Olivia's Toddler Room: After

You've seen the before pictures of Olivia's toddler room...and I have promised these after a million times over! I kept trying to wait until the room was finished, accessorized, or at least cleaned up.  BUT I'm finding the more time that goes by the more lived in, stained, wrinkly, and imperfect the room becomes because Olivia LOVES her room. For that I am grateful.

So I kept it real. So I didn't fix the monkey prints that are sliding down the frame mats. I didn't stage or even vacuum the rugs (and they really really needed it). I didnt even adjust the settings on my expensive camera. Did I mention I have two kids under two? What you see is what you get. This is what O's room looks like just before bedtime on any given Tuesday because that's exactly when I snapped these.

Enjoy!

If you've followed the blog you know most of these sources but here goes:

• Headboard- Target.com (DIY upholstered by me and mom)
• Bedskirt- Target.com
• Pink Lattice Sheets- Land of Nod
• Quilted Bedding - HomeGoods
• End of Bed Storage - Walmart.com
• Retractable/Hideaway Extra Long Bed Rail- One Step Ahead
• Bedside Lamp - a wedding gift
• Rug - HomeDecorators.com
• Toile Wall - All fabric - starched on by mom
• Nightstand/Dresser - Repainted Existing Set (Inspired by Emily Clark)
• Dresser Mirror - HomeGoods
• Dresser Lamps - Marshalls (2007)
• Pink Chairs - HomeGoods
• Three Monkeys Art - Etsy Shop The Pink Pagoda
• Custom Roman Shades- JCPenney.com
• Window Cornice Boxes - DIY by me and mom
• Window Curtain Panels Pink Lattice - Land of Nod
• TO BE ADDED - Ikea Expedit Bookcase, white.

I'll take more pictures with better camera settings once the room is complete!

I Caved...

I made my rug selection for Olivia's room.

I caved and went with the WHITE flokati and boy is it W-H-I-T-E. It arrived today and as soon as it went down in the room, I took a look around and thought "how did this room get sooo white?"

How did I go from a nice balance (in my head) of pink, white, and navy to this?

Are you wondering how I rationalized a white rug for a kid's room? Here's how--its synthetic--machine washable (although at 8 x11 it ain't gonna fit in my washer/dryer), and the reviews were very positive for use in kids' rooms--so I'm not the only idiot out there.

I ended up going with this one... from Home Decorator's for $270 delivered (free shipping and on sale).

I decided against pink wool shag--b/c I thought it would be too much pink. Then I decided against white wool shag b/c I couldn't find one that was truly white--not beige or ivory. It turns out for me different shades of white  AND pink in the same room is apparently is asking too much.

So--Olivia will be doing little snow angels on her new rug instead of on our kitchen floor now.

And no I can't show you pics of the room b/c it is STILL not done.  I still haven't found a mirror I like, haven't made it to IKEA for the bookshelf, and still waiting on roman shades to arrive---and so much more. I'm about to give up though and move Olivia in this week.

Afterall the most important thing is ready to go--the big girl bed!

Todder Room Update: Rug Dilemma

I am still working on Olivia's toddler room and like having this baby--ready to get it over with.

My latest dilemma is picking a rug that 1) fits my budget ($200 or less) 2) suits the room's size (6x9 or pref 8x10) and 3) the design motif--AND  4) is also kid-friendly.

If had my way...I'd go with a chic, white wool shag/flokati. Like this look from decorpad...

Growing up my mom had white flokati rugs she adored and kept perhaps too far beyond their decade of origin--the 70's. They are lovely indeed but also impractical.

A toddler's room needs a rug with color/pattern to hide dirt, but I've ruled out the blues, so that leaves more pink! So far, I'm thinking about these selections which are on sale with free shipping at Target.com

Pink Stripes--$129 and on the small side at 5x7--realistically, I could fit two of these in the room with plenty of floor space on the perimeter for radiator, bed, dresser, bookshelf, etc. Hmm.

