I realize all these home decorating posts might be boring for most of you, but for me, it gives me a place to post all the ideas I find throughout the day without having to remember where I found them. And it also gives me a chance to get some feedback from other people should you choose to put in your two cents.
So, I think I'm going to go ahead and go forward with the light Tiffany blue wide stripes for the baby girl's room. I love it and feedback from it has been really positive. I've been thinking about curtains and was wondering if a print on a curtain would be too much with such a graphic wall? This morning, going through Google reader, I came across this picture which surprisingly is pretty close to the color scheme that I am imagining in my head for the room! I'd also add some pops of yellow and pink in there to though. But looking at these curtains, I've been seeing this trend pop up in many places. They are basically just white curtains with ribbons of color on the edges. This might be a nice way to tie in some color without it being too much for the room. And another bonus would that it would be really easy (and cheap) to make! I'd just go and buy some white cutains at Ikea and sew (or use fabric glue) some ribbons onto the edges. Easy, peasy.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Basketweave Tile
I never thought I'd be the kind of person that would be into a "vintage" tile pattern per say. My style leans a little bit towards more of a transitional, modern vibe. So when I saw this bathroom tile and was surprised at how much I really liked it. What do you think? Do you think I'm a basketweave bathroom tile kinda gal?
Picture from Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone.
By the way, her house is gorgeous and her and her husband have redone everything!
Picture from Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone.
By the way, her house is gorgeous and her and her husband have redone everything!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Project: Farmhouse Bed Part II
Sneak peek! Since there has been interest in Anderson's bed, Wilson has agreed to let me post a few pictures of the progress he's made thus far. To estimate how much work has gone into this, I'd say...maybe 5 hours tops. This doesn't include the amount of time spent at Home Depot, debating what kind of wood to get with a 1.5 year old who doesn't want to sit in the car and wants to be chased around the store. And once you catch him, he just giggles and says "Funny!" And will only sit in the cart if he has strawberry panda cookies (which, by the way, are REALLY good).
So first, it looked like this: a pile of wood (that's not all of it. Some are to the side since they've already been cut and I got into the picture taking a little late)
Then, following the cut list that Knock Off Wood provides, he cut all/most of the wood according to the specified dimensions using a T to make sure the cuts were straight. Making straight cuts is really important. Good thing we got those sawhorses the day after Thanksgiving for $10! And to think that I actually rolled my eyes when Wilson said he NEEDED sawhorses.
Next, to give the wood a soft feel, we decided it best to sand the furniture at two different points. (Yes we as I pop in on the project very often and want to be consulted at every point) Once when the wood was still in pieces as that would be the easiest way to sand. We used 120 ct sandpaper and actually purchased a sander to do the job. We got the cheapest orbital sander that Lowes offers. Hopefully it won't be a one time use. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be used for the upcoming entertainment center that will be built if this bed turns out as expected. Here's Wilson with the first round of sanding with the 120 ct sandpaper. All those dots you see in the picture are saw dust. I gave Wilson a mask, but he didn't use it :(
Done! I think he only did the pieces for the headboard and the footboard since those were to be built first. I don't think he did any of the railings yet. Anyway, on to building of the headboard and footboard! In these pics, Wilson is using a finisher to put the nails slightly deeper into the wood and he'll later cover them with wood putty and sand it so you don't see any nails.
The headboard and footboard are almost complete. This is what they look like now:
Headboard:
Footboard:
Wilson just needs to attach the other posts to each of them and then they are done! I think it's looking pretty good so far! Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to work on it since due to the fact that he is now sick. And if you look at the pictures, you'll see that he is only wearing shorts and a t-shirt with flip-flops while working in the garage with the doors open. Hmmm.....maybe not the best choice of clothes in cold weather. Cold meaning mid-50s and you're already starting to feel under the weather.
He just informed me that he's hoping to finish up this bed this weekend! Which means that I get to go pick out some paint for the bed! He also said that this time, he'll wear sweatpants and maybe, just maybe, a long sleeved shirt.
(He just popped in to see what I was doing and wanted to note that he is wearing TWO t-shirts while building the bed for extra warmth. yeah.)
