My little guy’s new ‘big boy’ room!

But let me back up a bit.

For those of you just tuning in, I’m working on turning my little guy Chace’s nursery into his big boy room. He’ll be three in a few months so time to de-crib and welcome him to twin bed-ville. As well as update to his older taste (‘sniff) and activity level.

His nursery was sweet. Decorated when I was preggo eggo and we didn’t know what we were having. As a result, we kept it neutral. A light celery shade and white made their way up on them thar walls (why the pirate?).

Furniture placement was functional for a newborn but as Chace grew and we had to make some changes (baby proof by moving the crib away from the blinds, move a tall storage unit to our family room for toys etc.) As a result, the ‘cuteness’ of the nursery started evolving. Throw in some toddler gear, a toddler bed that we were hoping to transition him to (“no mommy, crib”), random things on his bookshelves, a new toy bin and we had this…

Not horrible but definitely not functional for a growing two and a half year old! No room to play, an outdated palette (for his age) and decorative items that are too ‘feminine’ and/or baby for him (the mirror, rocker etc.)

And don’t even get me started on this closet…

A functionally-challenged closet. And I’m a neat freak (oh the shame).

However, as mentioned in detail here, I had a plan! Here is my design layout ideas and mood board to refresh your memory.

As mentioned previously, my real ‘jumping off point’ was the bedding (and using existing pieces of furniture) and I am pleaseed to report that ‘step one’ has been executed is complete.

WE HAVE PAINT PEOPLE! Ah, ‘er, Operation-Step-One-In-Chace’s-Bedroom-redo is done.

As part of my plan was to turn Chace’s (can we say’ underused’) closet into a cool dude ‘nook’ I began by removing the doors and emptying his closet of the ‘stuff’ and the shelving (except the top shelf which I am reserving for some storage).

I was left with a lot of these pretty craters.

Oh, and some nice scuff marks.

Since I was on a roll I removed the shelving, mirror, art print etc. from the walls as well and began patching those holes.

Then I got my patch on and did the same to the closet/future nook.

My plan for this future reading/chalkboard/inspiration gallery nook was large horizontal stripes (refer to this post for details. So, once everything was patched, sanded and ready to go I did a fresh coat of white and then I measured the closet from the floor (excluding baseboard) to the roof. Then I played around with 6, 7 and 8 stripes. I decided on 7, making each stripe 13.3″ tall.

To make measuring these out uber-easy I used a tape measure which I had marked at the notch past 13.25″…

and my fave DIY tool – my laser level (clouds parting, angels singing).

This puppy is redonkulous. If you’ve never used one of these, let me break it down for you.

a) Turn on and line up the laser beam on the mark you made with your ruler
b) find the ‘level’ spot by using the water/air levels built within the main unit. You can have the laser pointing horizontal (in my case) or vertical.
c) Once the little water bubble tells you that you are level apply light pressure and this amazing gadget suctions to the wall!
d) make your pencil marks in intervals along the laser line that is projected
e) yes, it bounces around corners and keeps going!
f) to do the ‘other side’ of your level line, rotate the middle section, re-level your water/air thingy and repeat.
g) turn off and release.
h) genius!

That bubble doesn’t look level but it’s just the picture I promise.

Next I lined up my painters tape along my pencil marks. I taped on the ‘inside’ of the white stripes since I would be painting grey over the fresh coat of white.

Made a pencil notation of which stripes were to be grey (so I didn’t mess up and paint the wrong one!)

Then I started painting the stripes! The colour was chosen to coordiate with the cute owl bedding as seen here.

I applied two coats and then removed the tape. In between these steps I also did two coats of blue (again, inspired by the new bedding) around the top part of the main room.

And now for the ‘ta da’ moment.

Here are is the closet nook all painted (yet unadorned)…

(does anyone know how to remove that gross stain in the closet? It was from a candle – wrapped in tissue, IN a box). Holy die transfer Batman. Crickey). Suggestions welcome…

But back to the stripe action. Here’s a tip. I took the tracks for the door down BUT left the little holes as they were when patching the others so that future re-installation of the doors would not be a nightmare. You can see one in the corner here.

And how did the room turn out? Just peachy bluey.

Oh, and I must mention that Chace does not sleep in an empty crib. He was just taking part in the toddler relocation plan that I was running while I let the room air out for a few days. Blankies went with…

Your crib days are numbered kiddo (but I not so secretely love them). Next on my Operation Big Boy Room hit list is a new bed (gasp).