And this one is actually camouflage (also 5x7 and $129), but the pattern is interesting and could work since it combines many shades of pink which satifies my neurotic anxiety about the different shades of pink in the room. I asked Charm City Daddy what the pattern looked like to him..he said "dancing pigs  or something." What do you think?

Finally at $11.99 I'm tempted to also buy this bear rug in addition to whatever choice I make for a main rug b/c it's fun and pink and animal shaped. I'd put it at the foot of O's bed as you walk into the room.

I still may choose a synthetic, short fiber, pink shag rug....I'm just a little leery of what kind of crap, dirt, toys could get caught in its fibers.

I'm giving myself a deadline of this weekend to make a choice. Feel free to chime in with your opinion in the comments.

A Peek & Poison Ivy

I think there has been some confusion...I keep getting compliments on Olivia's new room--but I haven't posted any pictures of her room yet, because it's not done! In my last post about the room, I included an inspiration pic that gave me an idea about using grosgrain ribbon as crown moulding trim. That was inspiration--not the room.

As of Sunday the room was looking like this....

How is that for a reality check? Nowhere close to finished, but look at my awesome mom--painting up a storm. We had a nice little system. I prepped and taped and she painted. As you can see we are also painting furniture. I decided to use the dresser and nightstand from a set we already have after seeing another blogger/designer pull off an impressive makeover with a very similar set.  We're painting just two pieces a soft pink and changing out the hardware to clear/glass pulls. I think the french provincial style will ultimately work well in the room.

We've done a lot-- painted walls, covered cornices, upholstered headboard, hung curtains, assembled bed, assembled toy chest, painted nightstand and dresser drawers

I still have plenty left to do--which includes more painting and purchasing a rug, mirror, and a bookcase. 

It's safe to say Olivia is getting impatient too. She visits "my wooom" everytime she passes by it and sits in one of her pink chairs. Here she is during this morning's visit...

What's that on her face you ask? POISON IVY discovered in the park down the street. City living can have its threats of the wilderness too. Thank you Baltimore. Luckily it has not bothered her terribly with itchiness and she enjoys mommy putting on the Caladryl lotion aka "pinky, pinky."

On a side note, can you count the different shades of pink you see in the picture of above? I'm trying earnestly to embrace it and not make Olivia's toddler room so matchy-matchy, boring-boring--but it IS an exercise in self-control. Its the shade of pink grosgrain ribbons that bothers me most and I may utlimately change to white or navy ribbon. Maybe I'll take a poll at the end of the project and let YOU decide what I should do?

Making Progress...

We're making progress on Olivia's toddler room. Although I have the plan set with a few deviations here and there---I am still running across inspiration pics that I love--like this one...

I have quite a bit of grosgrain ribbon I got in bulk to do some other things in the room, but wouldn't it be neat to trim the crown molding with it--the way this designer has used paint?

Hopefully I will have some progress on the room to show you after this weekend.  With what little my mom (thanks mama!) and I have done so far, Charm City Daddy walked in last weekend and said, "Whoah it's starting to feel different in here already. And it's really girly this time." I beamed with pride.

I think after a gender neutral nursery, O deserves a girly room. As soon as her room is all set, I can focus on refreshing the nursery for baby Lucas, removing O's photos and girly stuff, and moving his things in.

This is what you call...

...a discount deviation. Thanks HomeGoods. Once again you've intercepted my plans with one of your lovely discounted items that must be purchased on impulse.

The room will now include two of these lovely hot pink mini chairs that will be met with a craft table and two benches.

BEFORE: The Toddler to Tween Room

I can't promise that this room project will be as dramatic as the nursery. The nursery was easier mostly because I had a single inspiration room that I loved to draw from and it was also a small space.This next room for Olivia is bigger (almost twice the size of the nursery) and I'll be drawing from many different places of inspiration.

