picture wall and sitting area before and after

below is what this wall and the sitting area looked like when we moved in.

both pictures during carpet and parka floor tear out and laminate floor installation. 

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living room before and after

during the laminate floor installation. it was a little chaotic.

here's our living room after new floors, wall color, pillows, furniture and pictures on the wall!

halloween pillow covers

you'll need:

inexpensive white fabric of any kind

black embroidery floss

embroidery hoop and needle

paper, tape and pencil to draw and transfer spider design

----- happy halloween -----

anderson's room

when i found out i was having another boy i was bummed for a very short second then thrilled the next. i love being william's mom so i knew having another boy would only bring more joy and adventure.

later i thought to myself, 'i've used up all of my boy room ideas, how am i going to decorate another one?'... then i found some vintage suitcases and the wheels started turning. i couldn't wait to get to work.

andy's room is small (90 sq ft) so i had very specific size pieces that i needed. the crib was william's and the only piece i started with, everything else was thrifted or handmade.

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here was my inspiration for his room

i fell in love with this gold/mustard bed skirt

and the grouped picture frames and vintage feel

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here is the room before, just shortly after we moved in

and here it is after

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the room was green when we moved in and i painted it three different colors before deciding to just make it white. i painted the fake wood trim around the window and closet white like i did in william's room, which made a big difference. i bought the suitcases at an annual antique show near by for $27. i did nothing to them, just stacked em and now use them for storage.

i bought the black lamp from ikea and the owl print off etsy. the black picture frame i found at an antique store for $8 and had a piece of glass cut for $6. the linen mat board i cut to fit the print myself using a borrowed mat cutting tool.

the most expensive item i bought was the dresser at $70 (i wouldn't have paid it except it was the exact width and height i needed - plus it had legs(!), my one requirement when buying bigger pieces of furniture). the gold mirror ($25) and picture frames ($6 each) above the dresser are from a local consignment shop.

after i saw the gold rouched bed skirt (can't remember where), i knew i had to make it a part of the room. so i made my own. i bought nine yards of mustard colored, linen-like material from joann's using a 40% off coupon, hemmed the bottom and 'ruffled' the top. it was easy and i love how it looks. the extra storage was a necessity.

the united states map is from an estate sale. my friend gave it to me with william's flat globe map hanging above his bed. i mounted it on a thick foam core and used old rope to hang it. the pillows in the crib i made out of fabric i found at yard sales and leftover fabric from his crib skirt.

the last two things in the room are two of my favorite; the curtains and mobile. i made the curtains from fabric i found on etsy. 5.5 yards for $40. i hemmed all four sides and hung them on an ikea curtain rod. their bold, vintage look add so much to the room. the mobile has ten glass slides ($10) that are from the university of idaho, where my husband goes to school. i clipped them into a wire mobile i used in william's nursery. i liked the look of the stickers and writing on some of the slides so i didn't do anything to them. most of the slides are of paris and architecture.

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i really enjoy going into anderson's room, with or without him, to sit in his rocking chair and read. the calm, bright ambiance has made it one of my favorite rooms in our home.

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thank you kate for photographing his nursery

new desk

back in march, i was looking for inspiration for our workspace and i posted the picture below. i love that is doesn't appear to be an obvious desk when closed. a few frames and decor pieces on top helps it blend nicely into the rest of the house.

here's the space i planned to put the desk when we moved in, its just across from the living room.

the wall was tricky because of all the things it had going on. the air intake filter top left, door bell to the right of that, the thermostat was directly in the middle of the wall with the light switch a little below to the right. then there's the awkward wood built in that i needed to keep for storage but hide because it wasn't working for me.

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below is the cupboard my friend michelle and i turned into my custom secretary desk

we sanded it all over, wood puttied everywhere, sanded a ton more, put on four legs, four wheels and cut the top edge off all around it then primed and painted.

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here's the after -- i love it!

(there's no picture of the inside because it's not yet finished)

we have our laptop, charger and other electronics in it now so it's usable, just not complete.

i bought this old metal bertoia chair at farm chicks for $20 last june

above you can see the door we built, painted and hung to cover the built in and you'll notice the thermostat moved to just above the light switch.

(we hired a handyman to go into the crawl space, rewire and move the thermostat over the needed 15 inches. it took him about 2 hours)

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featured

earlier this week i sent in the pictures katelyn took of williams room to spearmint baby, a blog i follow dedicated to nurseries and kids rooms. they liked his room and featured it on their site this morning. if you've never seen their blog before, you should go check out the dozens of nurseries and kids rooms that have been submitted. i like looking through for inspiration.

williams room

children's bedrooms are one of my favorite rooms in a home. i love planning out the space, finding each piece and making everything come together.

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here's williams room just after we moved in in april.

the room walls were a smurf like blue with fake, wood trim around the windows and doors that made the room look dark.

here is the during process

i painted the walls a soft blue from sherwin williams called glimmer (SW 6474) and did a 3-step process on all the trim to make it white. first coat is zessners oil based paint so it would adhere, then a coat of regular primer, last coat was wall and trim paint. the results are just what i wanted.

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now that william is two-and-a-half we decided to make the transition to a big boy room. his room is a little small so i went with ikea's trofast extendable bed and mattress, and i love it.

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the chalk board i bought at goodwill for $4.99 and painted the trim brown

small school house chairs $30 for both

i bought the dresser for $30 at an antique shop in the area

globes were about $4o for all four - the fourth globe is a big one that you can't see in the pictures, it's on the shelf in the closet next to the books

world map over his bed was a gift from my friend michelle, she found it at an estate sale

i made the curtains with 6 yards of britton hus fabric from ikea

williams silhouette i made

pictures/pieces on wall are from different vendors at farm chicks

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thanks kate for photographing his room