Sydney's Bedroom

Sydney's bedroom is complete!  She opened her quilt Christmas morning and napped under it that afternoon!


Her room was definitely a labor of love.  Not only did I sew her quilt, but I painted and distressed her furniture as well.  I brought the bed home from my Grandmother's attic- it's a family heirloom that my dad slept on as a kid.  If family lore is correct, my ancestors from Germany brought this bed with them when they sailed to America in the 1860s! The miniature roll top desk was also an attic treasure, and had belonged to my aunt in the 1950s.  The bedside table is also an antique that I remember from my house growing up.  All three pieces were different wood tones and all needed some TLC.  They got a good sanding and 2 coats of paint before they were distressed and sealed with a polyurethane top coat.  I found the cute bird lamp at Kirkland's.



The dresser was also painted to match the other furniture, but I ran out of energy (and paint) so the bookshelf is from Target!  I sewed a slipcover for the chair so it would match the room and added glass knobs to the dresser.

I love how everything turned out, but I hope she realizes she is NEVER, EVER allowed to redecorate her room!

Pinterest Links:
-  Name sign above bed: http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/11/letter-photo-art-for-christmas.html#comment-28729
-  How to recover kid's foam chair:  http://www.honeybeevintage.com/2010/10/foam-chair-slipcover.html

Paint color:  Behr Hawaiian Shell

Master Bedroom, Stage 1

For Christmas, we treated ourselves to a bedroom upgrade.  I ordered new bedding and we painted the walls dark greenish-brown color.  There is still so much to do for this room, but this is a step in the right direction.  We will eventually furnish the seating area by the windows, but the kids  currently enjoy using this space as their dance floor.  Maybe my next sewing project will be drapes...

New Paint:  Behr Butternut Wood in flat enamel
New Bedding: Pottery Barn Sienna Paisley  http://www.potterybarn.com/products/sienna-paisley-duvet-cover-shams/  

Sydney's Quilt

Sydney's quilt is finally done, and that means her room is one step closer to being finished as well!  

The quilt was nearly a year in the making...I ordered the fabric and pattern in January!

The fabric is Urban Cowgirl by Urban Chiks for Moda Fabrics.  It's inspired by vintage western shirts, and I thought it would go great with the antique distressed furniture.

The pattern I used was Tumbling Nine Patch by Sweet Jane's Quilting and Design.


I finished this little bird appliqué pillow yesterday.  I was inspired to do the birds after buying some pictures to hang in her room.  (I can't wait to finish the whole room so I can show off my finds...I'm so happy with how everything is coming together!)

P is for Purple Powder Room

So, let me start this post by saying that stenciling is a pain in the butt.  I think it looks gorgeous and I love it, but it will be a long, long time before I stencil another wall.  I stenciled the powder room in the last house, but that was before kids and I don't remember it being this time consuming.  I guess I had 17 hours to waste before kids (Yes, I logged 17 hours on the stenciling alone).  I should quit whining, because the room is just how I envisioned it and that's all that matters.

When I decided to paint the powder room, I knew I wanted a bold color.  I think you can get away with being bold in a powder room.  I was leaning towards a gray-almost black until I saw this deep plum color.  I used Sherwin Williams paint, and this color is Expressive Plum.  The stencil color is called Jogging Path, with silver acrylic paint layered on top.




(Right before I started prepping to paint, I remembered to take a 'before' shot.  It's not great, and I somehow managed to get a child and myself in the shot!  Oh well, it just makes the 'after' shot look that much better!)

A Sneak Peek at Sydney's Room

Sydney's room is not complete, mainly because she's still sleeping in her crib which takes up a large corner of the room. I have finished painting all the furniture and couldn't resist posting a sneak peek!

The Pool

The pool was technically finished February 26, but I didn't want to post pictures until the landscaping was in place. It is now not only finished, but it's officially in use as well. 

Here is the BEFORE shot. This big backyard was just begging for a pool, so who were we to argue?!

The fun begins...The digging started January 27, 2012.


No turning back now...The hole looked REALLY big.


The next step was rebar and plumbing...



They did the gunite January 31, 2012.  This was a really interesting process to watch, and the pool was finally starting to look like a pool.


By February 9, the gunite had cured, flagstone coping was in place and the patio was formed.  Oh, and we'd had about a week of rain...


After many more days of rain delays, it was finally time for the plaster.  We chose to go with a darker blue Quartzscape and couldn't be happier.  This was another fun day to watch, as this was also blown in with hoses, then smoothed in place, like the gunite.


While the plaster cured, they pored the pea gravel decking around the pool.  All done (minus some much-needed landscaping) on February 26, 2012.


And here are some pictures I took today.  We added beds and lots of palm trees.  Our favorite palm varieties are the Canary Palms, and Robelini Palms.  We also added a couple lounge chairs and new umbrellas to the patio area.


Here is a shot of the equipment area.  We added a second gate for security.  The rocks around the equipment have been great, but the BEST addition has been the sidewalk that runs from patio to the driveway. There are so many great things about the pool so it's almost silly that the sidewalk is one of our favorite things (but it is!).


This is the view coming through the gate into the yard.


And the view from the lounge area. 

Built-Ins

BEFORE

AFTER

The built-ins were finished just after the new year, but I've been busy trying to accessorize. Thanks to the 80% off aisle at Hobby Lobby and a few things from the old house, I guess I've got the shelves full enough to share pictures!

We think it makes such a huge difference in the living room, but visitors don't seem to immediatly notice the new built-ins. We think they are beautifully done, and can only assume the lack of attention they recieve is because they look like they should have always been there!

The Office

We finished another room a while back, but it's taken me a while to take pictures and post them. Why? Well, it's not exactly a room I regularly use and the door stays locked most of the time. It's Daniel's office and it's where he sips coffee in the morning and prepares for trips. It's also where the S key gets pried off the laptop keyboard if he forgets to lock the door!

Night and Day

We've continued to work on the front yard... Dan worked nearly 3 days straight adding rocks around the flower beds...

...and lighting!

Big Boy Room

I decided it was time for my 4 year old to have his 'Big Boy Room'. When asked for his opinion, he requested green and black walls (his two favorite colors). Thinking that might be a little extreme, I decided to honor his wishes with green and black racing stripes!



I have been planning his big boy room pretty much since I finished his nursery, and knew I wanted a world map mural on the wall. It's gorgeous and I love it, but I learned one thing the hard way- 'pre-pasted' doesn't mean much. If I'm ever crazy enough to try to wallpaper something again, I will buy my own paste thank-you-very-much.



The bedding and curtain panels are also new, but making appearances from the nursery are the animal photographs and 5ft tall stuffed giraffe. Both Walter and I were too nostalgic to part with either. Dan travels to Africa occasionally for work and took pictures of the baby animals while on safari one year.



I also have to point out the furniture was Dan's when he was a little boy as well!