Toddler Room Update: Stage 1 (aka Working with What You’ve Got)

Remember how less than 2 weeks ago I said how I couldn’t wait to rip apart Jack’s room… but thought that I would probably do it in two stages so that we can ask for some things for Christmas?

Well, I’m sure that it will surprise NONE of you that I decided to break out my hammer and start changing things over the weekend. What WILL surprise you is that I mainly just used what I had sitting around the house and spent less than $30 on buying new stuff. It’s amazing what a little switching things around can do!

Let’s refresh your memory with some “before” shots:

IMG_2361 IMG_2360 IMG_2359So what did I do?

Well, first off I ripped that sad excuse for a pennant off the wall. I swear when I put it up I kind of liked it, but over the months it just started to look crappier and crappier until BAM I ripped it down with my bare hands while Jack stared at me from the crib like I’d lost my mind.

Once the pennant came down, I switched around a few of the existing picture frames. At this point I haven’t replaced any of the artwork, but in Stage 2 of this process I plan to get a few new prints off of etsy or make them myself.  In place of a couple of the pictures, I hung a mirror that has been sitting in a closet gathering dust (it came as a set with the bathroom vanity we bought here).

IMG_2386

The café curtain was also a victim of my pennant ripping fury, so I found a pretty new pair of curtains at Homegoods for just $20 to replace it. While I was there, I also grabbed some more curtain clips for $5. They ended up being a little larger than the existing ones, but you totally can’t tell unless you stare at them. And honestly, who stares at curtain clips anyway?!

window viewIn a perfect world, I’d also upgrade the curtain rod to something with more presence… but I decided to save my money and try to live with the one we have for now.

The star lanterns came from Joanne’s when they were having a 70% off sale a few months ago. I wasn’t really sure if they would end up in this room or somewhere else (like maybe the sunroom) but they look super cute over the crib.

IMG_2387The only other change I made was that I dragged in an unused lamp and put it behind our reading chair so that I could actually see the words that I’m reading (over and over and over again). In this shot, you can see where two of the picture frames that previously lived over the dresser ended up too. Eventually I’ll switch out the artwork with something more robot-y and maybe add in a couple little frames like the “love” one on my room board post.

IMG_2385I decided not to bring in the orange carpet from the kitchen, because it doesn’t really feel necessary now that I’ve made a few tweaks to the room.

This teeny tiny makeover took less than an hour. LESS than an HOUR and I went from sneering at Jack’s stupid room design to loving it so much that I walk past and ogle it multiple times a day. Now THAT’S a good use of an hour, right?

So there you go, a quickie little change that puts a smile on my face. Have you switched anything around in your house recently? Do you want to buy like 100 of those adorable stars and hang them in your own room like a fairy wonderland? Because I kind of do.

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Bedroom Inspiration

Yay, I’m finally thinking about starting another house project. Well, I mean I’ve been THINKING about all kinds of projects for months and months… but I actually ordered something so that means I’m committed now!

I actually did start ripping things out of my ugly green bathroom, but I’m at a bit of a standstill because I can’t get the {gosh darned} metal bottom part off my {even more gosh darned} ugly green tub. So I need to wait until my dad can come over and help me rip that thing off. The next step in the bathroom project is to purchase a new vanity/sink, toilet and flooring so that when my dad DOES come over, he can watch (aka help) me throw those things together. Crossing my fingers that I can drag the husband out to Home Depot with me on Wednesday night to get a few things.*

So since I have to wait for other people to work on the ugly green bathroom project, I’ve decided to go full steam ahead on the bedroom project!

Basically, our bedroom is just boring at the moment. The walls were a muddy khaki color when we moved in, so we just left it alone and threw our furniture in there. We have some matching furniture from Ikea and a few old pictures I threw up on the wall, but BORING is pretty much the only word that I feel when I walk in there. And that’s kind of NOT the feeling you’d like in your bedroom, right?

So, after stalking a duvet cover on West Elm for months I noticed that one of the colors I liked was backordered until December. YIKES! That was just the kick in the pants I needed to finally go through with my order. The fact that my mom is giving me birthday money helps too!

To celebrate the start of my bedroom makeover, I’ve made my very first mood board. Oh, and if you’d like to follow along with my ideas for this project and others, you can always follow me on Pinterest.

1. Purple/Green Ikat Shower Curtain from World Market — I LOVE this pattern and the 100% cotton curtain is only $25! Using their 25% discount currently running on the website, I got 2 of them for less than $50 to use for curtains.

2. Inspiration quilts — Would like to find a pretty blue quilt to put at the end of the bed for color and added warmth.

3. Gold mirror — this is very similar to a mirror that I already have in my bedroom.

4. and 8. Ikea Hemnes dressers — already owned and loved.

5. Organic Cotton Pintuck Duvet Cover in Soot — lusted after for months and finally ordered from West Elm with my birthday money.

6. Cute yellow owl from West Elm – Also ordered because I love it. I think that the yellow will look great against all the soothing colors.

7. Inspiration bench — planning to put padding and upholstery on our old coffee table to make it look kind of like this bench. Will place at the foot of the bed as a Potter step.

9. Possible wall color — will have a better idea once I receive the curtains and duvet cover.

Also on the project list is to build an upholstered headboard and also figure out some kind of art for the walls. Now that I’ve ordered a few things off the mood board I’ll have to sit patiently and wait for them to arrive so I can make sure I love them just as much in person. Oh, and also descend on Homegoods like a crazy shopping banshee – I could still use some pretty bright colored sheets (maybe more of a turquoise), the blue quilt and a couple fun accessories!

Hopefully I’ll have a full bedroom reveal with before and after pictures within the next month or so. How about you, are you finally getting around to a project you’ve been putting off for months?

 

*Yes, I’m the one that drags HIM to Home Depot. In our house, I’m the Queen of home improvement projects and he’s the King of vehicle projects.

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