Thankful for Playrooms

Another snow day in Oklahoma . . . . . another day of snacking and refilling sippy cups, all while still in our pajamas and socks.  I raised the blinds in our playroom, watched the snow fall, the sun try to come out and my poor husband shoveling the driveway . . . . AGAIN!  My Nate and Ella pulled their little lounge chairs right up to the window and begged to go outside.  On days when we are trapped inside the house, I am reminded how thankful I am for our playroom.  We have a great space for reading, chalkboarding and DVD watching.

Another wonderful advantage to having a playroom is that my living room looks like a living room! (and not like a daycare!)

One of my favorite playrooms is at the home of  The Gorley's.  When they were moving into their new home, the first room to be set up and unpacked was the playroom.  (what a great idea to keep the kids occupied while unpacking the rest of the house).  They have a gorgeous red, distressed built-in entertainment center, a wonderful window seat and lots of space for playing.  I contributed to this darling little table and chair set by sewing the seat cushions.

(I really like the glazing on the legs and back of the chairs)

I always keep this playroom in the back of my mind when trying to decide how I want to design my own.  It is very kid-focused, but, still beautiful and classic.  Here are a few other inspirational playrooms:

I just noticed that all these inspirations have lime green in them  . . . hmmmmm.

I absolutely love the alphabet in this room!  What kind of playroom ideas do you have?  Happy Snow Day!!!

It's a . . . . Boy!!

Today, my sweet friend Lauren and her husband, Jonathan, found out that they are going to be welcoming a baby boy in just a few months.  They had a "revealing" party with their family and very close friends.  Have you ever been to one of these parties?  They are so exciting and at the moment of the announcement, you actually find yourself overcome with emotion, too.  (and it isn't even your baby!)

In honor of the exciting day, I wanted to share with you a few of the nurseries I helped create.  I love to help design baby bedding . . . . I think it is because the possibilites of color combinations and fabric textures are endless.  This also a great opportunity to be completely impractical when deciding what type of fabric to use.  The truth is, there will be "baby accidents" regardless of how nice (or expensive) the fabric is!

COOPER'S ROOM

(aren't the lime green walls fun!!)

  

Cooper's mom, Julie, decided to use lime, black and white for her baby bedding becuase it seemed fairly gender neutral.  I am such a plan ahead kind of girl, how did she wait to find out the gender?!?  This bedding set included a coverlett, bumper, crib skirt and a lumbar pillow for the rocking chair.

ADDISON'S ROOM

(rocker and ottoman are from Room to Dream in Oklahoma City, OK)

Addison's mom, Susannah, decided to use mint green chenille on the inside of the bumpers.  Doesn't that sound amazing . . . . I think I need to make some pillowcases for my bed out of chenille.  This bedding set included a bumper, a toy bag, a lumbar pillow for the rocker and a window valance.

ELLA'S ROOM

(here is the impractical fabric I was referring to earlier)

(ahhhhh, again with the chenille)

This is my daughters baby bedding.  I chose the impractical fabric and yes, she spit up on it even though I asked her not to.  Ella's bedding set included a coverlett, bumper, crib skirt, curtain panel and a sheer cafe curtian.  I also used the same sheer fabric to make a canopy over her crib.

I did not get to make all the bedding for these nurseries, but, here are some pictures of the items I did make.

 

Grayson's Curtains

 



 Heather's window seat cushion and shower curtain.

             (isn't that little robe adorable)

If you are now misty eyed becasue your baby isn't a baby any longer and you are missing your baby's bedding, I am sorry (and feeling your pain, Ella isn't either).  Oh, but, wasn't it fun to decide what your nursery was going to look like?  On the other hand, if you are like Lauren and at the point in your pregnancy where you are now deciding on the theme or color of your nursery, what a fun time you have ahead of you.  Enjoy every moment of it!!  Congratulations, Lauren and Jonathan!!! 

It is said that, in a home, the kitchen is where everyone ends up gathering.  (If this is truly the case, I desperately need to turn my focus to cooking, not sewing!)  It is easy for my kitchen to be the "gathering place" because we have a very open floor plan.  We have a large island in our kitchen that opens up into our living room.  It is a wonderful feature when our children are in the living room or playroom and I am in the kitchen (sweeping again!).  It is not wonderful, however, if we have unexpected company and have not cleaned up yet, it is visible to anyone that rings the doorbell.  

One of my most favorite things to do is to flip through various home decor magazines and dog-ear the pages of projects I want to try my hand at or use as inspiration.  I even mark pages of ideas I will never try, just love to go back and admire.  As I was flipping through an issue of Edmond Monthly, I discovered the inspiration page for my kitchen.  To me, the best feature of my kitchen, are the bay windows in the dining area.  Our backyard opens up to an open pasture with cattle, therefore, we have no real neighbors and no real need for privacy.  I decided to use a combination of sheers and tall curtain panels, which can be closed if necessary.

I was quite the bargin hunter when shopping for 24 yards of fabric for the red drapes.  I stumbled upon a discontinued pattern and bought the entire bolt for a great, great price per yard.  The sheer fabric was my splurge. . . not a bargin, not a great price per yard, but, I figured since I was so budget conscience on the fabric for the drapes, why not?!  The leopard is something I decided to add just for fun.

Everytime I walk into my kitchen, I love the way the dining area looks and feels.  It is warm and inviting, but bold and dramatic.  I love that when you come through the front door, if not completely distracted by a messy kitchen, your eyes are immediately drawn to the bay windows and my favorite part of our kitchen.  So, anyone want to teach me how to cook?  If you are going to gather in my kitchen, I should probably feed you.

My friend Keasha may be the most sassy person I know.  She is about the size of Polly Pocket and pretty feisty!  About a month ago, she and her husband decided to take on the challenge of transforming their builder grade living room into a HGTV designer worthy space.  They replaced their fireplace surround with a beautiful mosaic tile of copper, chocolate and cream.  They glazed and distressed the fireplace mantle and then added a dark mahogany wood floor as the hearth.  Here is a picture of the finished product . . . . beautiful!

This rich and bold fireplace needs a window treatment that can compliment the tile and wall color, not divert any attention away from the hard work put into it.  When you walk through the front door, the fireplace is the first thing that catches your eye . . . exactly what it is meant to do.  It isn't until you turn around do you see the large picture window on the adjacent wall.  Keasha did an amazing job selecting the fabric and trim for her drapes.  (I'm so proud, all on her own!)  Here is an up close look at the combination of fabrics . . . the leopard is my favorite!

The fabrics contrasted with the wall beautifully and I was so happy with the way they turned out.

After the drapes were installed, Keasha told me that she was so excited and she mentioned she left the room just so that she could come back in to be surprised all over again!  Thanks Keasha for letting me contribute to your living room make over.

I absolutely love, love the drapes in my living room.  We have lived in our home for 6 years and I finally have the drapes I have always wanted.  When we first bought our home in 2004, I installed very plain, dull, boring  curtains.  They were dark taupe and linen.  As you can tell in my picture, our walls are a light taupe, called Latte, by Sherwin Williams.  I was in desperate need of some color and drama.  When I found this beautiful fabric at Interior Fabrics in Oklahoma City, my mind was made up.  It was just what I was looking for . . . something that made a statement, something dramatic and something classic.

My favorite part of my living room drapes is the back side.  I know, the side you don't even get to see!  Anytime someone new comes to visit, I have to show them the back of the drapes.  I used a beautiful lime green dupioni silk.  

I'm sure some of you may not have chosen lime green and honestly, I usually would not have either, but, since I was aiming for drama and color, I decided to be bold.  I took a chance and I love the way they turned out.