So first, it looked like this: a pile of wood (that's not all of it. Some are to the side since they've already been cut and I got into the picture taking a little late)
Then, following the cut list that Knock Off Wood provides, he cut all/most of the wood according to the specified dimensions using a T to make sure the cuts were straight. Making straight cuts is really important. Good thing we got those sawhorses the day after Thanksgiving for $10! And to think that I actually rolled my eyes when Wilson said he NEEDED sawhorses.
Next, to give the wood a soft feel, we decided it best to sand the furniture at two different points. (Yes we as I pop in on the project very often and want to be consulted at every point) Once when the wood was still in pieces as that would be the easiest way to sand. We used 120 ct sandpaper and actually purchased a sander to do the job. We got the cheapest orbital sander that Lowes offers. Hopefully it won't be a one time use. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be used for the upcoming entertainment center that will be built if this bed turns out as expected. Here's Wilson with the first round of sanding with the 120 ct sandpaper. All those dots you see in the picture are saw dust. I gave Wilson a mask, but he didn't use it :(
Done! I think he only did the pieces for the headboard and the footboard since those were to be built first. I don't think he did any of the railings yet. Anyway, on to building of the headboard and footboard! In these pics, Wilson is using a finisher to put the nails slightly deeper into the wood and he'll later cover them with wood putty and sand it so you don't see any nails.
The headboard and footboard are almost complete. This is what they look like now:
Headboard:
Footboard:
Wilson just needs to attach the other posts to each of them and then they are done! I think it's looking pretty good so far! Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to work on it since due to the fact that he is now sick. And if you look at the pictures, you'll see that he is only wearing shorts and a t-shirt with flip-flops while working in the garage with the doors open. Hmmm.....maybe not the best choice of clothes in cold weather. Cold meaning mid-50s and you're already starting to feel under the weather.
He just informed me that he's hoping to finish up this bed this weekend! Which means that I get to go pick out some paint for the bed! He also said that this time, he'll wear sweatpants and maybe, just maybe, a long sleeved shirt.
(He just popped in to see what I was doing and wanted to note that he is wearing TWO t-shirts while building the bed for extra warmth. yeah.)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Project: Farmhouse Bed Part I
Just so you know, I'm not the only one in this house working on getting the kids' rooms ready. Wilson is also hard at work. Literally. Have you all heard of the Knock Off Wood? If not, you need to go. She provides plans on how to build knock off versions of furniture, mostly from Pottery Barn and a fraction of the cost! So when I saw plans for this twin sized farmhouse bed, I brought it to Wilson, hoping and praying he'd want to take on this project. After all, he's the one who would have to build it. Here is what it looks like (in queen size form):
And we're planning on painting it a navy blue to look like this Pottery Barn Kids Bed which is currently on sale for $599!
I promised Wilson that I wouldn't post any pictures of the process until it was all finished AND it looked good. He's currently halfway done with the headboard and footboard and we're keeping track of how much money we're spending on materials to compare it to the Pottery Barn Bed. So far, it's a lot cheaper :)
I've been sneaking into the garage at various intervals of the building process, taking pics to document everything. I cannot wait to see how this turns out. And according to Wilson, the plans are very easy to follow. If this turns out, there are going to be a lot more projects for him in the future!
And we're planning on painting it a navy blue to look like this Pottery Barn Kids Bed which is currently on sale for $599!
I promised Wilson that I wouldn't post any pictures of the process until it was all finished AND it looked good. He's currently halfway done with the headboard and footboard and we're keeping track of how much money we're spending on materials to compare it to the Pottery Barn Bed. So far, it's a lot cheaper :)I've been sneaking into the garage at various intervals of the building process, taking pics to document everything. I cannot wait to see how this turns out. And according to Wilson, the plans are very easy to follow. If this turns out, there are going to be a lot more projects for him in the future!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Rethinking the Green
So, I remember saying that the baby girl's room was going to be green to match the currently existing bumper. But then I saw this from Ohdeedoh and I am in love:
If you recall, we did tone on tone stripes for our guest bathroom and loved the way it turned out. So it doesn't surprise me that I love this as well. I also love the pops of yellow and think it the green (pear colored) bumper we currently have would look really nice against this light Tiffany blue striped wall. And, the pop of yellow we already have! Our glider is a nice sunny yellow which you can see in this picture
I was even planning on doing those paper dahlias as a mobile, just like they have in the picture. I thought about doing it in pink and yellow. I don't know, I'm really leaning towards this room. It just speaks to me. I love the color and feel like I have been drawn to the turquoise/pear green palette as I've been looking for bedding for both kids and have felt that it is really "fresh" feeling. I opened up my Google reader this morning and saw this which I think would be such a nice accessory to the room! So cute and would be so easy to do!
