Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A Little Swashbuckler's Pirate Big Boy Room

Aaargh! I love the way this room turned out!  It's nautical and masculine but still so appropriate for a little boy.  I think my favorite piece is the quarter sawn oak dresser.  Love its warm wood tones in this room.  But I must say, that custom treasure map art is pretty amazing as well.  Total for everything pictured here = $2,675.  That leather rocker really broke the bank but it was so captain-y, I just had to include it!

Do you know a little swashbuckler who'd love this room? 

Monday, October 3, 2011

I'm back and I'm a super sleuth!

I'm back from vacation rejuvenated and excited for the month ahead.  It's going to be a busy one with Knox's first birthday party, a visit from my family and of course my favorite - HALLOWEEN!

But first, a bit of housekeeping!  I want to thank all of the wonderful guest bloggers that filled in for me last week.  I loved checking in every day and reading your comments to what they came up with.

--Ashley of Meet Me in Philadelphia's post on easy details that can transform your home from ordinary to extraordinary.  

--Danika of Gorgeous Shiny Things's mindblowingly great DIY for using an O'verlays + IKEA Ribba frame to create chic jewelry storage.  I'll be announcing the winner of the O'verlays giveaway at the end of the week.  If you still haven't entered, you can do so here.

--Sarah of Pewter + Sage's detailed study of what stays and what goes in the transformation of her daughter's current nursery to a (maybe someday) baby's boy space.

--Jenn of Arcadian Home's roundup of inspiring laundry room's you'd never want to leave.

-- I'll also be announcing the 3 winners of the ScotchBlue™Painter’s Tape with Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector at the end of the week.  If you still haven't entered, you can do so here.

And speaking of the ScotchBlue™Paint Party that inspired my striped room, I got several emails from reader's asking for a source list for some of the items featured in the original inspiration image - specifically that fantastic rug!  This is one of those images I had saved forever and I knew it was originally from Cookie magazine but I had no idea which issue. 


Lauren of With Two Cats did a fantastic job recreating the look in this post but your emails motivated me to dig through my Cookie archives and track down the original.  Yes, I have a Cookie archive...don't judge.  This is just a few.


After lots of furious page flipping, I found it in the issue with Tori Spelling on the cover.




Talitha Cotton via Madeline Weinrib

The rug is the Talitha Cotton rug by Madeline Weinrib.  Sadly it's nowhere to be found on the site which may mean it's discontinued.  The turquoise version appears to still be available via Lotus Bleu Designs.  If you have your heart set on the indigo/white version in the original image, it might be worth a call to ABC Carpet.  If anyone can track it down for you, they can.

Other items of interest - 
The fabric used on the roman shade is Fokus by Marimekko available here.


The bedding is the 50s birdcage duvet originally from Urban Outfitters, now discontinued.  But I'd set up a search agent on eBay for it...these things always pop up.


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Achieving subtle, graduated stripes

Earlier today I inundated you with every possible combination of striped walls you could imagine.  Horizontal, vertical, bold, subtle...and in the hopes of finding a striped look for Knox's future big boy room.  I'll be posting a full inspiration board for this room in the future but for now just know that this is where I'll be using the Jenny Lind beds I scored last year on Craig's List.


And get this -  I'm even considering leaving them in their natural, very good condition dark wood stain.  GASP!  I KNOW!  Me!  Who will paint anything!  But I'm sorta digging the warmth and anchoring ability of the dark wood against some other graphic accents.

I think I'm going here with bedding.

Among all the striped pics I post, I gravitated the most toward this one.  Modern, clean, simple...but not boring.  I love the little bit of red peaking in here too from that mobile over the bed. 


Here's the problem though - I actually have 2 of this same image in my inspiration files and they are ever so slightly different.  This is the other one.


See the difference?  The one on the right is definitely more blue than gray.  Of course I'm left to wonder which is the "real" image of this room, free of any photo manipulation.  I don't know the original source so I guess I'll never know.  Either way, both are pretty.


After staring at this image for far too long, I've narrowed down what I hope are some paint options for achieving a similar look - 2 colors in the blue/gray range and one white, perhaps even slightly creamier color.

 


I think combination #1 is definitely closer to the first photo (with the grayer stripes).  Option 1 seems to have the best gradation of darker gray to almost white to very white.

Option #2 is all from the same color card...which would definitely be the easiest way to go except I don't think the lightest color, Polar White, is quite white enough.

Option #3 starts with my favorite robin's egg blue color (that I used on my campaign dresser), the color above it on the same paint chip and then the same pure white from Option #1.  I like it...but is it too blue?  Or just right for creating the effect in the second image?

Option #4 is more of a hodge podge.  It's almost exactly like Option #1 except for the middle color which I think it grayer than in Option #1. 

Have I completely confused you?  Good...because that makes 2 of us.  I'm torn between #1 and #3.  Why must I live EVERYTHING?!

Which image do you prefer?  The gray stripes or the blue?  And which color combination would you go with?

A Study in Striped Walls

I've been feeling the need to add a striped wall to our house for some time now. I got just the push I needed to move forward a few weeks ago (more on that in a future post!)

My plan is do get my stripe fix in Knox's future big boy room which currently looks like this (minus the lamp which is now gracing my new campaign dresser in our guest room).

photo(7)


Stripes come in every shape, color and size you can imagine, and virtually every combination looks good somewhere.   This is where the real trouble begins...too much pretty to pick from!

From subtle stripes...




To bold stripes...








To colorful stripes...





To vertical stripes...






Even diagonal stripes...


Of course, let's not forget ceiling stripes...


And finally, multicolored stripes...






See what I mean?!  It all looks good.  Graphic, fun, interesting...the perfect alternative to expensive wallpaper, especially in a kid's room where there's bound to be decor changeover throughout the years.  This last image is my favorite of the bunch I think. I like the width of the stripes and the subtle, graduated color application.  Yes, I believe we have ourselves a winner...

Do you have a favorite among the bunch?  Or have you already taken the plunge and gotten some stripey love in your home? Do tell!  Despite the approximate 6,539 images of striped walls I've already looked at, I could always look at a few more!


Later today I'll be posting some possible color combinations to achieve this look.  Come back, I need your opinions!

Friday, July 8, 2011

For the Budding Scientist

Little boy's rooms shouldn't take themselves too seriously - even when they are created with studious little scientists in mind. This is my take on a playful and warm bedroom for the budding scientist.


budding-scientist
1. Ceiling light: Satellite 3 via Schoolhouse Electric
2. Wall art: 1922 Vintage Metric System Illustration via Etsy
3. Bed: Twin midnight blue via Land of Nod
4. Molecule Set: Ferm Living Molecule Building Set via Velocity
5. Desk: Science Lab Table via Amazon
6: Throw Pillow: Choose Your Words via Etsy
7. Throw Pillow: Eukaryotic Cell via Etsy
8: Throw Pillow: Frog Dissection via Etsy {this is admittedly a little gross but I know a little boy into science would love it!}
9. Seating: 1950s Ajustrite Industrial Lab Swivel Stool via Etsy
10. Storage: Vintage Card Catalog this one I spotted at Liberty Antiques {search "vintage card catalog" on eBay and Etsy for similar}
11. Bedside lighting: Satellite Sconce via Schoolhouse Electric
12. Wall art: Be Nice Periodic Table of Elements Art via Etsy
13. Accessory: Einstein Talking Bobblehead via Smithsonian Store
14. Curtain fabric: Equations and Equations via Spoonflower
15. Bedding fabric: Science 1b via Spoonflower
16. Rug: Diamond Khaki/White Indoor/Outdoor Rug via Dash & Albert