two straight lines

Babette

These aren't the best photos, but I may never be able to get any with good natural lighting because this area of my house is rather dark.  This week-- April 1, yes I am a fool-- was my birthday (37, thank you)  and I got myself a few treats, including this Babette Doll which I absolutely adore.  I am not the biggest collector of softies, but Babette is my favorite.  I love how French she looks.  I am a major French wanna-be (actually I am French, my maiden name is DeMoss), so this is just perfect for me.

(That's the reflection of my kitchen in the TV, see the terrariums back there?)

And I finally filled some embroidery hoops that I bought on Ebay many months ago with Joelle Hoverson's new line of fabric Cake Rock Beach.  I was so pleased when it arrived today, I bought this print as well as the companion dot in two colorways, and it is really gorgeous.  I want more, but will leave some for the rest of you.  Here you can see a few of the changes that I've managed to implement in my family room.  I've painted the mantel black, put some Denyse Schmidt throw pillows on the chairs, and some of you spied the DS quilt on the back of my couch a while back.  Now I just need to slipcover the ottoman with some tobacco colored fabric I bought a few months back.  Why does that seem so difficult?  I don't know.  I'll give you some more shots of some other changes soon, including a ladder to the left of the fireplace with three wool throws. (that I conveniently bought for my family for Christmas, how's that for multi-tasking?  Call me Homer Simpson).

Have a great weekend...

(PS- a few posts back a few of you asked about my fridge magnets.  I made them by printing large numbers on Kraft paper and putting them through my Xyron)

I Hate My Family Room (or How I Occupy My Brain the Night Before My Son Has Anesthesia)

I'm not really sure if I'm showing you this because I want your advice or because I want to make myself accountable to actually decorate this room, but either way, here goes.  We have lived here for over two years, and this room is still a hodge-podge of random stuff.

Let's start with what's working.  The couch is khaki and the two chairs are sort of a cream with a grey ticking stripe.  The rug is a heathered wool "cable-knit" carpet (made by Ralph Lauren) which I had bound as an area rug.  All of these are neutral and in good condition.  The console table on the left and the nature shelf above it are also staying.   There are some large botanical prints behind the couch on either side that are working for me-- see here-- that's one of them.

What isn't working.  I can't stand the color of the large square red leather ottoman.  When we bought it we were using more reds and teals, and I'm hoping to go in a more green/ teal/ brown direction (see these throw pillows here).  So I purchased quilting fabrics over a year ago to make a quilted slipcover for it, and for some reason find the idea of it completely overwhelms me.

Now my biggest complaint about this room is the fact that the amount of space on either side of this rather nondescript fireplace is not equal (the window starts to the right of the Christmas tree).  I can't for the life of me figure out what to do with it.  So, in Cheap Idea #432, I bought this "leaning bookcase" and tried to balance it out with these Ikea frames (Cheap Idea #433), but the main problem is that I have no idea what to put on these silly shelves, or in these silly frames.

What I've learned.  I think I want the artwork to remain in the black and white (or maybe I should just say neutral) color range, I find I tire of it much more slowly.  I lean heavily towards botanicals and birds.  I'm also feeling the folksy trend.  Did you see this photo on Bloesem, oh my.

I want the main pops of color to come in the form of pillows on the couch, throws on the chairs, and whatever I cover the ottoman in-- which as I type I'm thinking would be nice in a patterned wool, maybe some pockets on the side (see, you're helping already).  I would also eventually like a quilt for the back of the couch (Denyse, could you send one over?)

I'm willing to lose the ottoman entirely if I could find some little floaty stool/table things.  And the Ikea frames, I'd loose them too, or just find something nice to put in them.  I'd also like to paint the mantel (see inspiration below).  But, I still have no idea what to put on those shelves.  I could cover the books, games in colored paper, or I thought about making a collection of colored bottles like this.  I could also paint or somewhow cover the red "R."  I'll put some inspiration shots below with notes below them.

So, any advice?  You guys don't have anything else to do, do you?

Love this mantle.