To keep things honest (and to make my after pics look even better--hehe), we really need to start with before pictures of the way the room looked when we bought the house. A bit creepy and stuck in the era of when the previous owner was 16. You see this was the previous owner's bedroom set when she was 16--IN THE 1960's!!

 horror film scary- before

I actually don't mind the furniture too much. She left it behind, so I moved it to one of our third floor bedrooms with a happier pink, yellow, orange theme.

After my  mom and I put in a week-long effort, we called a professional to remove the 20-plus year-old navy wallpaper, the wallpaper beneath it, and when we got to the third layer of wallpaper, I told the wallpaper pro to JUST STOP. Then my mom and I starched navy/white toile fabric onto one wall and we slapped white primer on top of everything else in the room. So here's a pic of the room as soon as we finished--wrinkled duvet and all...

It was a temporary fix in Summer 2007 so I could focus on getting married and getting the house ready for visiting guests. It worked and is basically a fresher interpretation of the same room. We also experimented with curtains--which is why  ribbon from Crate and Barrel wedding presents are holding them up. The grosgrain gifts that kept on giving. How yah like them apples?

So as you can see, we have nowhere to go but up. Ha! Primer, Crate and Barrel ribbons, wrinkled duvets, king-sized bedskirts finessed to fit queen sized beds, the end table from my old bachelorette pad used as a night stand--this is obviously high-end decorating folks. Go ahead and envy me.

Stay tuned...it's gotta get better...eventually.

Design Ideas

This is my best attempt at a design board...

Very amateur but you get the idea. Pink polka dots and seersucker! Navy and Carolina blue! Ah! It's mostly IKEA stuff with a mini-sized ghost chair thrown in. LOVE it--maybe I'll make it a set of 4 chairs and add a craft table! I already own the lamp and LOTS of toile---oh you just wait until you see the before pictures of this room! There's more that I have in mind but I think this is a good start.

More Design Inspiration

Every morning before I head to the office, for a few seconds I stop in the doorway of what will be Olivia's new 'toddler to tween' room and stare into it thinking about what I will do and how I'll arrange the furniture.

One thing is for sure, I don't like to go overboard matching colors and repeating them a gazillion times in the room. I think it starts looking too "bed-in-a-bag" like I whipped out the matching curtains, throw pillows and bedskirt and shazam! Don't get me wrong, in a time/budget crunch, I love me some bed-in-a-bag, and I've found some great ones at Home Goods! But anyhoo, I want to take some time and try to mix things up in O's new room--although it will be hard as I have yards and yards of a particular fabric I will tell you about later.

Here is some inspiration I dig. And, I forget where I got them from...I think they are HB 2008. 

These rooms are more on the tween rather than toddler side, but  I'm liking the bold contrasts with the use of pinks--although I'd like to go a tad softer.

Stay tuned..more to come.

Birthdays and Bedrooms on the Brain

image care of TomKat Studio

With less than 80 days until Olivia's first birthday, I can't stop thinking about how we will celebrate this first year of her life.  Although she slept through most of it, we had a great time hosting her baby clambake--except for the wet weather.

Nonetheless I have visions of a smaller, intimate, detailed event for our closest friends and family (like less than 15 people, hopefully). I've been enjoying party inspiration and ideas from Kim at  TomKat Studio blog as well as Martha Stewart.

TANGENT: Speaking of Martha--I can't be the only working mama (or SAHM for that matter) with a love-hate relationship with Martha Stewart. Sometimes I feel like Martha's pure GENIUS---even when I know she has had masterminds like Eddie Ross  (and I love me some Eddie!!) working his creative magic behind the scenes.At other times, I can't believe that woman has built an empire teaching us things as simple as how to load a dishwasher!  Okay, I'm hatin'. Hateration over. Love those tissue paper poms, girrrrrl!

 another Tom Kat Studio image. Do you also wish you could hire her?

