Tag: Eleanor’s room

Art in Eleanor’s Room, and the New Light

Eleanor’s room was looking a bit bare with no art on the walls, so I figured it was time to remedy that. I chose lightweight banners and stretched canvases for above the bed so there would be no danger of broken glass or heavy objects falling on her, and I laid everything out before putting it up on the wall. I hung the Tammis Keefe cats from a picture rail hook, and everything else from OOK picture hangers and ‘one step hangers’ (both are good for plaster walls).

(She insists on hopping in front of my camera, every chance she gets. Never with a straight face.)

I also hung her new light (the Mobile Chandelier) over the weekend. I assume you guys aren’t looking to me for simple “how to install a light” tutorials, so I’ll spare you that. It’s up! It works! It was not easy to install in a house from the 1800s!

More art over there too, as you can see. That white frame looked stark and plain against the dark wall color, so I added some interest to it with gold adhesive vinyl — the same stuff I’m going to use for adding stars to her ceiling. And on that note, I have no idea where my vinyl cutting machine is. I’m going to a brand event next month though, and without being too presumptuous, there’s a good chance I’ll come home with the latest model. The gold stars may get put off until after that.

Your room’s coming along, kid!

December 12, 2013
Which Chandelier for Eleanor’s Room?

The dark blue walls and ceiling in Eleanor’s room look great, but the room definitely needs more light. The fixture hanging in there now only houses one bulb. She has a bedside lamp, one on her bookshelf, and a rabbit light on her dresser, but she’s a kid. She walks in and flips the light switch — she doesn’t look around and think “ooh, some ambient lighting over in the corner would really add to the space!” So I’ve been looking for a nice chandelier for her with more light output. Ideally, I would have liked it to be either brass or a fun color, and I’ve found plenty of fixtures that I like. But I have expensive taste in lighting, and some of my favorites were thousands of dollars. Thus, two bronze options from West Elm, both bought during their 20% off lighting sale.

When I ordered them, the Mobile Chandelier was on backorder, supposedly until May. I bought the Industrial Chandelier at the same time, figuring that it might look OK and that I wouldn’t have to wait six months for a light. They both shipped out right away though, and I’m not sure which one would be better in E’s room.

They both take on different looks, depending on which bulbs you pair with them (they don’t come with any). I had that frosted white globe in August’s sconce, and I think I like the look of it for E’s fixtures more than I would an Edison bulb, but smaller round bulbs could be cute too. And I would love to add some detail to whichever light I choose by adding brass tape* around each socket, but Kathryn wisely cautioned me to see how hot they get first.

What do you think?

* Or maybe gold adhesive vinyl? It hasn’t arrived yet, but I ordered some for Eleanor’s starry ceiling since a few comments mentioned some potential issues with covering painted stars later.

November 25, 2013
Dark Blue in Eleanor’s Room
Eleanor is thrilled!

The room is far from done, but the dark curtains look just as I imagined they would, softening up the room without drawing too much attention to themselves. A lot of comments were calling for patterned curtains, but there is already pattern on the bed, there will be stars on the ceiling, art on the walls, more toys, and lots of books. Adding pattern to the curtains too might be a bit much.

Say! I changed the orientation of the bed. It’s neither better nor worse. The white bed with a white bedside table, and white mirror are falling a little flat though, so something there needs to change.

I had a pair of white curtains that weren’t being used anywhere, so I hung them on one window to test it out since so many people made that suggestion. I don’t mind them, but I don’t love them either. E prefers dark blue, of course. I think the white ones chop up the room, but what do you think now that you see both options with the painted walls?

I know, I’m really selling the white ones here, with the wrinkles and the pole-pocket gathering vs. the smooth-hanging navy curtains with brass clips.

Brass though! Alison suggested Country Curtains as an alternative to Restoration Hardware for brass curtain rods, so I placed an order. They were a little more expensive than the black ones I’d tried from Ballard, but the finish, larger diameter, and glass finials are worth it. The only problem is that I was clearly not functioning at full capacity; I ordered everything in multiples of two (for two windows), including the curtain clips. Just two, and only for the outermost rod. I have more on the way now.

I still haven’t decided on a ceiling color, but am leaning toward a more subtle bluish-gray than straight aqua. Or just go all-out and paint it the same color as the walls (Sherwin-Williams Loyal Blue)? E wants everything to be dark blue, in case you’re wondering why I’m not deferring to her. Walls, bedding, curtains, ceiling, and even the wood trim. She walked in while I was putting coat #2397 on the walls, and asked why I hadn’t painted the doors yet. So yeah, the room is being decorated with her input, but not to her every spec.

