Tag: Bedroom

August’s Room, After Stripping the Wallpaper
Last time I mentioned August’s room, we were starting to strip the wallpaper. That was right before a crew came out to photograph the house, so we wanted to take the peeling wallpaper off and throw a coat of paint on the walls as quickly as possible! I hate rushing to make decisions, and the color I chose is a good example of why. Blech.

You’ve seen a couple of glimpses here and there, and today I have more to share.

The old wallpaper was cute, but August ensured its exit status by peeling a huge portion of it off. So the room is looking better now than it was, but it’s not looking great yet. More to do!

The rug is not staying. It looked good in the bedroom at our old house, but it doesn’t work with the wood here and I think it’s time to let it go. I mentioned before that I’m not in love with the green, and that’s still true. Once I bring in a new rug for the room, I’ll reevaluate the wall color and decide if it needs to be changed.

The toys are a mess! I picked up whatever and put it wherever so I could vacuum, and everything kind of ended up on the available horizontal surfaces. They could (and should) look a lot neater.

To do:
- paint the bed frame
- upholster the headboard
- no more bed rail
- new rug
- rearrange the furniture
- repaint (maybe)
- add shelves above the radiator
- more art
- organize (and pare down) the toys
- replace the light with a ceiling fan
That green looks even worse in these photos than it does in real life. Oof. I’m excited about pulling his room together though! I’m rolling up that gray rug today and getting it out of there.
July 8, 2015
Wink!

Some people buy one set of bedding and only replace it when it starts to fall apart. Strip the sheets, throw ’em in the wash, put ’em back on. I’ve never been a ‘one set of sheets’ kind of gal.

It’s not even that I have a million sets (I have three), it’s just that I like to have some options. I’m not going to repaint every season, and as much as *ahem* I like a good rug, I don’t change those out as frequently as my recent shenanigans would suggest. Bedding though? Instant mini-makeover!

I spotted a pair of the best pillows ever in an Instagram shot from Wit & Delight a few weeks ago, and I began searching for them. Five variations of “wink/winking pillow” down the search engine internet rabbit hole, and a pair of my own were on their way. About a week later, I was running errands with Eleanor when I spotted a cute set of pink and coral sheets that of course had to come home with us.

I made up the bed, fulling intending to photograph it for the blog the next day, but the wee ones were not cooperating. First, just a few hours after putting the new sheets on, Calvin uncharacteristically threw up all over them. Strip the sheets, throw ’em in the wash, put ’em back on. The next day was rainy, and the light wasn’t just right. The day after that, two little monkeys, jumping on the bed. Today, rumpled sheets that can wait because look at that smile.

I feel like I may have had this problem before. Same quilt and everything.

May 12, 2015
At a Snail’s Pace

This post is sponsored by Target.
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Our bedroom has been a work in progress for a long time now. In the beginning of last year, I wrote about how I was hoping to make the bed more often (because I’m terrible about getting in the habit), and I talked a bit about the search for curtains and art. Progress has been slow since then, but even though I look around and see all of the projects I want to tackle, the room is actually looking pretty good.

I picked up this fringed wall art to go above the antique dresser. I’d hung those two small paintings with a third initially, but the overall effect was that they looked bitsy. They needed one larger piece to anchor the grouping, and this was an inexpensive way to get in on the woven wall hangings trend. The metallic strands that are woven in are particularly nice, and there’s a larger version available too.

The little bird is an encaustic painting by Amy Ruppel, and the other was a commission by Paul Ferney (from this photo!). I’d still like to add more art to the bedroom, especially over the bed, but obviously I’m not in a rush. I like the vintage “dying flowers” (as Brandon coined) painting hung asymmetrically over the bed.

I’m trying to pull off the ‘I made the bed but it’s disheveled on purpose’ look that all the cool kids are doing these days. Successful? Not sure, but I do like the mix of color, pattern, and texture in the bedding. I had the throw pillows on hand and they’re no longer available, but the quilt and patterned sheets are. They pair nicely with a linen duvet (similar) and chunky knit throw blanket.

