Friday, March 28, 2014

Designing a room for the grandkids Part 3...

The madness continues.

After looking at the last design, 50 million times... I've decided to change my mind... because that's what I do...

We're sticking with the same essentials - White bed, white desk and white book shelves... so other than the purple hardware, I've got a pretty blank canvas...

So I was thinking... this might be a room for the kid(s) when they sleep over, but my mom and dad still have to look at it the rest of the time and maybe... just maybe... that purple-lime combo was a bit too much... I still haven't decided but I'm going to try to give them more options (since it is their house and all... knowing all the while that my dad couldn't care less and is probably wondering why he's going to paint this room... yet again).


So onto a more sophisticated grand-kid room... we'll keep the Behr New Violet color because it's super pretty and my mom's pretty set on purple walls.

I am absolutely in love with these pulls from Anthropologie but they are pricey and given that I would need aproximately 7 billion for all the drawers on this furniture, I'll keep dreaming

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-hardware/30190979.jsp?cm_sp=Grid-_-30190979-_-Regular_10
Also OBSESSED with the Giraffe bust (also from Antrho). It keeps the room from getting too grown up


The bedding, curtains (print, solid), small baskets (which will work perfectly in corralling stray crayons and markers on the desk) and chair are all from Ikea. I'm thinking that the chair could definitely use a coat of gold spray paint to make it blend better with the drawer knobs that I'll never buy. But a few brass frames (sunshinewhole heart) from Sugarboo & Co.  will not only look so so sweet with pictures of the grandkid(s) on the bookshelves... they will look so much better if the chair is gold (not silver) and white.

http://www.target.com/p/threshold-decorative-woven-storage-basket-multicolored-13x15x13/-/A-14715839#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink

I'm totally digging the global feel of this design and I love love love the map canvas and a few of these woven baskets (from Target) tie it all together. The baskets would look great lined up on the bottom of the bookshelves and will be perfect for hiding toys from plain sight (which I'm sure will make Gingin a very happy grandmother).

Another thing that will really make Gingin happy - a rules sign - especially a rules sign that starts with "no whining"! This may very well be my favorite thing in the long line amazingness that is Sugarboo & Co. and I'm pretty sure it was created just for my parents' house (the only way it could be more perfect is if it stopped at frowning, teehee).

http://www.sugarbooandco.com/products/no-whining


We'll just call this one "Budget Blown" but it's so pretty so I don't care...

Bedding: $24.99 (x2)
Curtains: $24.99 (x2), $9.99 (x2)
Baskets: $5.99 (x3), 27.98 (x3)
Wall Decor:$59.99, $36.50, $48

Frames: $36 (x2... for now)
Chair: $19.99
Total: $458.33
oops... that doesn't even include sheets, decorative pillows or paint, so a conservative addition there will be another $150 or so...  But still not bad to have the whole room done for under $600 (just twice as much as the earlier design... nbd)





Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Designing a Room for Grandkids - Part 2



Because I just can't help myself... I've been doing a little more digging into the decor for Gingin and Pop's grandkids' guest room.



I just couldn't leave well enough alone... I thought, this room is for kids... it's going to need books and baskets and personalization... but I'm still on a super-tight budget.

So I thought I'd include a few of these super-cheap frames which can hold a picture of each grandkid as they come along... so for now, so what if they are all filled with Elisabeth... all Elisabeth.... all the time... meh... no one's complaining (yet).

TOLSBY Frame for 2 pictures IKEA You can display one picture on each side as the frame has no back panel.
They're really inexpensive and match the style of the existing furniture really well... plus, there are tons of "hack" ideas all over pinterest if we ever decide we need a rainy day art project at Gingin's.

