room by room :: little girl's bedroom

For this little girls' bedroom, which will also serve as a guest bedroom, my goal was to design a cheery space that was young, but not so juvenile that an adult would feel like they were trapped in a Disney cartoon. And although the color scheme would deviate somewhat from the rest of the house, I still wanted to maintain a blend of traditional, vintage & modern elements.

Breeze Blue Sky by P. Kaufmann :: Melinda's

I found this fun print at a small, but very well stocked fabric store called Melinda's in Brookhaven, MS. It's a modern take on an old-school paisley print and has a variety of colors to work with in fresh, current shades like lime, citrine & raspberry. And at only $24.99/yard, it wouldn't cripple my budget. I had already designed and made the bubble chandelier, which I thought was whimsical and modern at the same time.

DIY Bubble Chandelier :: Lemongrass Interiors

I also had my eye on several vintage-style beds, including a really awesome peacock rattan and this super fun Jenny Lind in the same raspberry color found in my fabric -- (I love it when a design starts coming together!).

Jenny Lind Bed in Raspberry $799/queen :: Land of Nod

Sure the color was perfect and the style was a classic...but the price was a deal breaker. So I  went on the hunt and found an antique bed with turned posts for $50 bucks!! It was originally a full, but since I need to make new rails and repaint the whole thing, I can convert it to a queen with no problems. I'll be sure to post the DIY on that soon. Despite a few sceptical, raised eyebrows,I've chosen Benjamin Moore Italiano Rose for the bed. Online it looks a little rosy, but the actual color is much punchier.

With the inspiration fabric and statement furniture piece set, I decided to go with a pale yellow on the walls. As anyone will tell you (even design veterans), yellow can be tricky! I pulled out my Ben Moore fan deck, tacked up larger samples and painted swatches on the wall diligently checking them at different times of the day. I finally settled on Lemon Sorbet...sounds fun right?

Holy Ray Bans! Though I tried to warm up to it...this color was nearly blinding. After a week, I repainted the room in a tried and true standby...Hawthorne Yellow. Safe, calm...

...and muddy. I didn't even give this one a week. Late one afternoon after I had walked in and out of this room maybe a dozen times, I dumped the remaining Lemon Sorbet in with the remaining Hawthorne Yellow and kept adding white until I reached what I felt was the perfect shade.

Now of course there's no formula for recreating this color, but I was able to take a sample to my paint guy and have a full gallon mixed that (thank goodness!!) was a perfect match. Here's a shot of the new, lovely, makes-me-happy-when-I-see-it color going over the Hawthorne:

yessss!

At this point, the design could use a little white, so I'm planning to repaint a vintage nightstand we already have and I'm on the hunt for a dresser. I'll also be looking for an ornate, carved vintage mirror that I may paint to match the bed. For the finishing touches, I have this Robert Abbey Double Gourd Lamp in Apple Green in my stash...

Apple Green Double Gourd Ceramic Lamp by Robert Abbey $190.91 :: Lamps Plus

...and I found a great source for affordable, original art at Scoutmob. This watercolor has a sweet old fashioned vibe that I love and is only $30.

Modern Floral Watercolor by Kiana Mosley $30 :: Scoutmob (sold out)

For the bedding, I plan to use a plain white duvet set from Target and have my friend "The Monogram Queen" at Persnickey in Port St Joe, FL add a large, classic monogram to the shams a la Leontine Linens. I'm kind of digging the blue color of this monogram, which is also found in the Kaufmann fabric.

I'll top it with a "bed scarf" sewn from the inspiration fabric and maybe one accent pillow. I am forever in love with all things Quadrille, but the China Seas prints are fabric perfection! I think the graphic nature of Aga reverse (as shown on this adorable stool) would be spot on.

Aga Reverse in Watermelon on Tint by China Seas :: To the Trade

Finally, I'm looking for something fun on the floor. Every room can use a little stripe and I'm a big fan of Dash & Albert rugs for their simplicity, functionality & value.

Tiki Stripe by Dash & Albert $225 6X9:: Joseph's Cottage

Tiki Stripe is one fun option and I like the wide, bold swaths of color. I also found this adorable (and cushy) DIY option on the british blog "Conversation Pieces". 

DIY Felt Rug :: Conversation Pieces

I'm not sure if I can get my hands on the same smaller rugs she found, but I'll have fun trying!

room by room :: boys' bedroom

Before we even broke ground, I started gathering ideas and created a design board for each room. Often, my inspiration is sparked by a fabric that I find (or have in my stash). For the boys' bedroom, I started with an awesome orange slubby linen that I had left over from a previous job, some art and accessories gathered over time and this very cool bed that I found on Pinterest.

The style of this bed was perfect for the "streamlined rustic" look I was trying to achieve. I knew it was a DIY project I could easily tackle and I loved the idea that each boy would have his own reading light.

I had about 3 yards of this slubby linen in a great orange color that I used as the jumping off point for the accent color used throughout the room.

After deciding on the accent color, I pulled the rest of the color scheme together with neutrals that were a variation of the basic khaki and black. I wanted the walls and bed color to have an olive tone and the black to be a softer iron color, kind of charcoal. I chose Benjamin Moore's Camouflage for the walls, Creekside Green for the beds and Raccoon Fur for the chest of drawers & nightstands. Then for painted items in the accent color, I used Orange Blossom.

Both boys love hunting and fishing so I ran with that. Some of the accents I planned to use were a vintage Winchester poster, a group of fish prints in simple frames, a couple of unfinished wooden boat oars that I found at a local marine supply store for $19 each and this "warehouse" style pendant from Home Depot that was a great bargain!

Hampton Bay 1-Light Warehouse Pendant $29.88 :: Home Depot

While I loved the style, the brushed nickel finish didn't quite jive with the rest of the room. So I broke out every DIYer's best friend...spray paint. A quick once-over with steel wool to rough up the surface and a couple of coats of Rust-Oleum's Soft Iron spray paint and it was perfect.

Furniture for the room consisted of the beds (I constructed two queens for this room), a nightstand that just needed a color change, a desk and two Tarva chests from Ikea for just $99 each! These have clean lines, are solid pine and are so versatile (there are tons of hacks all over the web). They were also the perfect size for the space and made it possible for each boy to have his own.

Tarva Chest with 5 Drawers $99 each :: Ikea

 As for bedding, I found these great blankets at Target from their Threshold line in a gray pickstick.

Queen Threshold Organic Blanket in Gray Pickstitch $38.99 each :: Target

I had also previously scored a clearance deal on two striped throws from West Elm. I think I bought them before we even had walls, but a deal is a deal... and they had the exact colors and feel that I wanted for the room. For the window treatments, I've sewn simple roman shades in white cotton duck fabric with the soft iron color as an accent. 

In my next post, I'll show you the completed room and how its all come together...

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