Of course this would mean that I would have to look for all new fabrics for the crib skirt and curtains (maybe I could go with the white curtains with pink and yellow swirls from Ikea) but since I haven't done anything yet or made any real decisions, that's okay. And I've got time. Thoughts?
I also just wanted to say thank you for all the people that have left comments! It's really nice to know that people are reading along.
Bath Time Fun
Even though Anderson doesn't have a whole lot of hair, he has some. And one day we decided it would be fun to spike it up into a pseudo-mohawk. Then we made funny faces. Then we grabbed the camera. Isn't this boy just darling. I love his little face.
Anderson and I made a few Valentine's Day cards this year. It consisted of some construction paper folded in half, Anderson drawing on the paper and helping me glue hearts onto the front. Inside, it said Happy Valentine's Day! and this picture of him giving you a kiss.
Time to scrub up! Wash-a wash-a wash-a (as I say each time we wash hands or soap up)!
And just to show he's not all smiles and giggles throughout the day, he definitely has his moments too.
The Playground
One of the things we've been doing this year as taking Anderson to the playground. Boy, does this kid love it. I think it took him a little bit to warm up to things (as is usually the case) but he was ready to take on the slide all by himself, going backwards down it to be safer. Probably a product of us trying to teach him to go down the stairs by crawling down instead of trying to walk down it. I think he's big enough to go down while in a sitting position now but he seems to be more comfortable going down this way. I can get him to go down the normal way but have to remind him that he can just sit and go down. (These photos could be edited/cropped a little better but I just wanted to get these up while I had time)
We're also trying to teach him to climb up the stairs himself by holding on to the railing.
"Come on! You can do it!"
One of my favorite pics from this series. It shows that he's still little and small but is ready for big kid things. Plus I love the bright orange in these pictures.
Oh, and this kid LOVES the swings. LOVES the swings.
So that's one of our days at the park. We do try to take him often because he seems to love it so much but it's hard since some days it is cold and rainy. But when the weather's nice, we do try to make a trip out there. It's fun to see the little kid run around and be, well, a little kid.
We're also trying to teach him to climb up the stairs himself by holding on to the railing.
"Come on! You can do it!"
One of my favorite pics from this series. It shows that he's still little and small but is ready for big kid things. Plus I love the bright orange in these pictures.
He is cautious at some things though. Especially the bridge. He's always VERY careful.
Oh, and this kid LOVES the swings. LOVES the swings.
So that's one of our days at the park. We do try to take him often because he seems to love it so much but it's hard since some days it is cold and rainy. But when the weather's nice, we do try to make a trip out there. It's fun to see the little kid run around and be, well, a little kid.Goofing Off
Of course the best times as a parent is when it is just mommy, daddy and baby goofing off, laughing and having fun. This is when all parties are just cracking up at everybody else. Rarely do we ever have the state of mind to break out the camera to capture this precious moment but this time we did. And I love the face of this little guy as you can tell he is just having such a great time with mommy and daddy, cracking himself up and thinking his parents are complete goof balls. In this instance, we were sitting on the couch, with Anderson sitting on my lap having a giggle fest. And please excuse the dirty shirt the little man is sporting. I believe this was right after dinner and he is a toddler after all.
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Face
Now I'm waiting for Turbo tax to download updates! Who knew it would take this long? I finally downloaded about two months worth of pictures from our cameras and came across some great pics I completely forgot about. Early December, Anderson started making this face. We call it "The Face." It came about one night while I was trying to brush his teeth (emphasize the word "trying"). When I stuck the toothbrush in his mouth he suddenly jerked his head back and gave me a "Whatcha talking 'bout Willis?" face. And I died laughing. Too funny. Now, the little entertainer he is, he's doing the face every time he thinks he can get a laugh.
Here's "The Face". (Sorry it's a little blurry)
Then he likes to see if anyone is looking at him - he has to be the center of attention.
"Haha! Funny!" As Anderson would say.
And just in case anyone missed it the first time....
