Hooked on Kids' Rooms!

Chloe's room

It's Friday and I've decided to join Julia's Hooked on Fridays blog party. So what I am hooked on? Kid's rooms! Yes, I know that Chloe's room is done and decorated but I just can't help looking at these oh-so-pretty rooms. Plus, there are so many bloggers that are soon to be or have just become parents that there is a plethora of good ideas out there. No longer do you need to settle for wishy-washy pastels and boring baby bedding. Take a look at these rooms:

Making It Lovely - Eleanor's Nursery

Little Green Notebook - The Girls Room

Me and Wee - The Nursery

Urban Grace - The Nursery Diaries

The Estate of Things - Rhoney Design Nursery

Something old, Something new - The Nursery

I really think kids' rooms are the most fun room in the house to decorate. You can be fanciful or frilly, bold or sweet. And once you decorate, you get to do it all over again in a few years!

Want vs Need

Most times when we buy things for the house, HandyMan and I weigh if its a "want" or a "need". We don't want to accumulate too much stuff and for the most part, we're pretty good at filling our home with things that fill both criteria. Rarely do we buy something just because of its aesthetic beauty, just because we have to have to have to have it.

Well, sometimes you just have to give in to that urge. We bought this totally-cute-but-totally-unnecessary hot air balloon for Chloe's room. For now, it sits hanging from the window shelf where Chloe can watch it as a soft breeze sets it swaying to and fro. Yes, I know that it will be many years before my little one can appreciate the prettiness of this thing. But sometimes mom and dad have to be a little indulgent ;o).

We found the balloon at the cuuuutest store, Little Lola. The store focuses on vintage toys and natural organic and wooden products. Its worth a visit if you're looking for unique and meaningful gifts for children.

Shelved

With the new baby, not much renovating has been going on around Rambling Renovators. And the projects we do get to are taking soooo much longer to finish. I'm sure you parents out there can relate! So I'm really happy reveal something we managed to complete - the shelf in Chloe's room.

When I designed the whole built-in wardrobe / window seat area, I knew I wanted a shelf above the window. You can always use more storage in a kid's room and plus we didn't have anywhere to put the toys and books that Chloe would accumulate. HandyMan started by cutting a piece of plywood to fit the length of the window. By resting and screwing it into the top of the window frame, we'd have enough support along the length of the shelf for the baskets. The shelf was made 13" deep, deep enough for the baskets but not so deep that it would create a dark hole above the window and block off some of the sunlight. The variety in depth against the adjoining wardrobes also created a much more interesting design.


HandyMan added a 3" strip of plywood across the front to mimic the shaker details in the window seat. A small one inch strip was added underneath the left and right ends of the shelf to provide additional support. We found a nice chrome curtain rod at West Elm and mounted that directly to the face of the window frame. The curtains our seamstress made looked great hanging off the shiny rings. Now its the perfect inviting space. I can picture Chloe sitting there when she's older, reading her favourite book.


One little faux pas though... the curtains were made before we knew where the curtain rod would be hung and our measurements were wrong. Not a big deal, we'll just have to get them shortened. Just one more thing to add to the project list!

Kidding Around

This weekend, I get a break from thinking about my house... and get to help my sister with hers! It'll be fun. Since they moved in two years ago, sis and family have left things pretty much as is but now its time to change it up. One of the things I'm looking forward to is helping her decorate my nephew's room. M is a creative, friendly, intelligent 4-year old (but I'm not biased ;) ). He wants a blue room so a blue room is what he's going to get. I've put together a mood board with some of my favourite things for kids' rooms.


Ikea EKORRE hanging seat; jschatz egg bank; Pottery Barn Kids schoolhouse bookcase; Angela Adams Spike Pool rug; Johnathan Adler giraffe lamp; animal alphabet poster and wall cuckoo clock by decoylab; Pottery Barn Madison armchair