Also on my mind is Olivia's next bedroom. When we decided to start our family, the plan was to always keep the small bedroom by our master bedroom as the nursery. That's why I decorated it mostly gender neutral--so we could just rotate the babies through in keeping with Charm City Daddy's Grand Master Baby Manufacturing Plan to get me to birth FOUR babies. (sigh) Hey, one down...

Anyway, Olivia's 'toddler to tween' room is next on my plate and since her nursery was a bit bold and gender neutral I want to give the new room some softer, girly touches. And yes...more inspiration from Martha Stewart--DAMN her! 

both images care of Martha Stewart Living

 Stay tuned for another roller coaster ride of low-budget, piecemeal interior design a la Charm City Mama. I will post  the 'before' pictures soon of the room under attack for this project. This one should be interesting.

Perfect Timing!

Last week I told my mom, I wanted to pick up sewing and make a real effort to do more projects around the house on  my own. So on Sunday, she happily delivered her own sewing machine and told me I could have it because there is a sale on them and she wants a fancier one. Fine with me!

I told her I wanted my first project to be throw pillows for the living room and matching lampshades and what do you know Design Sponge posted a blog today about how to sew throw pillows! Yay! I have a new project!

Now all I have to do is find some decent fabric and pillow inserts at the Calico Corners' sale  which started today and go at it! I will let you know how it all pans out. My mom, aunt, grandma are so good at this stuff. I hope it runs in the family.

Glee for this Glider...

And I thought my glider was chic...

Congratulations, Oilo. Your furniture is the new benchmark in sophisticated, modern nursery design.

Christmas Decor

Last Friday, I managed to get almost all (except those pesky window candles) of my Christmas decorations up while my mother-in-law, who was visiting, could watch and entertain Olivia. As I was unpacking the stockings and the ornaments I realized that I didn't have a stocking or any ornaments for baby Olivia. :( Bad Mommy.

Knowing that I'd like to personalize those items, I immediately turned to Things Remembered and Pottery Barn. Neither disappointed.

Both have specials and sales going on right now and specifically Pottery Barn has a little special on their stockings that includes free shipping.  If you were also in the market for these things, it's worth checking out.

Olivia Grace, Go To Your Room!

Such harsh words for a fun and exciting place! I hope she likes it!
Before and after...

Peering in from our room...

And first glance to the right...

I can explain the Chic-fil-A cow...but what for?

And a better shot including the rug...

Mobile just added...and a good view of the organic bedding...

Wait! Who's that sleeping in the crib?

Ahh, that would be the only cat allowed in my home.

the other side of the room...


But wait, there's more!

Next time we'll go inside a few drawers and the closet, because who can resist tiny little t-shirts?

Drool-Worthy: Hotel Inspired Nursery

Okay.

A typical reaction to a nursery's interior design may be something like "Aww!" As in "Aww, how sweet!"

When I saw this nursery on the Project Nursery Blog, my eyes bulged in A-W-E.

I can't even begin to describe how impressed I am with this space by Little Crown Interiors, LLC.

For me, this Wynn Las Vegas inspired nursery has it all-- function, the sophistication, the serenity, and luxury.

We have a Bratt Decor down the street from my house--and I've visited, but nothing has every grabbed me in there.

If I weren't going for gender neutral and weren't already done with my nursery--I would consider this inspiration game-changing. It's that serious folks.

A Change of Heart...

It is safe to say I have come full circle on my philosophy on changing tables.

First, I was hesitant to buy one because I thought it was a waste of money for a temporary piece of furniture. Then I rationalized buying one because after all our plan is to have four babies that will need their bum-bum changed.

So, I purchased a dresser than has the optional changing table topper attachment, which I ended up hating because it does not fit a standard changing pad and it wastes valuable floor space behind the changer. So in the nursery I am back to using what could pretty much qualify as a standard dresser with a few handy dandy features like hidden drawers and open shelving and changing pad that will be screwed on.



