A Small Gallery Wall

A funny thing happened when I thought we would be moving to a farmhouse... I stopped doing projects around the house.  It wasn't intentional but every time I thought of something I might like to do I put it off thinking I didn't want to "waste" money or time.  Even though I love and enjoy my house I started to focus on the things I didn't like about it instead of the things that I love.  I think I was subconsciously separating from the house!  Has this happened to you?  As soon as the farmhouse fell through I had a rush of ideas and projects that I immediately wanted to get done (so there might be a profusion of house stuff in the coming months)!

One of the things that I've actually gotten accomplished has been to start a bit of a gallery wall behind the sofa.  The painting that I've had behind the sofa is one that my friend Leslie painted.  I love it and it's been perfect behind the sofa but I had a few things that I wanted to group together and the sofa made sense; I'll be finding a new place for the hydrangea painting.

I really like the way it turned out, though I'm not sure that it's "done."  I'm totally open to adding more if something presents itself!  Also, I had the "read instead" print framed with museum glass and it makes such a huge difference that I took the Pottery Barn frame that I used for the cross-stitched family portrait and had museum glass put in it too.  I love it and think it's worth every penny not to always have a glare.  We also added the Airstream painting and our family portrait.

Grace's Color Scheme

Grace's room is slowly but surely coming together.  For something that wasn't ever a complete room redo its really taken some time to figure out exactly how to proceed.  Once we got her new bed, dresser and bulletin board in place and settled, things slowed down a bit.   One thing has led to another and before we knew it wasn't just a coat of paint and a new mattress but new sheets and blankets to fit said new mattress.  Which of course leads to more money being spent.  I don't mind spending a little extra on a lovely wool rug but why are curtain rods so expensive?  Anyway, here's the basic color scheme that's happening in Grace's room.  We kept pretty neutral with the pops of color coming in bed and the rug.  We needed to keep some pink in the room since there are certain things that we are not replacing (Grace's shelves which have a pink wallpaper on the back) but instead of a baby pink or even a hot pink we went with more of a raspberry color.  I hope that it will mature well with her through middle and high school.  

A Dresser for Grace

 Looking for a dresser for Grace was rather frustrating for me.  I knew that I didn't want a painted dresser (since her bed was painted) and I thought I wanted a taller rather than longer dresser.  Which, of course, is not at all what we ended up with!  I looked at new furniture as well as old and just couldn't seem to find the right piece that wasn't either really beat up or really too expensive.  Also, we had had issues with her old dresser and the drawers falling out, so I wanted sturdy drawers that had a stop.

On a whim one Friday evening, Grace and I popped over to a furniture consignment shop that we have gotten a few pieces from before.  We didn't spot anything that immediately jumped out at us, but we did see this really long dresser that was in great shape and seemed to be well made.  However, I thought it was too long so we left and continued the search.  But I kept thinking about this dresser and how great it would be for all her clothes and the bulletin board she wanted to put up.  I also really liked the subtle, feminine details on the piece.

So after measuring to make sure it would fit up the stairs ("I'm pretty sure we can get it up there," were Bryce's exact words) and with my brother-in-laws help, we went and picked it up.  It's so perfect in her room that I can't believe I ever questioned it!  Also, as a bonus, it turns out that it's made by a nice furniture company and extremely sturdy and well made.  I love that it now has gotten a second life!

An Extra Large Bulletin Board

We found Grace a dresser and we love it!  I'll share the dresser soon, but first I wanted to share the bulletin board that we made to go over it.  This was one of those projects that turned out exactly how we imagined it and was surprisingly quick and easy to make.

Grace had spotted a giant bulletin board in an old Martha Stewart Kids that she loved and that proved to be our inspiration. Having a really large board where she can put up anything she wants (posters, notes, pictures, etc.) is a good compromise for both of us.  She wanted to be able to put up movie posters (Harry Potter) and I didn't want them all over the room.  The bulletin board gives her plenty of room to express her interests but still looks put together and neat.

The board is Homosote that we picked up at Home Depot in the building department.  You have to buy an entire sheet, but they will cut it to your measurements while you are there which saves you work and a mess!  We had enough left over that I think we'll make Harris a board.

We covered the board in white cotton canvas.  They had lots of colors to choose from, but Grace wanted white so that all the color could come from what she chose to put on her board.  We worked together to stretch the fabric taught across the board.  I used the staple gun to attach the fabric and Grace hammered them in for good measure.

Bryce attached hangers on the back side and hung it so that Grace could get busy pinning!

(we finished the project at night, thus the bad lighting!)

Over the Bed

You might remember that we are in the (slow) process of updating Grace's room.  For whatever reason it's coming together slowly!  She really needed a new mattress and we decided to go ahead and get a double bed for her.  Which prompted me to prematurely sell her bedroom set and now she doesn't have a dresser!  I didn't realize it would be so difficult to find a dresser for her that we were happy with!

Anyway, she LOVES her new bed and this past weekend we made a gallery wall of sorts for over the bed.  We hung her "An Adventure a Day" poster in the center and then worked around that.  I found it helpful to use Martha's tip of using paper frames to play around with the placement before we put any holes in the wall.  I traced the frame onto kraft paper and taped up the shapes to see where they looked best.

