home tour: baby's room

The baby's room... I love it. It's definitely the most simple room I've done but it feels so fresh and clean. Being gender neutral has been a little hard, some things were definitely picked out with one gender in mind more than the other. But I feel like there is a good balance. Paul has been a lot more vocal about what he likes and doesn't like and has even said a few things must go if it's one or the other (or, just that the metallic pouf has to go if its a boy). Anyways I love the subtle moon and stars theme... I love the geometrical look of the stars and my "moon stone" book ends and even that big "full moon" pouf! I also love the mobile that I made from a branch we found up the canyon.
After the baby is born: I'll add the letter of their name above the crib and some big canvas newborn pictures on the wall across from that above the dresser.

Otherwise here it sits awaiting its tiny new occupant:

details: crib bedding = pottery barn kids, metallic pouf = Joss & Main, rug = Urban Outfitters, moon poster = etsy, wood star = antique shop, metallic star = down east home, dream print = made by me, everything else is re-used or made.

home tour: backyard

The grand finale is our backyard. We decided instead of doing more of the basement, we would do the backyard and we definitely haven't regretted it one bit. It has become an extension of our home and we absolutely love being back there.

We took an area of the yard that previously we never used or were in and made it usable. So since we used an area that was doing nothing before, it actually makes our yard seem a lot bigger. Previously it was just a big patch of grass and now it is a full on seating area, fire pit and built in grill. 

First we extended our previous stamped concrete patio out and back and they also poured the fire pit. Then they built the pergola. This was a big expense and one that we weren't sure we would do. I thought we had decided against it and Paul surprised me by having it built while I was out of town! Best surprise to come home to! It really is beautiful and offers a fair amount of shade (more or less depending on the time of day) which is so necessary back there. It also really separates the space. Then they built the fire pit bench and the built in grill area and covered it in rock. We chose the granite countertop for the grill. Then just some electrical work and hanging the chandelier to finish it off. Then we got all the new furniture, pillows, and Paul made our benches out of leftover pergola wood! 

As for the rest of the yard area, we re-planted the whole back area and filled it in with plants and trees that will (fingers crossed!!) actually live and then added a river rock bed for drainage. We also got my parents old trampoline and put it in the ground. We also added a lot of perennials and took out some bushes in the front yard. We are really happy with how everything turned out.

We have already thrown quite a few parties back there and love having friends and family come and enjoy the space. I find myself wanting to be outside way more often and the kids too.

details: most outdoor furniture is from Crate & Barrel, pillows are from Target and World Market

home tour: basement bedroom 2 and bathroom

The second bedroom in the basement is now being used as my crafting and sewing room. There is also room for an air mattress if the guest room is also being used (which has already been done.. told you we needed the extra room!) I'm loving having a dedicated space for all of this. We also have half the big double closet full of storage. All of this furniture came down from the loft, with the exception of the green desk which I inherited from Whitney Taylor. I look forward to some good sewing sessions down here, until we decide we need it for something else!

 The bathroom is just that. We kept some finishes the same but wanted a lighter look since there are no windows in it. Originally we were planning for double sinks but after framing realized the space wasn't as big as we though it would be. We matched cabinetry, the bronzed finishes and the flooring to the upstairs and then I chose the lighter subway tiles to be laid in the herringbone pattern as well as the lighter granite countertop. And thanks to Paul's traveling we have plenty of samples to offer all our visitors!

 

Details:: art: ikea, rug: bed bath and beyond, apothecary jar: hobby lobby, towels and soap dispenser: target, everything else was re-used.

home tour: basement guest suite

I was determined to still have a little wiggle room in our house after the baby because we have so many visitors come and I didn't want to always be displacing someone. I also wanted visitors to have access to their own bathroom and entry as well. Enter: the basement project. We finished off 2 bedrooms and a bathroom (about a third of our total unfinished space). Another thing I love about having this done is that we know have a set amount of bedrooms. Even if we finish the rest of the basement, we wont be adding any more bedrooms so now we know exactly what we have to grow with.
The main portion of the renovation was this "guest suite." It is a sitting room, bedroom, and walk-in closet. It will be great for visitors now and we think eventually great for a teenage shared room and hangout space. The barn door can slide to completely close off both rooms. We re-used many things and added in a few new and overall we are very happy with the outcome!

Details:: bedroom: bedroom set as been painted white, but furniture and bedding were existing. Wood lamp was from my grandparents and matching lamp shades are from TJ Maxx. sitting room: love seat = Down East, bench ottomans =  repurposed stools (painted and added cushioned top), emerald dresser = KSL find that we painted, a few accessories have been added, otherwise everything was existing and reused.

home tour: Caitlin's loft bedroom

Since finding out we were pregnant, and maybe even a little before, we have been trying to decide where to put all the kids and how to have our family grow in this house. After MUCH deliberation we delved into finishing part of the basement and moving Caitlin upstairs. This way her room is huge and she can have part bedroom part playroom and still use the "kids bathroom" on the main floor and be close to mom and dad's room, among other reasons. We talked up the big move a lot and she was ready. She even started referring to her room as "the baby's room" before she was even completely moved out. She has been sleeping great and really enjoying her new space to play and have friends up and be creative. She has been good about keeping it clean and sharing everything and she wants to invite anyone and everyone to come see her new room. I'm so glad she loves it!

