Baby's Room Tour

Well here we have it! Finally a room tour of our little one's new digs. It's extensive but I didn't want to miss the details. I think that's the best part. ;) Enjoy!

dip dyed baskets - T J Maxx

cloud pillows made by grandma with vintage fabrics

bed spread - thrifted

curtains - Target

diaper bag - Cocosheaven at Etsy

plush toys - Anthropologie, Pottery Barn Kids and Target

butterflies - Hobby Lobby

Tord Boontje flower cut out - MOMA

angel wings - Jaiden Sky

bumper - recovered in old fabric from my bed room in South Africa (by grandma)

polka dots - stenciled with supplies from Hobby Lobby

glider - Target (recovered in sheet from South Africa)

chevron blanket - Target 

faux sheepskin rug - Ikea

mobile - The Alison Show

giant flower - Hobby Lobby

papier mache unicorn head - Dwell Studio

floral head piece - made by moi

art print - Kelli Murray Art at Etsy

dresser - left behind by previous house owners, ombre'd drawers with samples of pink paint

floral head crowns - The Pink Ruffle

other head bands and feather garland - made by moi

yarn wrapped tree (for jewelry) - Target

quilts - thrifted or handmade

beaded wall hanging - from a trip to Thailand

embroidered sleep sack & white dress - Somewhere in Time Antiques (GB)

dream catcher - Goodwill

Let me assure you that this room is not all brand new! Many of these items are goodies that I have had for a very long time (even my own childhood) or have collected over the years. I've always been a treasure hunter and a lover of anything whimsical or enchanting and so, I now finally have the chance to display all of these little beauties in one charming little place. My hope is that they will enliven this little girl's imaginations. There are some new things too and Etsy has been a great source of inspiration for me and given us several stunning creations from incredibly talented artists. I heart Etsy so very much!

A Room Makeover {for the big boys}

The boys received an early Christmas present soon after school got out - these loft beds! I had planned to replace the garage sale bunk beds for awhile and after they were snatched up from Craigslist (amazing how many people contacted me and were willing to put up with those for only $25), we set out to find a replacement. I had originally planned on grabbing something at Ikea but their grandma found these loft beds at Walmart and I thought they were perfect! 

The boys love the space underneath for storing all of their new toys (it's just 3 little steps off the ground).

My mom had these pillowcases monogrammed for them for Christmas. So perfect!

The one thing that daddy actually picked out for the boys for Christmas was something for their new room. He found some cool LED track lighting at Ikea and stood there playing with the remote for some time before he shared his plans with me. You see, the remote changes the colors from red to blue, to green, to yellow. You get the picture. So he installed them on the outside of the bed, facing the wall, and now the boys can fall asleep to colors dancing on the wall as a night light. Needless to say, they're in heaven with their fancy new beds. 

On the other side of the room is Parker's vintage school desk (pictured above) and their cubicle bookcase (pictured here). So squeezing two twin beds into a medium sized room along with some storage, a desk and plenty of toys, is not that difficult at all when the beds are raised and you get to keep all of that floor space. Genius!

A New Nursery

Teeny tiny in his crib

Charlie is loving his room; just loving it! Ha ha. He has a thing for gingham, so his favorite spot is his great big giant crib (normal sized actually). I decorated the nursery while the family was still in the hospital, door firmly closed and no one permitted on the premises (well, except Aunty Cara who was nice enough to help me with little E).

 This was the only little bit of the room that Daena knew about. It's perfect because it comes with an entire alphabet of several letters each and those sweet banners, birds, and stars. Charlie was, for about a week, "Mathias" (hope I spelled that correctly),  so it's a good thing that I had the option to switch names at the last minute.
{Wee Gallery}

Elliot giving the space a test drive. Daena has used the chocolate brown polka dot bedding for all 3 children (so cool) and so I used the set as inspiration when coming up with a plan. But of course, the first item I saw that I just loved was a red gingham sheet at Pottery Barn Kids, and I just had to make it work. So the room's next design idea came from that little checked pattern and was constantly evolving. The space had cream walls and would now have red and chocolate accents. Then I incorporated the blue too (it's actually a light blue), and found the most perfect curtains at World Market which had a paisley-ish print in chocolate, red, and blue! I bought 3 panels for each window, keeping the design in the middle. I had no idea if any of this would work beforehand, so I tried to photograph the prints together to see if they "gelled".

Hobby Lobby had the identical red gingham fabric (holla!) and so it was mine. I made those stretched fabric circles I blogged about here (was the plan all along but I couldn't very well say anything, could I?)  with the gingham, plus the 2 fabrics from those curtain panels, and one other print that matched perfectly. It sort of brought it all together while keeping that polka dotty shape going around the room just a bit. The rug is from World Market and though I adore it, the ultimate would be a large white flokati (really shaggy and soft) rug to cozy things up. They were out of my budget (edit - Shoobie found a very close version for the room at T J Maxx!).

