Sneak peek: some (impatient) before and afters

When rooms unfold slowly, I have this bad habit of sharing before and afters before we're really done (or photographed properly).  A habit I am about to indulge.

These are some pretty ghastly before shots:

Both rooms has 80s wallpaper along with bad mauve carpeting and golden oak trim.  The trim we left alone for now (trim is such a huge project because it is everywhere!), and while the carpet will be replaced eventually, we did tear down the wallpaper, stat.

These kids are currently two and four, so the beds are on the floor.

In Lael's room, we painted the walls a pale mint green and brought in happy prints and patterns that aren't too princessy sweet.  (This was the original inspiration.  Turned out the inspiration headboard didn't come in a Queen, so we rethought, here.  That's pretty much exactly what we ended up with!)

Love the watercolors by Lael (top) and her brother (bottom).

In Oliver's room, we lightened up with a blue-grey paint and offset the wood pieces with navy, green, and a car-themed art wall.

The abstract paintings are by Oliver, too.

Oli's room is pretty much complete, but Lael's still needs book shelves, a chair, and possibly a dresser makeover.  We're getting there.

It will be fun to share a full reveal (you know, including the other sides of these rooms), sometime this summer.

For now, hope you like the transformation!

Ideas for an allergen-free boys room

A little while back, I worked on a room design for a boy with severe allergies.  They had a great, basic, solid wood furniture set, but with the outing of the cute "softs" (rug, windows, throw pillows), mom was struggling to bring in the life, color, and personality.

I did three complete designs, including desk, storage, lighting, and seating, but each had a dramatic "moment" as its starting point, in lieu of all those soft and patterned items that are oh-so-bad for allergies.

1.  Wallpaper the ceiling

The milky way draws the eye up; pops of red paired with architectural elements put the emphasis on shape over pattern. 

2.  Paint stripes

The room was already green.  Why not add broad white stripes to the walls?  Keep additional furnishings streamlines and add whimsy with a marquee arrow and numbered bins.

3.  How about a mural?

I've done it before (and before, and before) and I'll do it again: wallpaper one wall in an interesting and personally significant image, like the map of your hometown or a blow-up of your kids drawings.  To play nice with the vintage street map, I included a french-flea-market inspired hamper for rolling lego storage, a vintage printers tray to display treasured objects, and a locker-desk and wheel-lamp.  Nothing says whimsy like one thing used as another.

Sadly, none of these rooms are to be, as the family is likely moving.  But it was fun to get creative without relying on some of the usual tricks of the trade to make a space sing.

Boys room REVEAL!

Yesterday I told you I would have something useful someday soon.

And then I got photos from afar, revealing how this:

Became this!

And this, too!

We still need to hang art, tweak details, etc, and I can't wait to go out there next month to finish up.  But it is already such a big change, and so danged cute, I just had to share.

This was the board:

That little orange table and chairs is in the space, too, in a little nook I didn't show you yet--cause it's not finished.

I was just about to wish you a happy weekend.  Then I realized that only in Minnesota are all the children home from school for the next two days.

Evolution of a boy's room

Remember this little boy's room?

Here's the final design board.

The original rug was one they had--but when they hauled it up to the room, it was too thick to get the door open!  So with chartreuse out of the picture we went for a bold wall map (actually an inexpensive one from Pottery Barn kids) and grounded the floor with a grey rug, picking up the charcoal stripe in the zig zag chair.

Can't wait to see it all come together in the space!

Oliver's Nursery

I'm doing a nursery! So excited. Here's the before:

The space is under the eaves of a charming tudor, presenting some challenges/opportunities in all those angled walls. Originally, I was thinking we would do a map treatment on the big angled wall when you enter the room (to the left of the crib in the last photo above), kind of like this.

[via House Beautiful, 2006]

But coming into the space again, I was struck by the crib nook,

and now we're thinking about tenting it.

[Tobi Fairley]

[via Material Girls Blog]

[via The Captive Reader]

So cute, right?
Maybe awning stripes?

[fabric from Ikea]

We are keeping the green paint and roman blinds, and originally thought about bringing in navy as an accent, though Oliver's mom is thinking it might be too dark, and found this inspiration room, from the HGTV 2010 green home, to offer an alternative palette.



Well, you know I never say no to orange.

I'm thinking about vintage school posters for art

[available at Hunt and Gather]

Or maybe some typography

[Ikea]

Some great storage, a sweet spot to sit, a lamp or two. The creative juices are flowing. Stay tuned!