Playroom Do Over Part 1

Hi there!  Almost exactly two years ago I was sharing photos of the basement playroom makeover I worked on for the girls.   And today, I'm sharing my redo of that and later this week and redo of this! 

I had been on the fence about keeping the wood paneling down there and finally decided that it just made it too dark/dreary.  So out came the white paint (and about three days of numbness in my right arm) and we suddenly had a brighter basement, made only brighter by the addition of the softest white carpeting ever and the removal of a small part of the staircase thanks to the ever-handy Scott.

Here's where we started (pre move in fours years ago):

That turned into this (two years ago):

And here we are today (and hopefully for a long long time):

This time around I wanted things a little simpler, cleaner and more pulled together color-wise.  And it started with making all the walls and floor (carpet) white.  Then painting all the frames above the couch a similar color, making the art gallery more cohesive.  And we donated of a bunch of neglected or outgrown toys making room for other things and just making room: )

 

The decision to carpet the stairs was a hard one, especially after all the effort I put into making them cute (here and here).  But in the end it felt safer for the girls, who run up and down them, to have the extra padding! The prints on the left are from here.

 

 

This little (big) arrow detail was something I just decided to do one day and all it took was a sample jar of mint green paint, painters tape and about an hour.  An easy, fast project that turned out way better than I expected!

 

 



 

 

You can see in the above photo where a portion of the wall at the bottom of the stairs was removed.  It was hollow and not load-bearing so Scott was able to do it himself.  I love how it lets in more natural light from upstairs and makes the space feel more open.

 

Hadley and Layla looove princesses so my mom made and framed this Disney princess cross stitch piece for them.  The light above it is an outdoor fixture that is pretty as well was super bright.

Another before and after for you - this one really shows how much lighter and brighter it is down here now!

Staircase wall two years ago:

Staircase wall now:

Pretty dramatic difference - right?!  We shifted the kitchen over since the wall it was up against before was gone and added a little counter for their checkout/cash register area.

 

 

I changed out most of the art for pieces that fit the new color scheme from Land of Nod (they have an ever-changed curated art section so most of these aren't available anymore) and Etsy.  I love how much less cluttered this wall is now. 

You can see above that I painted the mirror in the same mint green as the arrow and glued on little scrunched up balls of tissue paper in neon pink, green and white.  My mom made the cute star pillow.

My coffee table makeover was a complete accident.  I started painting the black coffee we already had (which is an old Ikea dining table cut down) and after coat number four I could tell the paint was going to too gloppy and thick so I started to scrape it off.  After I made a swipe I thought it looked kinda cool underneath so I made a heart and that was that!

 

Now for one last before and after.  The built-in bookshelves in this section of the basement also got a coat white paint and I also removed (and moved) a few of the shelves since the higher up ones didn't really serve a purpose since the girls couldn't reach them.

 

Built-ins two years ago:

 

 

 

Built-ins now:

 

 

Now instead of just being a display area for a bunch of random stuff, the shelves actually hold the girls' games and toys.  And I had two of my favorite photos from our trip to Disney made into engineer prints (Staples $7) and used those as the backdrop for the top shelf.   Love that the black and white here ties in with the coffee table: )

 



 

And there you have it!  Part one of the second basement playroom makeover.  I'll share photos of the other side of the room later this week.

 

Wall Light
Disney Princesses Cross Stitch Pattern
Chevron Couches - no longer available in coral
Coffee Table - A friend gave this to us when they moved and we didn't need a dining table so I cut the legs down - perfect square coffee table!

Owl Pillow - Target (no longer available)

Flower Pillows -I just added inserts!

All other pillows

Floor Poufs

Desk Lamp - Vintage

School desk and chair - Vintage

Art - Various Artists found via Land of Nod and Etsy

HOORAY Banner - Oh Joy for Target (no longer available)

Origami Butterflies

Paper Lanterns - Target

Magnet Letters - Homegoods

Play Kitchen - Craigslist

 

Pin It

Tweet

Current Obsession - Farmhouse Rag Rugs

Hi there!  Today I thought I'd share a little purchase I made - which was intended to be repurposed into a wall hanging for my shop - that ended up becoming our kitchen rug.

I had planned to cut this vintage rug in half and make into two weavings,  but once it arrived I fell in love with the colors and imperfections in it.  And it fit perfectly in front of our kitchen sink.

A few weeks ago, I bought another super long rag rug runner, intending to use it in same way, but when it arrived I had second thoughts and now it's for sale in the vintage section of my shop.  If I had somewhere to put it I would totally be keeping it!

 

I love the worn look of these rugs and that colors are muted in some spots and bright in others.  There are also a lot of prints running through the rugs which makes them more special and unique.



They are soft underfoot and make any space feel a little bit more cozy - at least they do here!


Pin It

Tweet

Entry Update

Hi!  It's been a loooong time since I showed any updated spaces in our house, so today I'm starting with one of the easiest updates we made in the entry.

Here is what the entry looked like before.  At the time, I thought it was fun and light but after awhile I got tired of it and wanted something a bit more grown up.  I actually considered a bunch of simple/modern pendants (this one and this one were early contenders).  But of course, in the end, fun and color won out and this yellow pendant (no longer available but you can see it over the table) came to live with us.

We also needed a new runner here.  Our last one was getting dirty and it moved around a lot.  I was on the Flor site and feel in love with this pattern.  We have Flor tiles in the dining room so I knew these would stay put and be easy to clean.  So I ordered (8) tiles and cut (4) of them in half to create this pattern.