The "C" was purchased at Hobby Lobby and covered with the gingham and a lot of modge podge.  There is also an "M" (see above) which Daena is keeping just for laughs. Seriously, I thought their minds were made up. But thankfully not ... cause I just loooove "Charlie" (Charles).

The glider and matching polka dot duvet from the original set. And an old, old side table with a layer of gingham and a dotty light fixture from World Market.

Original art work by Parker James and his mom (he is SO chuffed) with mattes from Hobby Lobby (Left to right - Bot, Swirly Bot and Loony Bot). Original lamp and toy, with a cardi knit by great grandma and a froggie from my mom. The dresser knobs were replaced with dotted ones from guess where, HL (I pretty much go to 2 places when I need inspiration).

You may remember this door? It's now in C's room and embellished with a very old song that has a special little place in our hearts.  Daena and I sang it to Cara at her baby dedication (when we were 5 and 8 years - too cute) and it was also a part of Adorlee's dedication 2 and a half years ago. It's called "Welcome to the Family".  We think it might be a Psalty song. Did you ever listen to Psalty the singing songbook? Hee hee ... so, so long ago.

One of my favorites, the sock monkey. He fits in so perfectly and looks so etsy-esque and yet, was machine crafted by my friends at Target. Nicely done, you fabulous bunch!

Ta Da!

The End!

Elliot meeting his cuz

Charles is Parker's new favorite person

Parker calls him Charles. Not Charlie. Charles. There. 

Room Makeover #2!

We started off our morning with coffee and donuts (mm mm mm) and found our energy levels soaring as we took to the upstairs of Daena's house (intentional, yes). It was time for bedroom #2, the new shared bedroom, to be remodeled and redazzled in order to accommodate 2 of everything, both boy and girl. What a fun job it is to have the best of both worlds together in all their pink and blue glory. Daena chose grey as her main color and accented with sprays of orange on both sides and a touch of pink with a dab of blue. It's perfect! We considered how to separate the sides, as these two siblings were NOT in favor of sharing a night's sleep, and finally settled on canopies over each bed, to provide a sense of being closed off in their own little space. It also adds a lovely softness. Well, enough talking ... here are some pictures.


The boy's side.
{Canopy from World Market, bedding from Target and Pottery Barn Teen, soft chair from Pottery Barn Kids, art work from Fine Arts Festival at church, other odds and ends from resale stores or long loved/owned items. I have to make a special mention of the horns which were slipped into the room by Dylan's dad as a special addition to his space. Too funny, but luckily they're very chic at the moment, so well done Shoobee!}


Boy's wall space.
{Super cool shelf from Goodwill}


How it meets in the middle.
{Gorgeous antique horse found at a garage sale!}


The girl's side which echos much of the boy's side.
{Quilt and owl pillow from Target, the heart shelves were made by my grand father and used to be in Daena's room when she was little, apron from Anthropologie.}




Girl's wall space.
{Chair from Pottery Barn Kids, sweet little birthday crown from Tamar's shop at Etsy}


The big reveal! This was followed by a party which included a cake with candles (a chocolate and strawberry side) with a few little presents. They celebrated this great milestone with gusto, in the hopes of smoothing the process a bit. It worked magnificently!




A few pieces of furniture were left in the room for storage and there are a few little things we still hope to do (such as matching lamps on the side tables and perhaps a tiny bunting around the canopy's hoop). It was a successful day and such great fun! Congrats Dylan and Adorlee!

Redecorate My House!

My sister Daena is 8 months pregnant with # 3 and as a reward for enduring such discomfort, she will (by baby's arrival) have all of the upstairs bedrooms in her home redecorated, and she doesn't have to lift a finger! My mom got things off to an amazing start over the weekend and began the "redecorate my house" month with the master bedroom. She kept it all a complete surprise until the big reveal. And it looks unbelievable!












The white duvet is from Target, as well as the grey and yellow pillows, the organic brand grey sheets, the curtains, and the wall decal. The bird pillow is from World Market and the slipcover is from Pier 1. The little odds and ends are from Hobby Lobby.

I wish that I had a before picture for you to see, but it was basically complete white with lots of blah. And as many tend to do, it was simply the last room in the house to get some TLC since not many visited it. But now they have a gorgeous place to relax and hang with the fam. My mom is so good with the little details and managed to put together a space that feels very "Anthropolgie", without being too feminine. Any creativity that I have has definitely come from my mom. Long before I enjoyed writing, she was an English teacher. Long before I loved fashion, she was MAKING her own amazing clothes. Long before I was dancing, she was a very talented ballerina. I actually studied with the same ballet instructor, one who was well into her 60's when I shivered under her piercing gaze. Ms. Nell used to tell me that I didn't have my mom's feet (I'm missing the lovely arch) but I think she liked me all the same (though I didn't really realize this until years later when I went back to visit her). Ballet in SA was a tricky business; so different to over here. It demanded some deep heart and soul from us and accepted nothing less. But thank goodness for it! So much of my life has been directly affected by my dancing alone. And thank goodness for a mom with oodles of inspiration!