Working from an inspiration room

Land of Nod

We all use inspiration photos as we figure out our design schemes, especially in this day of Instagram and Pinterest.  But how do we interpret that inspiration into our homes?

I'm working with my brother and sister-in-law on their new house, and for their 18 month old daughter, they love the look of this space from the Land of Nod catalog.  Since it is from a catalog, we could simply copy it, right?  

Well, no.  (I mean, where's the fun in that?)  Our space has mauve carpeting, oak trim, and it lacks the multi-paned windows looking out on sunny palm trees.  Plus, we are possibly going to use my sister-in-law's childhood furniture, which has that sort of 70s french look, AND we bought fabric for their old house that we saved once they decided to move.  We can use this for curtains:

So how do you get the vibe of that room in a different space and with some pre-determined elements?

To me, it's all about creating a sense of whimsy and a bright, fun mix of color and pattern, but remixing the original elements in a fresh way that works for our space.

This one is probably truest to the inspiration, with the wicker headboard, prominent chevron upholstery, "frame" bedding, and a fun floral, jut moved from the rug to the pillows.  (The Elephant hamper is in there because I have an extra.)

If they want an upholstered headboard for snuggling, the whimsical wicker can move on over to a chair.  You can't tell from the photo, but those euro shams are covered in tiny little hearts, and this one has the actual bedding from the inspiration, along with glass ball lamps.

Finally, this one goes a little more boho.  My sister in law is partial to anthropologie, and to me this takes the Land of Nod room and puts a bit of an anthro spin on it.

These are all really "sketches" as we get into planning, but good for direction, no?

What do you think: do these do enough to evoke the original, taking into account our constraints?

How do you interpret inspiration images?