Co-ed Nursery

To cheer us up (okay, to cheer me up) in the midst of all this remodeling drama, here's a little something to make you smile.
The Situation: one 6-week old baby boy and one 16 month-old girl, both in diapers and cribs
The Space: a 9x13 room with one standard sized window, average-sized closet, vaulted ceilings, and blue painted walls complete with airplane stencils along the ceiling line
The Plan: make a garden paradise that suits both genders and is super-cheap. I mean CRAZY cheap - diapers are expensive

The pictures really don't do it justice, but this was the final product. The rest of the pics are in-progress.

I used the height and hung these 'clouds', stuffing ripped and fluffed and wrapped in white thread which I suspended and hung from the ceiling by tacks. A few birds and several butterflies from the floral section of the hobby store are hanging, too. It's hard to see, but where the green and blue meet on the walls is a 1/2 inch ribbon trim, white with green polka dots on the left, purple with white polka dots on the right. I don't love the curtains, but I had them from 2 apartments ago and just made them work.

At first, it was arranged a little differently, so don't let that confuse you. This was our plan:

• paint the bottom 2/3 of the wall grass green, or roughly shoulder height
• paint cheap ($20) white yard-sale dresser darker shade of green, then paint over that with whimsical wildflowers (I know I am not an artist, that's why I said whimsical)
• buy one gender-neutral green toille bedding set ($40 at consignment sale) - green is a great option, as are red, yellow, and of course, white - blue can be pulled off, too
• split the set between two beds - one got the dust ruffle, the other got the bumper, each got coordinating sheets that changed frequently (these are babies we're talking about here), the pillow goes in the chair
• add shades of pink to soften up the boy-ish looking walls and paint flowers on lower section of wall, glue butterflies to upper section
• hang fancy blanket (gift) on wall as tapestry (you can't see the white embroidery in the center, but it was a really cute bunny)

This crib (girl) has a pink floral sheet with green leaves on it, a pink blanket, and the green toille dust ruffle. The pink rocker was a gift from my mother and grandmother (floor sample, $300 - and awesome!). The crib itself came from a family member and just happened to match the one we already had been given by a friend. 

It was fate.

This was the first crib we had, now used for a newborn baby boy. He got the toille bumper and sheet. As he grew, we lowered the mattress then eventually switched him to the other crib and removed the front off this one to make a toddler bed for our older daughter. The changing table on the side was super convenient and it was much easier having both kids and all their diaper paraphernalia in one place.

Quick note about rockers. PLEASE don't get a glider! I know they look comfortable and lure you in with their matching gliding ottomans, but really, you will never be able to use that chair in any other room. Worse! When your baby is no longer a baby, it will look completely out of place in their room! An armchair-style rocker - basically a comfortable chair that happens to rock - will stand the test of time and if you choose the right fabric, can work in more than one room. This pink one is now in my second daughter's nursery, and before that was in my 5 yr old daughter's room without looking out of place. 

Something to think about...

  

                 Room costs:
green paint for walls - $25
dresser - $20
dark green paint for dresser - $8

pink paint for trunk (oops can) - $2

clouds (3 bags of stuffing) -  $9

butterflies  - $12
curtains (already had, but original cost) - $20

Green toille bedding  - $40     

cribs - free hand-me-downs

chair - baby shower gift ($300 in store)

pink sheet ($8 at Target) - shower gift

TOTAL  $136

Downstairs...of Horrors!

So this is the living room. I know - it's very sad. Go ahead and cry.

 I've removed the lovely brass frame from around the gas fireplace and it looks much more hearth-like without it. It's a long room - the dining room is directly to the right in this pic, the big front window and door to the left. The room you can see through the door is a sort of sun room that we are making an office. It's below.

Those doors look out into the backyard via the pergola -covered patio.There's a gas heater that I want to turn into a gas fireplace. You can see it on the right of the pic. The ceiling was covered in horrible foam-cardboard-y tiles that I popped off and found beadboard underneath. Yay! A few hours of prying out staples and the ceiling was ready. This room is fun, but FREEZING! When it warms up, I'm sure I'll be in there all the time.

This is from the living room looking into the dining room. Love the archway, but behind those hideous curtains are TONS of cracks in the plaster. We've patched it all, and I am painting it this weekend... I think. 

This is the full-on dining room shot. The chandelier is actually covered in tiny bunches of grapes - super tacky - but it looks alright from a distance. The carpet is up to reveal the wood floor. The kitchen is through the little door on the right.  

This pic (below) is the other end of the living room. Front door is immediately to the right.

Because the kitchen is out of commission, the dining room is full of kitchen boxes and I have a slight urge to cry when I walk in there. But hopefully, with a coat of paint and a little more elbow grease, we'll be set. Hopefully...

Scary Kitchen

If you've ever read this blog before, you know I like cheerful kitchens. That knowledge should make this kitchen doubly horrifying.

Now this first picture might not seem so bad, but know that the counter in front of the window is only about as deep as a toaster oven. Apparently it was shortened to make space for the dishwasher.








This is the counter just next to it. Notice the maroon wallpaper with fluffy teal trees interspersed with geese wearing bows. (more close ups of wall paper later)

 Here's the whole room shot. That's my husband and daughter in the middle. The ceilings are high, just over 9 feet, and the sad ceiling fans come with. Those cabinets are solid wood, form the very bottom all the way to the ceiling is just one long piece. The floor is brown porcelain tiles. they are very slick, as I learned last week when I stepped on a fallen cookie sheet and slid all the way down until I met said tiles with my derriere.

The floor is so patterned and brown that you can't even see what you're sweeping, you just keep going in the same direction and hope you're getting it all.

Here's the best part! Just next to the kitchen is what used to be a hallway and is now a hallway AND a bathroom! Talk about multi-tasking! That doorway leads to the half bath (which you can see) and to the left is a door to the basement and a door leading outside to the side of the house.

This is the view when you come in the side door. Literally. You open the door, and this is what you see. At least you don't have far to go if you've been holding it in the car!

Big New Adventure

So we just bought this. --> 

As an impulse purchase at an auction. It took us a year and a half to choose a CAR, so this was a little out of character for us. 

It's a 2300 sq. ft. English country style house with a lot of Tudor-style architecture. We absolutely love the style and the outside of it, but the inside is a total wreck. We are remodeling it slowly on our own, and so far it has been equal parts exhilarating and stressful. Take a look. 

It's full of interesting details like the arched front door here. It has a knocker and a little window covered in shutters that can be opened from the inside. It's very Keebler elves.

There's also this on the side of the house...

And this super fun gate on the other side...  

And there's a window box. I LOVE window boxes!

This gorgeous attic will (hopefully one day soon) become a kick ass Peter Pan-style nursery for the kids. 

I'll be posting pics here regularly along with little snippets of updates. Follow this blog to keep up with all our amazing / horrifying exploits!