The mermaid print is one that Grace bought herself in Cape Cod.  She loved that the mermaid had red hair.

Her first ballet shoes.

A card we gave her from when she performed in The Nutcracker (again, the dancer has red hair) and her little mice that she loves so.

And just for levity...

I also can't find a nightstand.  Not sure why I thought I had to sell all the furniture together.....

An Airstream Christmas

Last year, my friend, Ashley, gave me an Airstream card that she had dug up from the Moma archives. I loved it so much that I mounted and framed it so that it can become a permanent part of our Christmas decorations.  Having plaster walls makes it hard to hang non-permanent pictures on the wall so I always switch pictures that are already up for the holiday season (or use 3M hooks!).  It fits in perfectly in our kitchen, and I just love that we have a fun reminder of the Airstream during the Christmas season! Thank you Ashley!

(not sure why the color in this photo is so off!)

Also, I couldn't resist buying an Airstream pillow when I spotted it at Pottery Barn.  

Yesterday, we had our first snowfall of the season.  We simply had to run over and put a wreath on the Airstream.  We're thinking she might even make an appearance in our Christmas cards this year!

An Adventure a Day

We are getting ready to do a bit of an update in Grace's room.  She's needed a new mattress for ages and she's grown out of some of the decorative bits in her room.  It's time for her room to grow up a little, just as she has!  We are still at the beginning of figuring out what to do, but we have purchased this little poster to get framed and hang in her room.  It strikes just the right balance of whimsy and fun without being too cutesy.  And it's a perfect fit for my adventure loving girl!

A Frog Spigot

Sometimes it's the little things that make us the happiest right?  I've been toting this little frog spigot around for the past 10 years and somewhere along the line it became, in my mind, the one item that once installed would mean we were "done."  Which of course is a total fallacy because there is always work to be done around our old house.  It just seemed such a silly, fantastical thing to make time to do that it became a talisman of where we were in our house journey!

Bryce, after much pushing and prodding from yours truly, spent a couple of hours putting in this little frog spigot and he makes me happy.  Now that he's installed we will probably move next week!  I am, of course, just joking.  Sort of.

A Desk for Harris

When we originally put Harris' room together, I had intended for the workbench that Al built for him to also do double duty as a desk.  However, it hasn't worked out that way since Harris truly uses it as a workbench! Grace's desk has been used every single day since it's been built for everything from crafts, to homework, to journal writing or for dreaming.  Therefore, I was anxious to provide a space for Harris to do the same.

In keeping with the the feel of his room I decided that a sawhorse desk would be ideal.  Bryce made the base of the desk with basic supplies from Home Depot (under $50!).  The top is plywood and needed to be covered.  I originally had oil cloth in mind but quickly discovered that it's impossible to find natural-looking oil cloth; it's all bright white or colored.  We ended up using a natural waxed cotton and it's perfect.  I just love the way it looks!

The shelves on either side of his desk are Elfa shelves from the Container Store.  A funny story: I started putting his shelves together one day while he was at school and as I was doing so I said to Bryce, "I bet he starts rearranging these shelves as soon as he gets home."  True to form, he wasn't home for more than 10 minutes before I found he and Grace rearranging away!

Have I mentioned how much I love this crazy kid?!

Snapshots of Grace's Room

It's been interesting to me to see how Grace's room has evolved over the years.  She has not yet asked to redecorate her room with different bedding or colors, but she has certainly made her own unique touches.  I have to a tendency to be super stagnate in my decorating, once it's "done" I often think that's the only way it can be!  Fortunately, Grace doesn't feel that way and she constantly rearranges her shelves, desk, closet and nightstand to be exactly what she wants.  While it might not be "perfectly arranged" it is "perfectly her" and that has been a good lesson for me to let go of what I think the room should look like.  After all, it is her space and it should reflect where she is right now (though I still like a picked up room!).

Here are some snapshots of her space...

Our Master Bathroom

Are you ready for picture overload?  Words cannot express how very much we are enjoying the bathroom.  It is such a peaceful, pretty place that we all find ourselves hanging out in it!  The heated floors help out with that too.  

The tub is one of my favorite things.  It is definitely the main focus in the room, and I've already enjoyed a number of sublime baths.  

With the exception of the tub, everything is lined up on either side of the bathroom.  We each have a vanity on opposite walls.  Bryce's vanity is kitchen cabinet height and mine is regular bathroom vanity height.  The countertops are  marble and our vanities are the same except that mine has the bow added on.  Oh, how I love the bow!

As you walk into the bathroom there is a small "dressing room" type area.  We continued the carpet from our bedroom into this area to give it a little bit of distinction from the rest of the bathroom.  The makeup vanity that Bryce gave me fits perfectly here!  Across from the vanity is a small closet.  I added beveled mirrors to the doors, which I love and is hugely convenient.  

Each of our vanities has a small shelf built in next to it.  I keep playing around with the objects on the shelves.

I found the strawberry cage chandelier on ebay.  I'm completely smitten with the scones above our vanities because I love that their shades look like regular pleated shades even though they are ceramic.  Isn't that clever?  We also have a schoolhouse light above the toilet.

Thanks for being patient with this many pictures of our bathroom.  I just couldn't seem to pare them down. The bathroom has also become the favorite hangout spot for Lily and Coco!