I'm happy with how it turned out but I'm sure there will be an other change at some point!  I moved the cute paper lantern into the kitchen where it fits in much better!

Have a great Tuesday!

Pin It

Tweet

A Little Layla Room Update

Hi!  With all the work going on in Hadley's new room I thought it only fair to share a few new snaps of Layla's room!

I added some 3-D flowers (from the Oh Joy Spring collection) to the wall  for a little more color and shine (I love the gold ones!)  And every couple of months I hang something new above her bed on a string of fishing line.  During the Winter is was snowflakes, in February we did hearts and now we have big puffy flowers. 

When Spoonflower offers a free swatch of fabric (usually when they are introducing a new type of fabric) I take turns asking the girls what they like and then I search for fabric based on that.  Last month Layla picked mermaids so I found this adorable fabric and the swatch has been hanging on the lamp on her dresser ever since!

Her room is still my favorite in the house...: ) Pin It

Tweet

Hadley's Big Girl Room - Part 2

Hello!  Last week I posted a ton of photos of Hadley's (finally finished) big girl room.  Today, I'm following up with a few more photos and a more compete source list.  Let me know if there is anything I forgot!

Quilt: La Rue de Fleurs
Heart Sham
Bali Headboard: Urban Outfitters (no longer available)
Flower Garland and Wall Dots: Oh Joy for Target (no longer available)
Knit Dolls on Bed
BLOOM pillows on bed (ordered these before Layla was born!)
Nightstand - Target (no longer available)

 

 

Globe Light  - vintage from Restore for $15!
ART: Wake Up & Dream
          Swirly Hair
          LOVE
          Cat with Glasses
Fluffy Rug: made using this fabric
        



 

Bunny Pillow: H&M Home (no longer available)
Owl Table Lamp: Urban Outfitters (no longer available)
Scroll Mirror: Home Goods
Frames on Dresser: Target and Michaels
Yarn Wrapped Tree: Target
Curtain Tie Backs: Painted pink: )

You will find more item links here!

Nap Time!

Pin It

Tweet

A Mix of Old & New, Neon & Natural - Hadley's Big Girl Room

Hi there and happy Monday!! So this post has been a long time coming.  I started collecting items for Hadley's big girl room while she was still just a baby. If I saw something that I knew would work I bought and then I hid it - in a big closet in our guest room.  That closet filled up over the course of a year, and it was great to finally pull it all out (some that I had actually forgotten about!) and get to work making her small nursery into a vibrant and happy big girl room just for her!

Hadley has the smallest bedroom in the house. Sometimes it feels like it's half the size of Layla's so I wanted to make up for the lack of square footage by incorporating comfy textiles, super bight colors, fun wall art and plenty of open space for playing. 

My color palette for her room started with neon pink, gold and white.  I went back and forth about changing the colors of her walls from sky blue to bright white but decided to embrace the blue  (I do still love it) and just add a few more colors into the mix.  Enter Oh Joy's Spring party line for Target.

I used a ton of her party supplies for Layla's fifth birthday and then again for Hadley's third, so I had lots of pretty leftovers to work with, along with some wall dots that I bought knowing the would look good somewhere. Well, the colors (coral, green, yellow) helped balance out my original palette perfectly.  Using the dot decals on just one wall made it more special and didn't cluttered up the rest of the walls which I thought would make the room feel smaller and too uniform.  I also used one the Oh Joy flower garlands to hang over her bed, and we love hanging  her party hats from door knobs and filling them with tissue flowers.

Next was on my list was bedding.  I had already gotten sheets for her bed and I had my mom make the gorgeous hot pink heart sham but I was having troubling finding a quilt I liked.  I had wanted to use a vintage quilt but couldn't find one that was both the colors I wanted and the size I needed.  So I decided to make my first and only real splurge and had a quilt custom made. 

I had worked with Janice from La Rue de Fleurs on two other quilt projects so I knew she would do a wonderful job creating the design I wanted with the fabrics I had picked out.  Well, to say she surpassed my expectations would be an understatement.  The quilt is not only well made and super soft, but it's the perfect mix of traditional and modern.  Just what I wanted and I love it!

As for the furnishings in the room, the Peacock-style headboard was something I had always wanted to use in one of my girls' rooms.  I love the bohemian style of the natural rattan and the scrolly design is so feminine and pretty.  Again, I tried to go the vintage route but the ones on Etsy and even Craigslist were out of my price range. So when I found this one at Urban Outfitters last year on sale, I scooped it up.

One of my favorite parts of designing this room was picking out artwork and creating the gallery wall.  Hadley's wall has mix of Etsy artists, family photos, and her own artwork - along with pages torn out of coloring books and catalogues.  The huge Martha Stewart paper flowers add dimension while the hanging mirror adds depth and light.  Side note: the Love poster on the floor was placed there while I was coming up with the layout (and to cover an outlet) but once I stood back and looked at everything I decided it would stay right where it is...acrylic frame so no risk of breaking plus it covers that outlet beautifully!!

The side table is from Target - I got it right before it sold out.  The bookshelf is the same just backed with a different fabric and completely restyled. 

Her dresser was actually Scott's childhood dresser (I painted it white) with pulls from my childhood dresser.  I love that she has a little piece of us, when we were her age, in her room. 

The wicker chair was a thrift store find and the floor mirror was from Craigslist.  I made the cradle out of the table that was in Hadley's nursery and will do a before and after post about that another day! 

So there you have it, Hadley's sweet little room made especially for her. 

Later this week I'll share a more complete source list for most of the things in her room.  And will prepare a tutorial or two as well!
Thanks for looking!!
xo!
Kendra Pin It

Tweet