Bella's Ballroom

A designing mother creates a pair of rooms matched to her twin’s personalities

Text: Emily Benton Ryan
Photos: Nancy Nolan
August 2009

Creating bedrooms for her twin son and daughter that were unique yet equally inviting was the top priority when graphic designer Sandra Marbaise, co-owner of Little Rock-based SanLori Invitations, and her family moved into their Heights home. As inspiration, she looked to each child's favorite activities.


For Isabella's room, Sandra envisioned a space where her daughter could play dress-up and make-believe with her favorite stuffed animals and dolls. From that starting point, the room's color palette followed easily. “I love pink and green together, they're happy and festive,” she says. She painted the walls green and the ceiling pink and then repeated the combination in the bedding, mixing in green and white toile fabric “to give it a little bit of an elegant edge,” she says.


“I think her bed and linens set the tone for the whole room,” Sandra adds. “Once the linens started coming together, I could see it.” For decorative details, she worked with artist Andrea Trieschmann, owner of Art by Andrea, who created a personalized banner, canopy bedding, magnet boards and other accessories. The end result, says Sandra, is a beautiful yet practical and fun room for her daughter. “Now we have a place where we can play dolls and dress-up and share that together,” she says.

Click here to see Ethan's nautical-inspired room.

Design Resources

Bedding, window treatments Cynthia East, Little Rock
Decorative Accessories Andrea Trieschmann, Art by Andrea, Little Rock

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