Curtains would soften the windows and cut down on the abundant wood tones in the room. I get overwhelmed with possibilities sometimes; plain white, a small scale pattern, subtle stripes, or something darker would all look good. I ought to just pick a direction and go with it. Maybe by this time next year, eh? That seems to be my pace in here!

This post is sponsored by Target. Shop Home Décor for modern luxury made easy.

January 6, 2015
The Nursery, After Construction

Who’s ready for some pretty pictures? (Sorry to disappoint. It’s the nursery.)

The room is about 12’x12′ though the built-in cabinetry takes up 2′ of floor space along the window wall, and the doorway comes into the room 2′ as well. She doesn’t look like much yet, but see that radiator by the door? Here it is from another angle, not too long ago.

Walls and a door are a big improvement.

The nursery will not be ready for the baby’s arrival — obviously. I would love to have it at least cleared out, cleaned up, and with primed (if not painted!) walls, but we’re 10 days from the due date. I don’t know if it’s going to happen. The important thing though is that there IS a nursery. It exists! There may still be a kitchen sink in the room, but at least it’s no longer hooked up!

I’m due on the 26th, but I’m willing the baby to be born on the 23rd (it’s totally going to work, you guys). My birthday is on the 22nd, but my grandma’s is the 23rd and it would be very sweet if they could share the date. Brandon’s going to be working on the room, getting it presentable and trying to throw a coat of primer up, so we’ll see if the baby cooperates with my proposed timeline.

We’re using the brown glider and ottoman that we already have (not so stylish, but very comfortable), and our black jenny lind crib. You can see them in the old house, in both Eleanor’s and August’s nurseries. We don’t need a dresser or bookcase since we have a wall of built-in storage, so the room should come together pretty quickly and easily. Paint, a rug, fabric, art… I’m looking forward to the fun part of working on the nursery now!

September 16, 2014
Keeping Snacks at Hand

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This is my view when I wake up every morning. My ‘bubble’ water bottle (twee heart with a secret snarky message, ha!), prenatal vitamins (because I’ll forget if they aren’t right there), a constantly changing stack of things to read, an alarm clock, and a snack.

I’ve been keeping a snack by my bedside because while most of the queasiness of early pregnancy has passed by now, I feel better if I keep a little something in my stomach. For a while it was the Dark Cocoa Almonds from NatureBox, but lately I’ve been preferring their Blueberry Almond Bites. Of course the kids don’t understand why I get to break the ‘no food upstairs’ rule; they want to keep their favorites in their rooms, too.

And we do all have our favorites! NatureBox is a subscription service with free shipping that delivers healthy snacks monthly. We switch up our choices sometimes, but Eleanor also likes the Blueberry Almond Bites, Brandon is partial to the Santa Fe Corn Sticks, and August is happy to have some Cherry Berry Bonanza.

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May 28, 2014
Progress?

I’d ordered curtain rods for the bedroom and its adjacent room a while back, and I finally got those up a few days ago. Brandon and the kids were having problems with glare on the TV at certain times, so we needed to be able to block some light during the day. I don’t have curtains for the room yet though (because its future is uncertain while we plan the nursery’s location), so I hung a couple of mismatched, too-short curtains.

Were you wondering if this room could look any worse? Ta da! I did it!

The rods look stupid-high in the picture (I’m aware), but they do look all right in context. Or at least I think they will, with matching curtains in the right length, and some paint on the walls. I’m considering painting out that picture rail too, though I haven’t decided yet. It’s in a weird place, it doesn’t align with the others, and it isn’t original. And something is wrong with either those rods or the finials. They’re from the same line but the screw posts are not long enough for the threads to catch. I had the same problem with one of the finials in Eleanor’s room, but I thought it was a fluke (because 3 out of 4 were fine).

Anyway! The reason I haven’t committed to curtains yet is that if we are keeping that room open to the master bedroom, the curtains should match or compliment each other between the two spaces. A solid color in a slubby, textured fabric could be nice, but then I do love the opportunity to use a good pattern. Here are a few options that would work with the rug and bedding we already have.

top row: 1 • 2 • 3 // center: lamp • bed • bedding • rug // bottom row: 1 • 2 • 3

I may do a pattern in the adjoining room and a solid in the bedroom to keep things from looking too busy, or just go all out with print. What do you think?

April 7, 2014