Still to-do:
- paint the ceiling and wall above the picture rail
- stencil the ceiling with a star pattern
- find a better light (maybe this can wait?)
- find bedside lamp/sconce
- trim out and hem the curtains
- mount curtain tie-backs
- paint bedside table?
- reupholster rocking chair cushions
- hang art
October 16, 2013
Eleanor’s Room (Let’s Call This “The Before”)

Brandon and I wanted the kids settled in as soon as possible, so we made their rooms a priority. They both took to the home immediately when we were house hunting, and it figured heavily in their conversations for months, but the transition (and long wait between houses) was hard on them.

This is what E’s room looks like to start. You’ll recognize nearly everything from her old room here. Same bed, with a mishmash of bedding because we haven’t found it all yet. Same 8’x10′ pink rug, which fits perfectly. Same dresser that I painted pink, and her rocking chair is back too. There wasn’t room for her two wooden bookshelves or the play table, but those will be put to good use elsewhere.

I’m glad that she still loves her horse bedding, because it will bridge the pink that’s staying and the blue that’s being added. This is what making the bed looks like according to a four-year-old, FYI. It’s very important to tuck in your doll and baby jaguar.

I brought in the bookshelf that used to be in our bedroom, and I think that will work for her. The shelves will hold more books and toys as we unpack them. We’re using the closet for toy storage too, since all of her clothes fit in the dresser.

Eleanor requested a plant for her room. (I gotcha, kid!) She’s super into plants, seeds, and bugs right now. More fun facts about this girl we’re crazy about: she has learned how to whistle and practices her new skill regularly, and she loves “reading” Blue Hat, Green Hat to August, but he always rushes to the “oops!” part.

Eleanor has also requested blue for her new room. I bought a dark blue bedspread and a teal throw from IKEA for her (both are in the wash right now), and when she saw them on the bed, she was happy. Room = done! To her, at least. I want to do a lot more.

Paint and curtains. Different lighting. More books, more toys, and more art on the walls. It’s all going to happen soon, but at least the room is fairly calm and put-together for now.

September 11, 2013
The Victorian House: The Second Floor Bedrooms

Up the stairs…

This will be our bedroom.

The closet has amazing potential. Also, there is a random sink inside that doesn’t work. Yay!

There is no central air in the house, but there are transom windows above each of the doors off the hallway for air circulation.

Here’s the second bedroom on the second floor. We think this one will be for August.

And here’s the last bedroom on the second floor, most likely Eleanor’s. I did have to reassure her that we could add some blue to the room, because she really liked the stripes that August got.

And the house even comes complete with another porch upstairs, like the one off of my office. It’s small, but charming.

* Edit: In an earlier version of this post, I mentioned the location of the porch in relation to the other rooms. I’ve since come to the conclusion that it would be better omit that information.

August 28, 2013
Eleanor’s New Room Wish List

Blue!

That’s it. Just blue. Dark blue, to be specific. And a new bed because according to Eleanor, her Jenny Lind bed is old. (Kid, I bought that for you a whopping two and a half years ago. It is not old.)

After our little video interview, I asked her to look at my Pinterest board of kids’ bedroom ideas, and to tell me if she liked any of them. Right away, she zeroed in on the one I expected.

Not dark, but a very pretty shade of blue. Below is the other girl’s bedroom in that house. At first I thought it was the same room from a different angle, but no. Variations on that blue are used exclusively throughout the house.

The wallpaper in each room was designed and hand-printed by Marthe Armitage, and the photographs are by Francois Halard for Vogue. And be sure to check out the comments at the end of the article, if you read it. “Delicious!”

After seeing those rooms, not only does she want blue, Eleanor wants wallpaper too. I swear to you — there was no prompting on my part. I was kind of a proud mama! Except… the house we’re buying already has five (maybe six?) rooms with wallpaper. Even if we did add another, because we may, I’m not sure if it would be in one of the kid’s rooms. What Eleanor wants at age 4 is not going to be what she wants a few years from now and paint is so much easier to change. I have considered wallpaper for her room before, but I’ll have to think about it before making a decision one way or the other.

And about that bed. She was not too into the idea in the video, but when I showed Eleanor a picture of her bed, in blue, she liked it. So maybe a little painting is in our future after all.

Glo-bo!

July 22, 2013