Making It Work II
While I'm sitting here waiting for Turbo Tax to install, I thought I'd come back and update on the situation. First of all, thank you to all of those who responded and put in their opinion on the fabric choices. It really does help.
But, as far as curtains go, I think I may have found an easy way out. In perusing the Ikea website, I found two options that weren't so bad, and they are a lot cheaper than what I could make it for. Sure, I'd have to line them myself, but it's still cheaper than the $7-13 per yard fabric I was looking at! (And needing about 7-8 yards! Yikes!)
Here are the two that I like:
#1:
#2:
What do you think? No, they are not perfect, but for $20 (or $30) I won't feel horrible changing them in a couple of years when she moves to a big girl bed and gets all new bedding (which is what Anderson is currently going through. Whole other story!). Getting fabric to line these curtains won't be too much either. Maybe another $10-15??I'm still going to need to make a new crib skirt and the top contenders are still down below. I just have to find time to actually GO to the Ikea to look at these in person and pick which one I like the best. Then I'll see what fabric for the crib skirt will look better. To be honest, it's kind of a relief that I won't be making curtains. Not that it's hard or terribly time consuming, but it's still one more thing on my to-do list. I'd have to line these to make sure the room is dark enough for the little girl, but that'll be easy.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Holidays
Oh, the holidays. Seemed like it came and went and it was all a blur. I actually don't remember too much about it except that it was busy and stressful. So busy that we didn't even get a chance to send out holiday cards this year. I thought "oh well. Maybe I'll just send a holiday e-mail." Didn't get to that either.
Thanksgiving was spent with our brother-in-law's parents. I made my family's famous ham (which we make every year), a few side dishes and two desserts. Yum. I love Thanksgiving. I love the food of Thanksgiving. That's real reason I love it. Plus, it's a tradition.
The day after Thanksgiving we didn't wake up early. We just woke up at the usual time and decided to head out to see what deals we could get. To our surprise, we ended up getting ALL the deals we were looking for! We weren't looking for anything crazy like a 50" TV for $200 or anything. It was more like a play shopping cart and a Radio Flyer tricycle for Anderson, some sawhorses, a tool box, a wet-vac and other goodies for Wilson. Wilson made out like a bandit that day and basically got everything I had thought of for Christmas. I got nada. Nothing. But that's okay. I didn't really need/want anything.
For Christmas, we stayed here in Sacramento and celebrated with family at our house. Our tree was filled with presents! All for Anderson of course. I think there were a few here and there for us and our other family members but it was Anderson who made out like a bandit this time. He got all sorts of things and he loved. Here are some pics:
We did go to a Christmas service that was geared for kids of the elementary school age. Not too much of a message or sermon but there was lots of singing and dancing and a short play to show the Christmas story. Anderson LOVED it! He was thoroughly entertained for one whole hour. Not a small feat for such a young boy. I'm hoping they will have a similar show next year. Maybe even one for Easter.
For New Year's, we headed down to San Luis Obispo to spend some time with friends. It was actually a gorgeous few days down there. Sunny and warm! So warm, that Anderson took a little nap in his stroller (which he never does these days)
But promptly woke up so he could have lunch with mama.
Thanksgiving was spent with our brother-in-law's parents. I made my family's famous ham (which we make every year), a few side dishes and two desserts. Yum. I love Thanksgiving. I love the food of Thanksgiving. That's real reason I love it. Plus, it's a tradition.
The day after Thanksgiving we didn't wake up early. We just woke up at the usual time and decided to head out to see what deals we could get. To our surprise, we ended up getting ALL the deals we were looking for! We weren't looking for anything crazy like a 50" TV for $200 or anything. It was more like a play shopping cart and a Radio Flyer tricycle for Anderson, some sawhorses, a tool box, a wet-vac and other goodies for Wilson. Wilson made out like a bandit that day and basically got everything I had thought of for Christmas. I got nada. Nothing. But that's okay. I didn't really need/want anything.