However, we will also need somewhere to change the baby on the first floor as well--where we do a good amount of living. So now, I am about to purchase my second changing table.


I know it's likely that we may end up using the floor, couch, kitchen counter or whatever to change Charm City Baby, but for $69, I think this portable/foldable changer from IKEA would get a fair share of use.





I first spotted the IKEA Spoling Changing Table when I was picking up the nursery furniture, but I remained discipline and stuck to my list. I must have stood in front of it for a good 10 minutes--but I was strong. Now, I have been thinking about getting the thing ever since.


As soon as I get a chance to get to IKEA, I am returning that useless topper from the other changer, and scooping this one up.

Nursery Update:Backorders and Bad Design

A few developments to report as the nursery nears completion...

First--the changing table topper was a BUST! I knew I wouldn't like the way it makes the base dresser sit out from the wall, but I was not prepared for the fact that it wasn't going to be compatible with the standard changing pad. IKEA this is not like you. You are better than this. What happened here?





I was willing to take the extras space on top for wipes/supplies, but the topper can't even hold the pad. See it sitting up on the side instead of inside? Boo!


Second--the dresser knobs I ordered finally arrived! The first company I used was terrible and failed to let me know the knobs were on backorder. Terrible service. Full refund. I ended up finding an even better knob with a second company--but they only had 10 in stock (but they called and told me up front) so I got the first 10 and I'm waiting for the remaining six on backorder in a couple weeks.

So far, so good...what do you think?





Originally I had chosen a standard yellow knob but I'm glad I ended up with the butterflies. They are fun! I thought the room could use a few more feminine touches. I also ordered a standard yellow knob, in case the nursery will need to take on a masculine look for baby #2. That's right--we're running all (4) of the future 'CharmCity' babies through this room--that's the plan anyway.

Finally, when decorating nurseries or bedrooms most folks start with the bedding. I always knew I wanted a nice plain white set, but for us, it's one of the last things to arrive in the nursery. It arrives Monday! I'll do another update or perhaps it's time for a finale when I get it all set.

Next Up: My Diaper Bags!

Nursery Glances...

Although I'm still awaiting the arrival of a few more things this week (crib bedding, dresser and changer knob pulls, etc) and I still have some unboxing, organizing, picture, hanging, washing, and setting up to do--the nursery is "done enough" for a few glances...

I love the glider and here it sits in its own corner. You may also recognize the toy cube beneath the lamp. Also, I might add that "Daddy" has lots of shout-outs in this nursery. Not one item about loving mommy--such is my lot in life.

These book shelves from Ikea are a lot of fun and I'm contemplating adding a third--but Charm City Daddy's opinion is less is more. What do you think?

Since I purchased two of those toy cubes--I purposed the other as additional seating with the help of the sheepskin. I like I how the sheepskin softens the room a bit.

And finally my Maryland terrapin scarf sitting pretty above the changing table (without the topper attached). I have always loved this scarf and am so glad it worked in this room. I get a great view of it from the glider too.

That's it for the nursery for now. More to come when I get more unpacked and set up.

And now for some gear. While watching TV yesterday Charm City Daddy only had the patience/attention span for two items, so we picked the swing which now sits nicely in the living room...

And Charm City Daddy's new wheels--the Bob Ironman Jogger.

He joked that he would take the empty jogger on a test run in the morning, yelling out to the neighbors as he passed by "Just testing it out!" He cracks me up.

The jogger will sit in his office on the first floor for a while b/c the thought our newborn flying down the street in it (even with the infant seat attachment) actually terrifies me.

That's where we are so far. The house is slowly being taken over by a 4lb fetus.

Tomorrow is a golf outing with my work colleagues--unfortunately since I've only done the driving range once during the pregnancy and it's going to be hot, I will be driving the golf cart. I also have a doctor's appointment complete with ultrasound in the afternoon, so no need in risking being low on fluids again b/c of sun exposure.

Stay tuned for an appointment update.