boy's room :: bedding

I have been looking around {the internet} for bedding inspiration for 7's room. Since his walls are so busy and bright, his bedding really needs to be a calm, muted *pattern*.

After thoroughly searching the regulars like Pottery Barn Kids, Crate & Barrel, Land of Nod --and many more-- I came to the conclusion that I should make my own.

I searched Spoonflower for fabric samples, and there are a lot of options.

Jailhouse Rock

Faux Bois

Pear Harvest

Unfortunately, after a few quick calculations, I realized that I would need about 11 yards of fabric to make a twin-sized comforter cover.

11 yards of fabric = approx. $200!!!

So I went back to the internet, and found myself at West Elm. I found a few options, but I think this one is my favorite.

West Elm

This is another photo, but it's not the color we would get.


The platinum color (top picture) will go nicely in 7's room. Also it's machine washable which is very important in a boy's room. Do you know how filthy little boys can be?!

I'm not worried that it's too bland because I'm sure there will be a lot of other colors on 7's bed: stuffed animals, his favorite ugly doll, an accent pillow...

John just has to build the loft bed now...

mood board :: a little boy's room

My first attempt at creating a mood board, via Polyvore.

The funny irritating thing about Polyvore is that you are limited in which images you can use. Therefore, I had to fudge the orange striped walls and the bunk beds.

Other things envisioned for 7's room:

• grey-ish bedding
• insect posters
• mini vintage globes
• a large chalkboard or magnetic board
• legos strewn about the room!!
• a big graphic G
• a solar system mobile -- 7 and I have plans to make one

p.s. 7 has picked all of the above for his room. And this mom approves.

the big reveal :: striped walls

I can't believe I finally get to post pictures of the finished product.





Obviously, this was the wall that took the longest to finish.



I know. It's a *little* busy. And bright. Can you see why I was second-guessing myself when I was midway through the project?!

Keep in mind that the painted wall is where 7's loft bed will go. Therefore, more than half of the wall will be {mostly} covered.



Excuse my crude photoshop skills, but you get the picture.

I admit that I feel better knowing that a lot of the orange will be covered up by a giant loft bed. Regardless, 7 loves it. And that's what counts.

Inspiration for the striped loft wall came from here.



image via Ohdeedoh

* * *

Here's your chance to learn from my mistakes. Read this post to see what my #1 tip is for painting stripes!!

This post has been shared with the March Blog Party at It's Great to be Home.

fingers crossed

Have you ever been in the middle of a project, and you begin to doubt the outcome? You begin to doubt the vision you had in the first place?

I'm in that very spot right now.

I don't want to show photos of the entire poject until it's done, but that above, is a sneak peek.

I've been painting and painting and painting all weekend, and it's still not done. It will be worth it if it turns out nicely.

Keep your fingers crossed.

boy's room :: painted walls

Will I lose your respect if I admit that as I painted and cut in the last few bits of 7's room, I had Dora the Explorer's theme song running through my head?

"I did it, I did it,... da da da do do da do do doo..."



Working a few hours on Saturday, a few more on Sunday, and a few more on Monday, I completely painted 7's room. We choose a nice, neutral greige for the background color. (greige = grey + beige)

The actual color choice is Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter.

From the masses of orange color swatches, 7 settled on two: Volcanic Blast and Dragon Fire, both by Behr.



Quote from 7:

"They're both cool colors and they both have cool names."

In preparation for painting the stripes, I needed a temporary visual so that I could play with the height and width of the stripes. I went to Michael's and bought two shades of orange paper similar (but not exactly the same) as 7's color choices.

I decided on a 5" width for the center stripe and a 3" width for the outer stripes. After cutting them to size, I taped them to the wall to get a feel for where I wanted them. My first attempt was too high. But since they were just taped in place, it was easy to relocate the stripes to a lower position.



Voila!



It looks good, right?

The stripes --hereafter known as The Speed Stripe-- will go on these two walls.



I have something else planned for the loft bed wall.

Tomorrow, while both kids are in school, I'll use John's laser level to tape off and prep for painting the stripes. However, I won't paint them because 7 is going to be involved in that process. (You know. Ownership and all that.)

to do list

Guess what color 7 wants his room to be.


Weekend* To Do List

• finish removing tacking strips from 7's room
• remove closet pieces from 7's closet (to paint)
• choose (background) neutral color for 7's room
• begin to cut in corners, etc.
• jackhammer concrete in garage corner in prep for new plumbing (John)
• field trip to IKEA in Santa Barbara, to check out kitchen cabinet possibilities
oops--no ikea in santa barbara

*to be done this weekend and into the week

his & hers {projects}

Last weekend, John got started in the backyard and garage, setting up the plumbing for the garage. In the process of pushing the kitchen back 10 feet, the (current) laundry is going to become homeless. Therefore, it's going to need a new home in the garage.



This is the old plumbing, and it's not set up right. (I refuse to type what John really said about it.) John has to re-plumb all of the drain lines and unfortunately, that involves a little bit of digging.




Not exactly an exciting project, but a necessary one at that.




I got started on the floors in 7's room.





With 4's help, I ripped up the old carpeting, foam padding, and staples. I had to leave the tacking strips for another day because I didn't have the proper tools to remove them.




It ain't pretty but I think it looks beautiful.




Work crew having lunch.

house tour, part II

Like our previous house, there is no *formal* entry to this home. Once you step inside, you are immediately in the living room/great room. (Changing this and adding a small front entry is in the plans.)




To the left is a small hallway to 7's room, 4's room, and a bathroom in between the two.



Don't mind the avant garde mirror that came with the house. It will be soon be looking at the inside of a dumpster.

But don't you just love the recessed shelf?


7's room faces the street, aka the concrete oasis that we call the front of our house.

a view from another angle

This is the downstairs bathroom, that lies between the kids' rooms. The true beauty and craftsmanship of this room is not totally evident in the photo. Even the kids commented how ugly it was. But whatever. It's functional, and that's all you really need in a bathroom. (There are future plans to renovate it, but it's not a current priority.)


Next is 4's room...


another angle




4's room currently has two closets; however, closet #2 is going to go away.

See that curved wall in closet #2? That is the backside of the spiral staircase. When we remove the spiral staircase, we will also close up this second closet -- all in the name of gaining more living space for our home.