Denyse Schmidt, Hable Construction, Weeks Ringle, need I say more?

I've shown this before, nice neutrals with greens and blues.

Help, please.

Opinions, Please.

OK, I have been dawdling over the last year or so about a rug for my front hallway, and FLOR keeps coming out with more fantastic selections that I love.  So, I thought I'd open it up to your opinions.

Here is a little background.  We have a pretty big front hallway, and it is still fairly characterless.  I thought if I put in a pretty rug in the area near that library table it would feel warmer.  I want to lose the mirror eventually and put something else there, and I even thought about moving the table up or down the hall a little and putting a cushy chair next to it, since I keep all of my craft books right here.  Also, the room to the left is now my craft room (formerly dining room) and the doors to the right are to my husband's office (he works from home).  We are not formal at all, and like simple but playful decorating styles.  The colors of our house are mostly neutrals paired with greens and blue-greens, but I've been injecting an odd amount of navy blue upstairs recently.

My original plan was to design a rug sort of like this Whimsy area rug, minus the "housepet" carpet tiles, since we have them in our playrooom.  FLOR claims this is Spanish style, but to me in this cool colorway, I think it reads sort of Swedish farmhouse-- am I totally crazy?

edited to add:  I just pulled out the carpet samples I had ordered for this one and realized that I had planned to also add khaki shades to this one to tone down its "blueness."

Or, the same general idea, with only the printed tiles.

And then FLOR came out with their Hopskotch area rug, and I think this could be really fun up here, and obviously the kids could play on it.  I also have a lot of typography around the house (I am a graphic designer in case you didn't know that), so this would fit in nicely.  The one negative here is that I thought if the rug was larger, the kids might play or hang out up here while we worked.

And now FLOR has gone and come up with this completely fabulous new Souk Chic area rug, which seems to merge my blues and greens downstairs with my navy upstairs.  But, would I get so sick of that?  A little too crazy for me maybe?  It looks like a fabulous quilt to me.

What do you think?

All Together Now

So here's the nursery.  I'm really pleased with how it all turned out, from when I first decided to redecorate it after being inspired by Laura Normandin's doll, donated to the auction to benefit the family of James Kim.  Because this room is attached to our master bedroom, I wanted it to be a space the whole family felt comfortable in, girlish without being frilly.  I pictured myself reading to my children on this low bed, and I secretly hope that some day my kids curl up here together.  I have already started making doll clothes for the little clothesline, and there will be boy clothes along with the girl clothes with this goal in mind.

I'll try and give you a proper tour now, with hopes you'll see how the small parts fit together.  I'll put all the links to projects together at the bottom. 

The photo above shows the wall along the side of my house, where the bed and chair are.  The empty clothesline is up there (just waiting for doll clothes), the decoupaged side table next to the bed, and the little pillow is there on the chair.  The angel, unaltered as yet, is above the chair.  The curtains were the first project I did for this room, made from muslin and bits of an Urban Outfitters bedspread.

Now this view is the front wall of my house, if you were to hop over to my room, you would see three more of these windows also on the front of my house.  Between the windows are the mary jane shadow boxes, the orange table I picked up at an estate sale way before I had kids, and I painted it this color for Elliot's nursery. His nursery was almost this exact color of blue- Benjamin Moore "Early Morning" but the color in this room was part of Martha Stewart's now discontinued line from Sherwin Williams- "Skyline."  On the floor, the lamb chair was a gift from Babystyle.com.  The front of the dresser is just to the right of the lamb.  See here?

This wall has Lucie's dresser, the smock I sewed hanging above it and the butterfly lamp. The doll I commissioned from Laura Normandin is also on the dresser.  See this photo?  That is the door into my room (hello unmade bed), which I have to tell you I absolutely love.  I prefer to have my kids near me at night, so I loved opening the door between the rooms when this room was Elliot's.  The door on the right is the closet, which you can see here. I had the builders put in shelves figuring a single rod is useless for a babies room, and I thought this room might someday be a sewing room for me.  The shelves just lift out if I decide to put a rod in later.