For Christmas, we stayed here in Sacramento and celebrated with family at our house. Our tree was filled with presents! All for Anderson of course. I think there were a few here and there for us and our other family members but it was Anderson who made out like a bandit this time. He got all sorts of things and he loved. Here are some pics:
We did go to a Christmas service that was geared for kids of the elementary school age. Not too much of a message or sermon but there was lots of singing and dancing and a short play to show the Christmas story. Anderson LOVED it! He was thoroughly entertained for one whole hour. Not a small feat for such a young boy. I'm hoping they will have a similar show next year. Maybe even one for Easter.For New Year's, we headed down to San Luis Obispo to spend some time with friends. It was actually a gorgeous few days down there. Sunny and warm! So warm, that Anderson took a little nap in his stroller (which he never does these days)
But promptly woke up so he could have lunch with mama.
Make It Work
So now that I have confirmation of 3 people reading the blog (yay!), I'm going to put you to work. We're expecting a little girl as you all know. Although Anderson's room is pretty neutral, we'd like to priss it up a bit and make it a little more girly. We'll move Anderson out to his own big boy room and move the little one in. Currently, the room is painted green, almost like a pear green. We intend to keep it that way because it's just less work for us and....we're going to make it work. So what goes with green? PINK! I spent a lot of time and money on the bumper and it's going to stay. I was thinking that I'd just make her a new crib skirt and new curtains to bring in some pink (or other colors) to make it more girly.
The bumper looks like this (with the wall color very similar):
We also have a yellow glider/recliner with dark colored crib and dresser in the room.
So now I just need to find fabric from a crib skirt and curtains. I'd like the curtains to have some green in it to help pull everything together. I think it would be weird to have a mostly pink fabric on a green wall. In my head it would look weird. I'd need some touches of green in it to pull the room together. The crib skirt could be pretty basic to me since it probably won't be used for very long. Once we lower the crib it isn't even seen. I would like the curtain fabric to last a long time since I have to spend more money on it (only because it's more fabric) and I don't want to have to spend time and money making new curtains 2 years from now. I guess I mean I'd like it to be able to grow with her so that even though I change her bedding once she moves to a real bed, I won't hae to change her curtains (but I guess it would be okay to do so. It would be nice to not have to.) So...what are your choices?? Some are in my price range, some aren't. I'm mainly going for a "look" or direction. I could always look around to find something similar that IS within my price range or try to find it on a different site/discount site. So, just give your opinion on the look.
(I think it's a cute fabric, but not sure if it's really curtain material. Plus, since the bumper has animals on it, not sure how cherries would fit in)
It's actually nice for me to see it all like this since all I have are links in one of my emails. So, what do you think? All comments and suggestions are encouraged and welcome! And get your friends to voice their opinion too.
The bumper looks like this (with the wall color very similar):
We also have a yellow glider/recliner with dark colored crib and dresser in the room.
So now I just need to find fabric from a crib skirt and curtains. I'd like the curtains to have some green in it to help pull everything together. I think it would be weird to have a mostly pink fabric on a green wall. In my head it would look weird. I'd need some touches of green in it to pull the room together. The crib skirt could be pretty basic to me since it probably won't be used for very long. Once we lower the crib it isn't even seen. I would like the curtain fabric to last a long time since I have to spend more money on it (only because it's more fabric) and I don't want to have to spend time and money making new curtains 2 years from now. I guess I mean I'd like it to be able to grow with her so that even though I change her bedding once she moves to a real bed, I won't hae to change her curtains (but I guess it would be okay to do so. It would be nice to not have to.) So...what are your choices?? Some are in my price range, some aren't. I'm mainly going for a "look" or direction. I could always look around to find something similar that IS within my price range or try to find it on a different site/discount site. So, just give your opinion on the look.
(May be too busy)
(Probably for a crib skirt)
(I actually wouldn't mind this for either curtains or a crib skirt)
(Not sure if I like the unevenness of the dots)
(Hmmm..I think this pink is too bright. But I do like the pattern)
The more I look at this, the more I really like it. Plus, it could help tie in the small amount of blue that is on the border of the crib bumper.
(I think it's a cute fabric, but not sure if it's really curtain material. Plus, since the bumper has animals on it, not sure how cherries would fit in)
(Again, more for a crib skirt that curtains. I don't want stripes for curtains)
(I like the pattern and the pink and green but the background looks a little yellow to me. Not sure if I like that)
It's actually nice for me to see it all like this since all I have are links in one of my emails. So, what do you think? All comments and suggestions are encouraged and welcome! And get your friends to voice their opinion too.
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