Baby Room Ideas

We are trying to finish up some "construction" in the soon to be baby's room so that we can start decorating and putting it all together. I borrowed a great idea from my friend for the art and we are using pages from Catherine Ledner's Animal House framed in a grouping. I am also borrowing an idea from my Celery Kemble's decorating book and painting a Jenny Lind crib (blue or green).

So far those are my only ideas. I am still trying to figure out complete the whole room without making it look like a generic baby room. In searching my library on defunct magazine's and found two cute kids rooms that I like. First is Jennifer Delonge's son's room from the Fall/Winter 2007 InStyle Home magazine. I like that the room is not too kid-ish, but is also not over decorated and is a place for a baby.

Also I have Barrie Benson's son's room pulled open for inspiration. She mixes blues, greens and oranges in a "collected over time" look. I cannot scan this photo since our printer is out of commission but you can in the October 2007 issue of Domino.


My goal is to have all the big elements of the room complete by end of March so I have the last month without that project looming over us.

Free Day!!

I am so excited for today. I have the whole entire day to myself to do what ever I want since Nick is at on conference . I get to do all the stuff I want to do and have it all planned out (you can tell I am excited since I got up at 7:30 on a Sunday).

(1) Starbucks Iced Grande Decaf two pump no whip mocha (CHECK)
(2) Scrapbooking store to look for a butterfly punch to make this:
(3) Fabric store to purchase fabric for new den curtains
(4) Thrift Store to look for Vera Scarves (if my sister has not already visited and purchased)
(5) Rerarange some furniture. I am very clever at moving the heavy items around without picking anything up.
(6) Research some sewing projects with all the fabric I have been stock piling.
(7) Laundry, cleaning and some work (it is still Sunday after all)

Even if I get to do two items on my list I will content.

Kitchen Crisis

I knew our kitchen island project was going too smoothly and that something had to go wrong. Last week we called the stone supplier to confirm we could get the CeaserStone counter tops and of course it was no problem. They could have it installed within two weeks of ordering. Well when we called with the final measurement of the island, 16 square feet, the told us we had to purchase an entire slab at 25 square feet. Yikes that just about doubles our cost. So we have started calling around (including Great Indoors) and everyone requires a full slab miniumn. AHH!!!!

So with out finding a place in the house to use the extra portion of the slab, I have started researching plan B, white cabinets with black counters. Soapstone has been ruled out since it will cost more than the full slab of CaesarStone. I found some photos of honed Absolute Black Granite that could work. Not to be a counter top snob, but I am not sure if I could put Granite in hour house. Nick contacted the stone supplier and they have a honed sample and it is not so horrible, just a tad bit of sparkle.

We are now at a stand still. We cannot prime and paint until we know if it is black or white counters. We will continue to call around to see if any one as a scrap of CaesarStone in Misty Carrera. Or if any one wants to buy 1/2 slab I can cut you a great deal.

Trial Rug - Love it!

After my disappointing weekend when I was not the winning bidder on the antique rug I had already decorated our whole den around, I have been fascinated with finding another one. Today Nick and I visited a local rug store that had clearance room. That is where we found the rug above. It is an antique that was so worn, they had to piece it back together. It is really hard to tell from this photo but there are patches throughout the rug and the ends do not match since they cut and paste one end back on.
I LOVE THE RUG. They let us take in home (no charge) and try it out in the space to see what we thought. Of course I thought it would be perfect in our dinning area, but am glad they let us take it home because it is too small or our table is too large. Either way it will not work and it must go back. The search continues now for a rug and I hope someone is able to give this rug a home. It is so wonderful!

Kitchen Island - looking good

Here are a few photos I took tonight of our island in progress. Nick called the counter top company and confirmed we can have a least a 16" overhang for the bar area. I think we will stick to a 12-13 overhang so the island does not get too big. Next we need to get the counters ordered and the electrician to install the microwave oven and over head lighting. However lighting is still the final big design choice we need to make.

Big thank you to my dad who helped us measure cut and well make the entire island. We would still be figuring out how to finish the sides without you. 

You can also see the great bar stools we got from the Pottery Barn Outlet, and at $28 each they were a steal! (We have been using some packing styrofoam as a mock up counter).

At least give it a good home

Well at Saturday's auction I did not win my rug. I hope the woman that did leave with the rug will give it a good home. I guess it was not meant to be ours (it was a little bit too big for the room). I will be keeping my eyes open for another possibility.

This weekend my dad was able to help Nick and I on a few projects. We enclosed and added picture frame molding on the new island and installed crown molding in the soon to be baby room (yep that is correct). No pictures today since I am using Nick's computer, but I will post some tomorrow. The island looks amazing!

Pigs will fly...

Growing up I promised never to have an oriental rug in my home. This all came from my parents love and tendency to have at least one rug in every room and in once case four. (Mom/Dad if you are reading this there were four in the living room of the Prince George House and Anne will back me up.)
As I mature, I have started to appreciate and even love the look of a well worn oriental rug in a room mixed with both traditional and modern furniture. This weekend I am hoping to make my first rug purchase at a local auction. It is a 9x12 antique rug that from the photos looks like it has already lived a long life in all the right spots. I need to go to the preview to make sure it is exactly what I want. If all goes well, I will go against a childhood promise and welcome the rug home. I hope this is start of a collection, but I draw the line at one or maybe two in one room.