And now we're sort of back where we started, here is the door to the hallway, see the foot of the bed down there?  The clothesline also runs along the side wall of the bed.  This wall jogs in about 18", so the mattress fits pretty perfectly, it makes it feel a bit more cozy to me.  Below this shadowbox is a hook that could eventually hold a coat or bookbag, but for now displays this adorable little dress I picked up last week at the Oliebollen warehouse sale.  I had to, it matched her room.  Below is a little crunch hamper, I love those.

And to reference all of the old posts which have detailed photos-
Inspiration
Curtains
Mary Janes
Mary Jane Shadowboxes
Laura Normandin Doll 
Bedside Table
Tiny Pillow
Bedding and Clothesline
Butterfly Mobile (which didn't make the cut)
The Angel
Smock
Butterfly Lamp and Finished Smock

and a link to the whole flickr set

Update: I have gotten a ton of questions about a few things-

a) the smock pattern is from Ebay- McCall's #7629 c.1981

b) the toy bar was purchased on sale from Babystyle when I was pregnant with Elliot (2003).  It was part of a toy line designed by Josie Bissett, 'cause I think TV stars design the best toys;)  It was ridiculously cheap (maybe $15) and has been a favorite of both of my kids.  The dangly parts are a sun, moon, and little puppy.  It would be pretty easy to make if you are so inclined, and there are some available for a decent amount of money like this one.

Bedding

You may remember a long time ago when I first started decorating the nursery, I mentioned that Lucie and I would be sleeping together on a queen sized mattress on the floor, and that my goal was to make the bed look more thought out than a mattress thrown in the corner.  My first plan was to sew two pillows from a pattern I saw in the JoAnn's circular (it was a "That's So Raven" pattern-- buying that was sort of humiliating).  They were wedge-shaped like a reading pillow, and I thought two of them together would look headboard-ish.  The task seemed a little daunting because you have to make the pillow forms as well as the pillow covers, and I kept putting it off.  Then I ran across the Cuddledown body pillow I used during my first pregnancy, sitting unused in the closet.  It was the exact width of the queen mattress, so I decided to use it as my headboard.

I found some nubby indigo linen at Haberman's-- actually a remnant pinned as a skirt on a mannequin.  It was the exact size I needed (thank you decorating gods), but I noticed as I sewed it up that is a little threadbare in areas.  Oops.  Just look at it kids, don't touch it.  I left it in one big piece, and just sewed up the sides and did an envelope back with some ties out of trim from Kitty-Craft.  I was going for a slouchy look and I think I got it.

The shams are made from my favorite folksy Liberty print and some white linen Ikea curtain cut-offs (again, the perfect size).  I got fancy with these teaching myself how to make French seams.  Again with the envelope back.  After the first couple of washings, I decided these would be shams only (that way I don't have to iron them every time I wash the sheets), so I throw them in this basket at night, and use plain white pillowcases for sleeping.

Above the bed on two walls, I've added a clothesline as seen in Martha Stewart Kids (see it down there?).  I drew a line with the laser level and hung 1/2" twill tape with a tack every 1'.  I'm trying to decide whether to leave the tacks blank or dress them up a bit-- paint them or cover them with a circle of cute paper.

The clothesline is empty now, but I hung a few things from it just to give you the idea.  I plan on puttering away all summer making doll clothes to tack to it.  I am going to raid my husband's closet for some worn shirts, because I'm dying to make some doll clothes out of some nice shirt fabrics.

Handmade

I've been wanting to show you the home that was featured in the February issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion that really inspired me.  Usually I am not crazy about the interiors that they feature, but I really love this one.  This, together with the Blueprint feature of Joelle Hoverson's home have really got me thinking about how handmade goods make the home a true reflection of its inhabitants.

It's as if the owner has used the house as her canvas, thinking about every detail from the artwork, to the quirky placement of objects, the pattern of the FLOR tiles, to the exposed selvedge of the linen drapes.  She did not stick with convention, she questioned it with each choice.  It is this kind of thinking that takes a home from a Pottery Barn photo spread, to a unique space.

