It’s like Jewelry for Furniture

My sister and I are both due in April and we are both having little girls. With this being my second pregnancy, and given my recent move from a four to a three bedroom home I have a few extra furnishings to pass along to my sister including a changing table and a dresser/cabinet. The dresser was used in both mine and my sister's nurseries when we were babies, so it seems appropriate that we should each have a turn using it in our children's rooms.

When I decorated Elliot's room I removed the old knobs (several of which were broken) and painted wood knobs to match his nursery decor. Although blue and green is nice, it won't work for Lindsay's little girl. Before sending the dresser her way I thought I should at least point her in the direction of some more appropriate hardware...

1. Ceramic Melon Knob, Anthropologie ($8.00 each)
2. Small Zinnia Knob, Anthropologie ($6.00 each)
3. Brook Owl Gingham Polka Dot Drawer Knob Pulls, Sweet Petites Boutique ($5.50)
4. Violette Knob, Anthropologie ($8.00 each)
5. Blue Polka Dotted Cloud Knobs, Knobs ($14.00 for pair)
6. Simple Pastel Daisies Drawer Pull, Lollipop Kisses ($10.00 each)
7. Victorian Glass Knob, Elizabeth Embelishments ($2.50 each)
8. Rose Iron Drawer Knob, Elizabeth Embelishments ($2.95 each)
9. Cherry Tree Flower Drawer Knobs, Sweet Mix Creations ($28.00 for four)
10. Liberty Hardware Acrylic Knobs, Target ($18.99 for four)

Quick Tip: Framing

So you may have noticed my little Japanese prints in Monday's post. My mom had been storing them in a file folder for YEARS when I discovered them and promptly adopted them. The only problem was they were not framed and I wasn't ready to spend $75+ a piece to have them framed. So instead I bought ready-made frames and had custom mats cut. The result - a total expense of about $20 per print. Despite forgoing professional framing five + years ago, the prints have held up very nicely, no fading or discoloration to speak of.

"It Almost Feels Like a Room"

Those were my husband's exact words regarding our dining room. I think he meant, "It's starting to feel like a room in OUR home". Slowly but surely, things are coming together. We have a few more finishing touches to add to the dining room (like a rug), but as you can see it's a far cry from the pinkish hue selected by the previous owners...

Before

After

The room isn't quite ready for a full reveal just yet, but I just couldn't resist posting what we have accomplished so far. Other than the paint, the fabric, and the curtain hardware; we already owned all of the other items in the room. The pair of Mid-Century chairs flanking the window were a garage sale find in California, the Japanese wood block prints were purchased by my mom in Japan in the 1960s, the large modern painting was painted by my father, and the silver bowl was a wedding gift. Believe it or not, but I had none of these items in mind when I first decided to paint the room grey

So as for the obvious missing piece, I am thinking something simple like a sisal or jute rug. What do you think?

Going Grey

Over the weekend we painted the dining room. We did end up settling on grey and I have to say, I love it! We painted Benjamin Moore's Smoke Embers above the chair rail and Willow Creek below. Today I ordered fabric for the curtains from Fabric.com. It's Amy Butler's Midwest Modern Optic Blossom Linen. I can't wait to start sewing. Pics of the completed room coming soon. Here's a sneak peek to tide you over.

You Name It

I wish I had more time to promote my art and populate my Etsy shop. This sounds like the beginnings of another New Year's resolution doesn't it? In addition to my custom wedding coloring books favors, I also get a few commissions a year for my name portraits. My most recent commission was for a baby named Arianna. Her aunt requested a garden theme. Don't you just love the little hedgehog?

To Do List

I would call them New Year's Resolutions, but then they'd never get done. These are in no particular order.

1. Paint shutters and front door
2. Paint walls and trim in breakfast room, and dry wall ceiling

3. Paint kitchen cabinets white and change out hardware

4. Paint, decorate, and organize the nursery

5. Replace railings on stairs

6. Replace runner on stairs

7. Paint dining room (I'm thinking grey)

8. Change outdated light fixtures

9. Paint trim and radiators in bathrooms white - the vintage tile is actually in great condition

10. Remodel basement - we'll leave this one to the professionals

New Year, New House

Dear Readers, sorry for the very long hiatus. The last few months of 2009 were incredibly busy and stressful. We found out we were pregnant, sold our home, our son and I moved in with my parents, we bought a home, moved in to our new home after a blizzard, and have begun tackling many projects in our new “old” house.

I don’t expect life to slow down too much, especially with a new baby on the way (which by the way is a girl) but I do promise to post more frequently in 2010. Trust me, with a house built in 1949, with rooms of varying shades of pink – there is MUCH work to be done. The first room we tackled was Elliot’s. I really wanted him to have a finished, organized space when we moved in. Brian and I were literally up all night getting the job done before he, the dog, and his VA grandparents arrived at the house on December 23rd. Did I mention that we closed on December 21st?

I designed the room around a darling quilt that Elliot’s CO grandmother made him for his second birthday. The fabric is printed with illustrations from one of his favorite books, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Eric Carle. With such a bright and fun comforter, I decided to paint the room a neutral color and used Benjamin Moore’s Tapestry Beige. The mural is Rust-oleum tint-able chalk board paint in School House Green. To create the mural I drew templates for the cars, trucks, etc on poster board then simply traced them on the walls. It took about 4 coats of chalk board paint to fill them in. It was less time consuming that the mural in Elliot’s nursery and he is already enjoying creating his own art on the walls. I just have to remind him that “we only color on the green walls”.

All in all the room came together pretty inexpensively. We either had all of the art work or it was given to us (i.e. the Curious George pictures came from friend who recently redecorated her son’s room). As for the furniture: the dresser was a gift, the night stand was a steal ($59 at IKEA), the rug was also IKEA ($149), and the bed was thrift store find ($60) that I sanded and painted with a glossy coat of Benjamin Moore’s Old Navy.

I’d still like to add a few things to the room like a book shelf, window treatments, and a little seating area. I promise to add updated photos when I do!