And how did the new paints work with the bedding? Here is the bag it came in held up to the wall in the room and stripey nook so you can see for yourself.

I think it’s a hoot hit.

Yes, I just went there.

Having so much fun with this. Can’t wait to work on the next phase!

UPDATE – see all the Big Boy Room upgrade posts here!

link party

Sigh, where does the time go? It feels like just yesterday we welcomed our little guy home and in a few short months he will be the big 0-3! Three? Really? sigh…

BUT, one of the perks of little boys turning into big boys is that their nursery needs to grow with them!

Over the next little bit I’ll be working on converting Chace’s room into his ‘big boy’ haven and will be sharing it on this blog as I do. Let me share what I have planned…

It all started with this bedding and my romance with it.

Dwell Studio

My parents bought it for me for Christmas (thanks Mom and Dad!)…  Yes, I got bedding for my son as my Christmas gift. And I was really happy about it. Either my folks know me really well… or just prefer their grandson over their daughter (both very likely scenarios). Either way, my ‘jumping off point’ for the bedroom inspiration was in my hot little hands.

So, with that, I began dreaming up some plans of how I could convert Chace’s room. I came up with this mood board based on what I was thinking. I wanted to make sure I could reuse some of the things we already had and wanted to have a plan of what to buy as fundage permitted.

I will go into further detail in a moment but first you need to see my plans for where all of these things go. This is the part where you laugh (or nod your head understandingly) at my “type A”ness.

Behold, a ‘to scale’ diagram of what I have in mind… What? That’s not crazy, I ‘er, ah, had to make sure everything would fit…

A fun thing I am planning to do is to turn Chace’s current closet into a ‘nook’ (more on that below). My plan for painting this space is to do white and grey large horizontal stripes.

Modern Jane

1. Thrifty Decor Chick   2. Little Hell Raiser   3. Home23DuncanBoys

As mentioned above, I plan to paint deep horizontal stripes in grey and white. I also want to create a reading corner so will have some forward facing and traditional book storage.

Myers Three – how adorable is that pup!?

For seating I was thinking of having a beanbag chair but they’ve been challenging to find so I’m leaning towards creating my own ‘soft zone’ by hooking a pillow to the wall (as a back rest) and perhaps using a pillow or circle rug on the floor. 

ikea

Of course every little nook needs some lighting…

ikea

And a chalkboard area! I plan to paint some chalkboard paint on one wall (see diagram above for where it will fit in the closet nook).

Bloesem Kids

I also want to create a little ‘gallery wall’ along the back long wall of the closet nook. I plan to feature cute art, sayings etc. Bright, cheery and inspiring!

I’m also planning on having a table and chairs for art as well as some fun toy storage, shelves and a little area rug by his bed – which will also be new. Bye-bye crib, hello Big Boy Bed! I also have some plans to update his curtains from ‘basic’ gender neutral nursery ones with some little boy flava.

And last but not least, every little artist needs a place to hang their creations so I plan to have three little ‘gallery stations’ where Chace can clip (and change out) his mini masterpieces.

iheartorganizing

So that’s the plan. Should be simple right? (what have I gotten myself in to?). No, but in all seriousness, I can’t wait to get started and create a fun little space for my fun little dude.

And I’ll share it all right here on this ‘ol blog for those of you who’d like to follow along :).

UPDATE – see all the Big Boy Room upgrade posts here!

This weekend I finally got to decorate our mantel for the holidays!

Introducing our ‘merry mantel’.

** read this post to the tune of “White Christmas” ** Why? ’cause it’s fun that’s why 😉

Merry Chrismtas Everyone 🙂

Update: The mantel got a new addition since this post – Head on over and meet Sparkle the Reindeer and read about how he came to join the mantle here 🙂

Check out my other merry Christmas posts!

Oh Christmas Tree

Reindeer Noses party favours

Quaint little village… and a 2 1/2 year old Yeti

Rudolph’s long lost cousin… “Sparkle”

Have a holly jolly… front door stoop?

Christmas in July

link party

… okay, “Christmas”, It’s the best time of the year!

HAPPY DECEMBER 1st! Our little guy is awaking to an advent calendar today. His first (he’s two and a half). Unfortunately I’ll be at work so my husband will get to enjoy all the fun with him!

But, back to the task at hand….
We may not have snow but this girl’s got balls (and I don’t feel awkward typing that – no, not at all).

As you may have noticed, I’ve been busy creating our winter planter. And the best part? Aside from the fact that I get to say something that makes me kind of squirmy (fun right?) is the cost! Or lack thereof! This whole look only cost about $10. Not too shaaabby (did anyone else just hear the Adam Sandler song in their head?).