You don't get the feeling that a decorator just left, you get the feeling that the homeowner has collected these cherished objects over time-- that this took time.  So many furnishings look like "Garanimals" for the home (do they still make those??)-- if you buy the rug that matches the couch, that matches the framed picture, then you've expressed yourself. 

Oh my, I love those quilty cushions in that top photo, and those puppets on the wall in the photo above, and those little slipcovers on the cube ottomans below- gah!  It doesn't make me want to live in it, or own those objects, but to have my home be equally reflective of me and my family.  I get so many requests for paint colors, or information about where to purchase an object, and I want to help, really I do...but I do hope that rather than just recreating something I've done, you are inspired to go and try something for yourself, something authentically you.  I am inspired by so many people in the crafty world-- some artists would look at my inspiration board and think I'm creepy stalker girl (Denyse Schmidt, Laura Normandin), but really I just take what I can from their work and apply it to my own. 

 

And about the folk-art angel, that was a fun conversation...thanks for participating.  I LOVE the idea of an apron or smocky-type thing, and my goal wasn't to make her "prettier," but really do something a little more conceptual.  A lot has transpired in my life since I bought her-- a doll named Hope-- before I even knew I needed hope.  I wanted her to reflect that.  Have you seen the work of Julia Negus?  I love her conceptual textile work (especially the "peg bag"), check it out.  Read about the embroidered child's straightjacket-- it isn't as creepy as it appears-- full of hope really.

Pint Sized Pillow

Click for larger view.

Here's a little pillow I made for the nursery-- it has a old family photo on it, from left is my Mom, my cousin Kathy, my uncle Bobby, and my other cousin Becky.  I have always loved this photo of the four of them clutching their Easter bunnies in their sweet little clothes.  I don't know if you can tell, but the dark dresses have little polka dots all over them.  So cute.  They sort of remind me of the pattern on the bedside table.

This pillow was inspired by the picture below, which I have on my inspiration board, but I printed if off of a design blog.  Anyone remember which blog, or who made the original pillows?  I am usually a little iffy on the whole photos on fabric trend, but I love the way the full bleed photos and odd proportions of the pillow give this a more updated, modern look.  The size lends itself to being dragged around by a toddler.  The fabric is an indigo linen purchased at Haberman's, which has really interesting creases all over it which don't iron out.  I think a garment made of this fabric would be really beautiful.

Update: I forgot to mention that printable fabric similar to fabric treated with Bubble Jet Set is now available on a roll at JoAnn's for $24.95 a roll (can't remember how long the roll is)-- make sure you have a 40% coupon at that price!

Bedside

I needed a little table to go next to the bed in the nursery-- a queen size mattress on the floor where Lucie and I sleep together.  I wanted to have a place for burp cloths and wipes inside, and maybe a drink or snack and clock on top.  I found this inexpensive unfinished table at IKEA that was about the size I wanted.  At first I thought I would paint it or slipcover it, and then I remembered these vintage patterns for little girl's dresses that I had found in the front of my Mom's sewing book.  My Mom was not a sewer.  She may have sewn something in her life, but I never saw her sew.  I wish I knew who these patterns were being saved for-- for me...or a future granddaughter?

So, I decided to blow up one of the images and apply it to the side of the table.  I love the graphic quality-- sort of reminds me of this fabulous smock that Amy posted a long time ago.  I thought it would a nice little bookcase for Lucie later.

Wanna see inside?

Update: I painted the whole table a buttermilk color, printed the image on cream paper, decoupaged it on with Matte Mod Podge, sanded it lightly, then waxed the whole piece with a paste wax (like Briwax).

Refreshed

Feeeling a little better about the world today.  My husband was kind enough to take Elliot away for the night to my in-laws cottage.  I made some quick curtains for the nursery, did some baby-proofing, and now am trying to work up the energy for some cleaning before they return.  Nothing like a little decorating to cheer a girl up.  Thanks for all of the kind words.

Applied

Update: I applied the paper silhouettes with Mod Podge.  And just so ya know, it is just paper, not wallpaper.