Design-wise we kept the same color scheme and theme for her room portion. I really just re-used and re-positioned things from her room. The big change was all her new bedding, and figuring out storage with no closet! For the playroom portion we added a big magnet board/whiteboard and the table and chairs and then storage for everything. 

Details:: bedding: duvet = ikea, white ruffled pillow = target, blue ruffled pillow = pier one (old) all other pillows sewn by me from previous room fabrics. armoire: painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint in "old world white" knobs from hobby lobby, white table and chairs = ikea, low cube shelf = ikea, large mirror in dress up area =  ikea, everything else has been re-used from previously

bathroom revamp

Call it nesting, a designer never being satisfied, or maybe spring fever... But whatever it is, things are happening at our house. Projects are afoot and we are changing things up and making things ready for baby #3! Stay tuned for lots of fun new home tour posts.

Paul and I decided to tackle the "kids bathroom" first. This is the bathroom right between the two kids' rooms and also serves as a guest bathroom when we have people over or staying with us. It needed a little... something. Enter Pinterest and the world of ideas and DiYs and I found just the thing. A pallet wall + towel hooks. We took a lot of tips and inspiration from this blog and this blog and then modified it to our needs. This was our project over conference weekend and it really came together pretty fast and we could not be more pleased with the end result. Some of Paul's best handiwork.

After the pallet wall and hooks we rounded it out with a new shower curtain and towels, accessories and wall art. It is now fun and colorful but also with a pop of the unexpected and rustic with the focal wall feature. We love it!
P.S. Narrow bathrooms are really hard to get decent pictures of. 

details: all materials for the wall including hooks were bought at home depot, shower curtain, kleenex box and lotion dispenser: Bed Bath & Beyond, towels: Garnet Hill, painting: TJ Maxx, green frame: Michael's, wall art and bottles: already had  

December 1-7

Christmastime is here! And it'll go by in a flash (especially when Thanksgiving isn't until Nov. 28th). I wasted no time in getting my Christmas decorations up and starting off our Christmas festivities.

Have to have some that are ok for the kids to get to... because they will! Although my kids have done pretty well so far. Nolan has gotten into the tree a few times, hence the sparsity and non-breakable ornaments towards the bottom!

 
DEC 2: For Family Home Evening we went to thanksgiving point and had dinner, visited a couple of Santa's reindeer, and then drove through their lights. The kids loved it all, even though the lights were pretty short but that made it a perfect week night activity.

Jenna & Bailey's baby shower

I threw a baby shower for Jenna and baby Bailey. We are so excited to have our next niece join the family!!

The shower had a storybook theme and of course I stole most my ideas off Pinterest but I still thought it turned out super cute and it was really fun.

I decorated with the primary colors plus pink. Bailey's cute little ultrasound pic says: "a person's a person, no matter how small" (Dr. Suess)

The invites and the favors. I also had all the guests write advice on notecards and we did a "Children's Book Title Scramble" worksheet game 

The food table

All of the food coordinated with a book: veggie plate = Peter Rabbit, Pineapple with coconut dip = chicka chicka boom boom, strawberries = The Big Hungry Bear and the Red Ripe Strawberry, meatballs= Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, eggrolls = The Five Chinese Men, grape skewers = The Very Hungry Caterpillar, mini quiche = green eggs and ham, chocolate chip cookies = If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, moon pies = good night moon and brownies = Brown Bear Brown Bear What do You see?

home tour: Nolan's room

Ta-da! The big baby room reveal. I love this room. I wanted it to be a mixture of preppy/eclectic and it turned out pretty funky.. in a good way for me. I didn't want a specific theme, but I got really into colors, maps and animals. I found the rug online and it kinda of set the tone for the rest of the room, then i thought of the idea for the argyle wall and i could not get it out of my head so i had to do it as a focal wall. My dad helped us out so much in this room: building the shelf, planning and executing that argyle wall (!!!),  refinishing the dresser... what an excellent grandpa! My mom also helped: she worked her magic yet again with crib bedding and made the bumpers and crib sheets. I had a lot of fun finding the little accessories and making a few things. I cross-stitched the ABC art hanging on the wall... I started that cross-stitch when I was literally 10 years old (which consequently was the last time i was even into cross stitching.. or probably that ANYONE was into cross stitching) but anyways i found it like 1/4 of the way done when i was going through a bunch of my crafting stuff and i worked so hard to finish it. I felt like such a grandma using all my spare time to cross stitch of all things but I'm proud of it and I think it turned out really cute and i just had to use it in the room, whether we had a boy or a girl. We weren't sure what we were going to do about the crib since we weren't ready to move Caitlin out of hers but then our friends offered us their old one because they were moving! We did a little sanding and re-staining and it works perfectly. Now all we need is this little boy!  

 

credits= rug: lil mo whimsy rug by momeni, dresser: refinished from existing paint color is KWAL "vivint orange" with high gloss polyurethane finish and knobs are from Lowe's, crib bedding and sheets: made by Lori Pelton sheet fabric is Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, accessories > floating frames: JoAnn's, all other frames are repurposed, alligator puzzle: local artisan (bought at Bijou Boutique), ceramic elephant: Urban Outfitters, letter N's all from Hobby Lobby except for yarn one (made by me), 1960's world map: etsy, animal prints: found online, ask if there's anything I've missed!