If walls could talk this girl’s walls would be saying, ‘Go girl, you go get’em’. You see, Ivy Gommers, mother to ten-year-old Amélie, has made it her mission to breathe energy, belief and confidence into every corner and detail of this fabulous girls’ room.

It’s a space that manages to pull together many disparate strands to form a cohesive interior scheme that’s equal parts girlie innocence and emerging style diva. Of course, it helps that Netherlands-based Ivy is a graphic designer and illustrator. She’s the creative force behind the @littlemissivy_drawings Instagram account, so there was never any danger of Amélie’s habitat being anything other than awe-inspiring.Ivy lives with her husband Jurrian, her teenage daughter, Phileine, twins Leander and Amélie and their much-loved house cat, Otis. They reside in a house designed by Willem Marinus Dudok, considered one of the greatest architects in the Netherlands. It’s a home Ivy and her husband have painstakingly renovated, and it’s positively brimming with style and individualism. A glance at Ivy’s Instagram feed provides a flavour of her eclectic tastes and gives us an insight into the forces at work in Amélie’s boudoir.

We caught up with Ivy to get the inside track on the design inspo behind Amélie’s masterpiece and share some of her styling secrets with you.

The very first glimpse of Amélie’s peachy-perfect bedroom tells us this is a feminine room with sass. It has all the typical hallmarks of girlishness, but there’s a strength of character that’s supremely evident. Sure, there are oversized blooms on the wall and a sparkly party handbag, but there are tonal nudes, teal and mustard punching the blush bliss with girl power. A handcrafted tiger cub wall hanging from @doinggoods sends another signal that behind the pretty exterior, there’s a bite. Still, then Mrs Mighetto’s dusky blue pillow by @hm arrives with its delicate, ethereal quality.

We’re big fans of kids’ interior styling that dispenses with tradition. More often than not, beds are placed at right angles to walls, so this jaunty placement of the vintage-style IKEA bed gives us more clues to Ivy’s experimental style. It also provides a perfect view of the carefully curated collection of decorative objects and soft furnishings that combine to make this room so magical. In the top right corner, we get a peek of Amélie’s favourite element of the room’s styling, the gymnastic rings.

Ivy’s first purchases for the room were the pastel pink canopy, and the @oyoylivingdesign Follow the Rainbow wall rug. Ivy describes the space as a sweet, creative and girly room with a playful touch, and it is additions like this pastel and earth-toned ready-to-hang mural that brings that sense of spirit and bounce. We feel like this room has the capacity to continually surprise and intrigue with its contrasting textiles and patterns. See, for example, the @vitaminatu leopard skin sneakers poking out from underneath the bed.

There’s more evidence of the seating provision that Ivy set out to deliver in an upcycled storage bench in prime position at the end of the rainbow, and there’s a wonderful mustard rug with pluses on by @hemanederland.

A candy-striped duvet cover by @hm gets a slice of cutesy taken away by the edgier ‘hands’ throw with its feisty injection of assertive aubergine.

You get a sense that Ivy is never quite finished with her projects. Not because they don’t look polished, but because her creative mind is never quite still, and she is always seeking out that next perfect find. She did tell us that the room isn’t finished and that she continues to change and add elements. The circular shelf, for example, is a temporary fixture housing a copy of Coco Chanel by Ana Albero from the fabulous Little People, Big Dreams book series. It also provides the stage to a whimsical little doll by @momijihq, a range of Japanese-inspired characters that double up as tiny time capsules with a space to hide a miniature card with a handwritten message. There’s a delicious but functional woven strawberry basket by @hm and a glorious rainbow cushion promising hope and expectation with its delicate pastel arcs.

One of Ivy’s own framed whimsical @littlemissivy_drawings illustrations is placed at floor level in another break from conformity – its cute but confident monochrome character popping out of a background of flighty pastel bubbles.

Just look at that skilful colour block paint technique, creating the illusion of a wardrobe-in-the-wall with all its connotations of Narnia-like adventure. This side of the room really brings the girlie with an adorable peach tutu casually placed on a hook and a hanging swan by @hm guarding the secrets hidden behind the marshmallow pink closet doors. Ivy incorporates her support of girl power with a campaigning GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS poster by @junique, reminding her youngest daughter that she can achieve and be anything she wishes. It’s a subtle but enduring theme throughout the entire design ethos. It’s no coincidence that the crocheted doll by @sebrainterior is situated right next to the slogan poster, elevated on her chair and championing the spirit of female opportunity.

Ivy has deliberately incorporated many spaces for lounging into the room design, encouraging Amélie to dwell with her friends. This includes a collection of mattress pads that can be stylishly strewn across the natural whitewashed floor or stacked with contrast bedlinen for a pleasing aesthetic. Tones of terracotta and mustard fuse with pink zigzags and sunrise Rust by @littledutch_official while a miniature swan takes flight on a woven balloon by @druiventuintje.

Ivy’s advice to parents embarking on a design project for a 10-year-old girl is to embrace the character of your child and design around them. There is so much love and understanding in this room. If it’s possible to communicate your child’s personality traits and quirks through interior design, Ivy does it with first-class honours.

This room is a triumph, a visual delight that pulls together all the subtle nuances of a growing little girl. We feel like we know Amélie, too, just through the photographic record of her room transformation.

Those paper flowers by @anoukbomer symbolise a blossoming young lady who is far from a wallflower. Such sweet poetry in life!

We part on this last stunning corner of Amélie’s room, a fast forward to her perhaps as a young lady, with an ornate period chair that might grace her grow-up room of the future. For now, the armchair is anchored in childhood by a collection of cushions, a fun leopard rug by @kwantum_nederland and a yeti-like shaggy pouffe.

If there is one last piece of creative genius to comment on, it’s the use of decorative wallpaper by @sostrenegrene to fashion a spot of monogramming from. There was never any doubt that this is Amélie’s room, but now you know for sure.

So, what’s next for Amélie’s room? Ivy is contemplating designing a desk to nurture her daughter’s love of drawing and creative pursuits. Maybe she will follow in her artistic footsteps. However, she’ll have to seek permission. Amélie’s room makeover was a welcome surprise at first, but now they have an agreement that modifications and new additions are by mutual consent only. We told you this girl has sass and attitude!

SOURCE LIST

Bed : Minnen by Ikea I Orange rug : @hemanederland I Duvet cover : Ikea I Rainbow wall hanging : @oyoylivingdesign I Paper flowers : @anoukbohmer I Flower light : @sissyboy1982 I Suspended tiger : @doinggoods I Hanging light bulb : @bymoosz I Small cushion with fairy : @mrsmighetto by H & M I Ballon wall décor : @druiventuintje I Girls Girls poster : @junique I Knitted doll on chair : @sebrainterior I Textile covers for mattresses : @littledutch_official and @lodger_official I Rainbow rope wall décor : @LUUM.handgemaakt I Wallpaper for letter A : @sostrenegrene I Chanel book : @ana_albero I Wall art with girl placed on floor : @littlemissivy_drawings I Strawberry basket : @hm_kids I Rainbow cushion : @hm_kids I

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