THe KeaTiNG eFFeCT: getting girlie

Hi everyone!

It’s been a very, very, very long time since I’ve blogged. I got completely overwhelmed by school and had to let something give. That thing was the blog. But now my pre-requisites for nursing school are complete and I am able to blog away to my hearts content (in between working, parenting, keeping house, projects, nursing school applications, etc).

We’ve actually had a lot of changes around the house (as I am never completely satisfied with the way things look) so you will get to see pictures of what we have done soon. For now I will tell you about some of the things we plan to do.

The next big project I am working on is Maddie’s big girl room. While we had entertained the idea of having a guest room and letting the girls share a room, that idea is no more. It only took a couple sleepless nights to know that is not something we are prepared for. Mad is always looking for trouble and Evie is always happy to partake. Separation is our key to peace. Not only that, but after further thought, in our rather cosy house, a guest room would be wasted space. We love to have our family come and stay with us, but we are lucky if that happens once a year. We would rather use the room on a regular basis (as Mad’s room). When we do have guests the girls can bunk together (as we will keep the bunk beds) and our guests can use Maddie’s room.

So, with all of that, the work on Maddie’s room begins. We worked hard in the beginning to push Mad away from all things girlie. Until about 6 months ago her favorite toys were trains, she hardly wore dresses, and she didn’t even know who Barbie was.. That is no longer the case. Our little Madeleine has become a girlie girl. I mean, with a name like Madeleine, what did we expect really? She loves barbies and ballet and “only songs by girls.” So we say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. If she wants to be girlie, we’ll give her girlie. :)

The idea of doing a girlie room is actually pretty fun. I mean, how often do you get to use pink and ruffles and tulle to decorate? I might as well take advantage of it.. But there is A LOT to do to switch that room up. I want to make the big reveal of the room a Christmas present, which means I need to start working NOW. Thanks to pinterest I have a ton of ideas. Let me run down the project list with you.

First, there is the main room and the prep that needs to be done

1. Caulk all trim – this wasn’t done when it was installed and it makes the room feel much more finished, and well, trimmed

2. Paint trim white – before we moved our furniture into the house a few years ago I went on a one day painting craze. I painted all the rooms in the upstairs. Doing that in 24 hours meant I was a bit sloppy. The trim needs to be cleaned up and this would be the perfect time to do it.

3. Paint door white – Another thing that didn’t get completed before we moved in. The last owner of the house did a lot of work, but it was about 80% complete. We did finally paint the doors downstairs and it is amazing how much cleaner it looks. Again, might as well do this now.

4. Spray paint hardware oil rubbed bronze (ORB) – the hinges are gold and the knobs are silver. This makes my OCD go crazy (I’m not really OCD…or at least not diagnosed :) ). We sprayed the downstairs hardware and it looks great. It’s also held up really well, which I was a bit concerned about. Now that we’ve down the test run and all is good the upstairs will get the same treatment.

5. Paint room pale blue – Come on, we can’t go totally pink. I think a very light pale pastel blue will be a perfect accent to the pink and white that will be through out the room. It will be soft and light, just what Mad needs. Very similar to this nursery.

Nursery

6. Cover outlets – this is a maybe project. I was thinking that I might just spray them with aluminum spray paint so she has a little bling. We’ll see what we decide as the room progresses.

Outlet Covers

The bed. Since we upgraded to a king sized bed earlier this year (what we like to call our “marriage saver”), the queen bed now resides in the room. So, lucky Maddie, is getting a queen sized bed. Spoiled much. I think I was in a twin sized bed until college. But we’ve got it, so she gets it. As for making it into her girlie bed, there is much to be done.

1. Tulle “tutu” bedskirt – this was actually my original inspiration for the room. Maddie loves dance (especially ballet) and this little bedskirt was perfect for her. The tutorial is no-sew and super easy! I can’t wait to get this project knocked out.

Tutu Bedskirt

2. Ruffle comforter – Thanks to Target this part is D.O.N.E. While we were there yesterday picking up something for my nieces birthday I spotted the comforter set – in the clearance section. It’s super cute, super pink, and super girlie. It was marked down from $90 to $25. Score! And it’s a set that comes with shams too. Double score!

3. Pillows – You can’t have a girlie room with out tons of pillows! I have a feeling I’m going to hate sewing pillows by the time this room is done.

4. Canopy – Before we decided on upgrading to our king bed we bought a canopy bed for the queen mattress. Since it was going to go into our bedroom we opted for wrought iron and a more angular/masculine design (well, as masculine as a canopy bed can be). But for Mad it has to be girlied up. A fabric canopy will do just the trick. I’m playing around with a couple of ideas, from just basic panel curtains to a completely covered bed. We’ll have to see how things progress…and how quickly I get tired of this project.

5. Ruffle throw – Another maybe. By the end there is going to be a lot of ruffle going on in this room. This might be too much. But it’s so cute so it will stay a possibility

Ruffle Skirt

The furniture.

1. The bedside table - I found this inspiration searching on pinterest. How perfect will this fit into the room? My goal is to find a free or cheap table on craigslist (or “the CL” as it is commonly referred to in this house) and work my magic. A little white paint, a little tulle, and bam! Tutu table.

2. The dresser – I’m a little up in the air about what exactly I’m going to do. Mainly because I am hoping to find something free or cheap on the CL to put in there. Ideally I could find something vintage with great bones and paint it something pastel. I love the example below from the nursery. I even love the pale aqua. Again, we’ll see what I can find and how things progress.

Dresser

3. Toy box / Doll house? – There is a space at the end of Mad’s bed that I’m still figuring out what to do with. My thought was maybe a toy box that she can throw her pillows into at night. But also a doll house or something else she could play with in there would be nice. I’m leaning towards toybox for now. I could .even upholster the top and make a bench

The lighting

1. Chandelier – I would love to find a free old chandelier on the CL that I could girlie up. I could paint it a pastel or aluminum. Once I find something I’ll see how I feel about it.

2. Flower lamp shade – This is the perfect fit for her room. Again, I hope to find something on the CL, spray pain the base and flower the shade. I’ll probably use tulle rather than the cotton used in the tutorial in hopes that more light could get through.