up a ukelele that the girls can take off the wall and play if they want.
Coastal Style Mirror
One of the girls really loved boho style, and since rattan is a key element in boho decor, this rattan mirror was the perfect way to blend boho and beach vibe together.
Adding this table lamp in front of the mirror and positioning it opposite from a window helps bounce light around the room to help the space feel larger.
Side note: I meant to add a cute sister photo to this green picture frame and ran out of time, but the palm tree print it came with still works, right? 😉
Decorative Accents and Accessories
The three sisters love playing music, so I added this vintage style Bluetooth speaker with FM radio so they can play music as much as they want.
A diffuser is always a good idea (especially if the girls need a soft, glowing nightlight or get sick and need to diffuse eucalyptus into the room at night). I added a few drops of this organic Sleep essential oil blend to create a relaxing atmosphere.
Considering all 5 senses in a room creates a cozy experience, so adding these sound and smell elements are just as important as the decor.
Organization
Besides the command center on the bookcase backing in the reading nook, we also added a few organizers on the desk dressers to help the girls stay tidy.
These concrete bookends have slots for extra notebook and school supply storage, and we added these round acrylic desktop organizers for storing school or art supplies and makeup inside of the dresser desks.
Triple Bunk Beds
The triple bunk bed the girls had in this room before had really tight sleeping spaces, so we spread out three beds into a new configuration by positioning this double bunk twin bed and bunk loft side-by-side instead. Now, the girls have enough head room to sit up in bed.
The metal bunk beds add a little antique style to the room. I chose white make the room light and airy (even though I had to spray paint one bunk bed because the white was out of stock).
Bedding
Because it can be challenging to make beds in a bunk every day, we sprung for these Beddy’s bedding sets I’d heard nothing but great reviews about. I have no idea how they’ll hold up yet, but the girls loved how easy they were to zip up like a sleeping bag to quickly make their beds, and the minky fabric inside is super soft.
For a little pattern play, I added these floral printed gold quilt shams, blue geo printed pillowcases, and pink floral block print Kantha quilts.
Rug
I found this really cute Serena and Lily dupe scalloped jute rug that added more of that beach material texture and mimicked the scallop detail in the chairs.
The jute made the room feel so cozy and brought in a much needed natural element.
Window Shades
I’ve used these cordless pull down bamboo shades in several room makeovers because they are the most functional and budget-friendly I’ve been able to find.
They add great texture and warmth to a room and block out a lot of light (they’re not blackout shades but they are light filtering). The shades looks so good on their own I decided not to add any fussy curtains to the windows at all.
One last look at what this bedroom looked like before!
Before
Lighting
Fandelier
Since the girls would be climbing into their triple bunk bed with their heads close to the ceiling, I really wanted to avoid using a traditional ceiling fan with blades. (That would be a disaster waiting to happen, right? Getting smacked in the head with a ceiling fan blade is one way to wake up, I guess.)
So I found this caged ceiling fan with a rattan-like shade that works REALLY well! The air output is every bit as good as a regular blade ceiling fan. And the remote can change the light bulb color and even has a dimming function. You can see more top rated fandeliers here that I love.
Wall Lamps
A triple bunk bed makes it pretty much impossible to access a nightstand with a bedside lamp, so I found these wall mounted plug-in lamps from IKEA that are operable with a pull string inside so each girl can control her own lamp right from her bunk!
Table Lamps
For the dresser, I found this beachy table lamp with a classic linen shade. I added this modern task lamp on the opposite dresser for extra light if the girls need it to do homework too.
On the rattan bookshelf, for some extra reading light, I placed this mini lamp with built-in USB ports where the girls can charge their devices as needed.
That’s it! There were so many little details that went into this room that it’s hard to keep them all straight, so here’s a list of sources we used.
Room Sources
- Paint color for ceiling, trim, and doors – Romabio Carolina Sky Low Lustre
- Wallpaper (in colors Eggshell and Celery)
- Rattan caged ceiling fan
- Double bunk bed
- Bunk bed loft
- Scalloped jute rug
- Scalloped navy chairs
- Dresser desks
- Rattan bookshelf
- Zip up bedding set
- Floral printed quilt shams
- Floral block printed blankets
- Geo printed pillowcases
- Gel sleeping pillows (my favorite we have on all of our beds)
- Rattan wall lamps
- DIY burl wood dresser
- Table lamp
- Task lamp
- Reading nook lamp w/ USB ports
- Rattan arched mirror
- Green tabletop picture frame
- Wireless Bluetooth speaker / radio
- Diffuser
- Bookend set
- Terrazzo bookend
- Yellow striped storage box
- Round acrylic desk organizer
- “How About Jupiter?” Woody Wagoneer art print
- “Castle Coast” beach art print
- “It’s Cool to Be Kind” pennant
- “These Are the Good Old Days” pennant
- Ukelele
- Ukelele stand
- Wicker wastebasket
In addition to the Carolina Sky paint color we used in this bedroom, you can see more of the Romabio x Bless’er House paint color collection here.
I know I say this every time we share a room makeover, but this one turned out even better than I envisioned.
This camp out cottage beach themed bedroom just makes me want to be 12 again… or makes me want to buy a beach house and go crazy all over again with coastal bedroom decorating. Maybe both.
If you want more DIY and decorating ideas for teens’ and kids’ rooms, you can see more below.