RIFFLA Basket IKEA Each basket is woven by hand and is therefore unique.
I love the idea of adding baskets to the bookshelves in this room to organize and separate (and hide) some of the toys that will likely end up stowed at my parents' house. Adding this one also makes the space more interesting by breaking up some of the white-mod furniture and also brings in some more color and a natural element where everything else is a little plastic.




http://missmustardseed.com/2012/01/family-room-updates/


There will obviously need to be some kind of adorable arts and craft storage - like this cute crayon caddy... or maybe these super-fun containers.


mason-jar-gift-idea-animal-topped-jar zoo animals

Of course, I'm obsessed with the idea of book ledges and want them in my own house but 1 or 2 in this room might do it some good :) I love love love the thought of swapping out the books for the seasons and being able to display the very best and most-favorites for the kiddies.
Ikea picture ledges for children's front facing book shelves $9.99

 Some of our favorites growing up were:
and of course, all of the Disney Classic Series (Aladdin, Lion King, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast...)
And then, there were the books we read to Cara (years and years later) and most of them were the same, but she absolutely loved any stories about dogs, horses, and really, animals in general.

All things Biscuit
and her very favorite Balto: The Bravest Dog Ever

 
I don't think we actually NEED these but I just think they're so freaking cute! I love the idea of the kids being able to hang all their dress-up and make believe clothes from them and putting on performances.

BĂ„STIS Hook IKEA Made from soft rubber; no sharp edges to bump against.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Designing a room for Grandkids

Ever since my younger brother moved to Colorado after Christmas, my mom has been having some SERIOUS empty nest syndrome... she just changed her FB picture to this one of her and Danny Boy at his going-away party (lookin a lil teary there momma)...


Since then, my younger sister has expanded her reign throughout the entire upstairs of my parents' house (except the master bed/bath)... This BLOWS MY MIND! As one of six kids, we always always always shared rooms. Now, she's the last one and she gets three for herself!

This isn't exactly flying at the Brett Nut House and my mom wants to consolidate little sis into one room and make the other 2 guest rooms (1 for kids and 1 for adults... even though they'll both have bunk beds?) Since my mom's just too busy to fix this, I've taken it upon myself to design Cara's old room.

The trouble is that I can't just go crazy and spend a ton of money (because really, who has extra of that floating around?) and I also have to incorporate as many of the existing pieces as humanly possible... I love a challenge!

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First up, I have to work with a Joker pallet... purple and green... not terribly difficult but I really need to make sure this room DOES NOT look like a DC comic, especially not one of the creepiest villains ever.

So I'm working with the existing furniture, which is great for storage and awesome for kids, but not the prettiest - and it has huge purple pulls... which also, great for kids but not the most attractive... but there are like 27 drawers on this stuff so replacing them just isn't gonna work.




http://www.bunkbeds-hq.com/berg-furniture/captains-twin/


Then we have a lovely lime green shaggy carpet and a lime green desk chair... This is what happens when Mom has 1 idea for the decor (pink, orange and yellow flip flop-girly-beachy theme and her then-7 year old kid wants a "Jimmy Buffet/ship wreck" room with lime green and Caribbean blue.) Can't be too rough on my mom here because anyone would have given into this kid! She was a master negotiator by the time she was 3.

So after scouring the interweb for what seemed like hours... I was able to compile a few cute things that make this room less joker-y and more girly-fun... and WITHOUT blowing the budget!


Where I found the bedding:

Stipped Bedding: Ikea, $19.99
Polka Dot Sheets: Kohl's, (listed online for $39.99, but in-store they were only $19.99 and I had a 30% off coupon and Kohl's cash... so they were practically free)
Lime Green Pillow: Ikea, $3.99
Purple Ruffle Pillow: Kohl's, $64.99 (you know I also didn't pay that - seriously... in store, it was at least 1/2 that price)
LOVE Pillow: Kohl's, $34.99 (these were buy 1, get 1 for 50% off... plus the coupon, plus Kohl's cash) 
Total for bedding: (using coupons and Kohl's cash) $158.38

And the Artwork:

Bird print: Ikea, $9.99
Colorful butterflies: Ikea, $12.99
Purple Butterflies: Ikea, $12.99

And just when you thought I was a 2-stop-shopper... 
The curtain panels are from Target 2 sets for just $19.99 each!
Total for accessories and decor: $75.95

Of course, I'll be painting the walls a toned down version of Radiant Orchid (Behr Ultra New Violet) because it's just so pretty, vibrant and fun! (just like Gingin's granddaughter, Miss Elisabeth)

The grand total of this room will end up being under $300!
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