I already had the large balls from a previous year and I used to hang them as giant decoration with our Chrismas lights on the house. However, after years of dropping them and one especially rowdy New Years Eve party where they became soccer balls (ahem, cough, Kev’s-friend-who-shall-remain-nameless) they had seen better days. In other words, I had cracked balls. Or my balls were on crack? No, sorry, the first one. Although they do sort of look like they are on steroids no? I wouldn’t really know, I’m not that kind of gal. I just thought it sounded funny. And I ramble. With me yet?

Anyway, the planter has the curly willow and pussy willow all year round so that was zero dollars… The red berries were about $5, purchased at a local garden centre. The red branches were also about the same. So if you’re good with math (I’m not, so I married an accountant) you will see we’ve already reached our grand total.

The pinecones I already had from a past Christmas arrangement. I used three large ones here.

I kept them from diving out of the planter to meet (yet another) untimely death by using some fishing wire as you can see below. I loosely hooked the balls around some of the branches to stop them from tipping over the edge. Since they are plastic they are very lightweight so the branches easily hold them. Oh, and it’s probably apparent but I just stuck the branches and leaves into the dirt. They are all just ‘cut’ so there is no real planting involved. Due to what they are they don’t seem to dry out before the season is over. How is that for easy maintenance!?

The greenery I ‘borrowed’ from the woods behind our house. And lucky for me, they weren’t charging that day.

The wreath on the front door is one I made a few years back by simply winding two large ‘berry garlands’ (found at Michaels craft store) together to create a simple wreath form.

It’s actually my Autumn wreath but I think it works better with the planter than my winter one does so it looks like it’s staying out for another season!

And that’s it! A simple porch makeover that when combined with taking the photos, writing this blog post and saying ‘red balls’ a bunch of times makes for a very effective way to procrastinate doing laundry. Oh. Laundry. Right. Drats.

But it’s SOOOO much prettier than laundry. Maybe I should just wear the balls and give the wreath to Kev? Umm. Scrath that. Laundry. Stat.

Things are getting spicy over here! Okay, not really but this old spice rack got an update. Not too bad in her ‘day’, but looking a tad wimpy by today’s standards. Who am I kidding, it’s just a spice rack. Standards = none.

I’m back! I had stopped blogging as I didn’t think I had enough time… but realized how much I loved doing it so decided to do my best to MAKE time! What is time if not spent doing things you love right?

Here is a little project that I worked on lately…

This antique sewing machine is used as our front entry way table but wasn’t quite vibing with our décor. It’s a sentimental piece as I got it at an auction with my dad and he refinished it for me, but it was time for an update. The old finish was a bit too rustic and the hardware needed some TLC.

My goal was to obtain a more modern finish – darker and more walnut/expresso vs ‘oak’. And to introduce a little sparkle to the lack lustre drawers!

Plus, I had accidentally given it a water stain it a few years ago so I owed it. Woops!

… And these knobs were looking more wobbly than Lindsay Lohan on a Tuesday after a night out on the town.

So I took it out to the garage and got my groove sand on.

After my sandathon I wiped it down with a damp cloth, applied some wood conditioner, wiped that down, then applied two coats of the water based walnut stain I had purchased… and hated it. So, I applied a coat of espresso stain on top of that… and still hated it. The finish was much too RED for some reason. SO, I did what any insane determined blogger/DIY attempter would do. I cried softly and started again.

After two coats of just the espresso stain I was happy. And let’s face it, even if I wasn’t, this thing was going back into the entrance regardless.

So, here she is AFTER!

She looks good in her new dark get-up no?

Here is a close up of how the dark stain really helped accentuate the wood grain.

And NO more water stain!

The finishing touch was these glass knobs that I added. I think they help modernize the whole piece. So much lighter and prettier than the old ones (sorry Lindsay).

As I was screwing in the last knob I heard the cutest little voice behind me – “Mommy, I do it”. I turn around to find my 2.5 year old little Mr. Fix It with his tool puzzle – all ready to help mommy screw on the hardware.

Since I had just finished screwing in the last knob I undid them all (what is it about this project and doing everything twice?) and my helper assisted in reapplying the finishing touches. From there he moved on to find more things that needed fixin’.

As he ‘worked’ I took more photos…

Have you stained anything recently? Any ‘helpers’ around your house? Been out on the town with Lindsay lately?

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers out there. Have a great long weekend!