Kid-Friendly Living Room Design Plan

A client recently contacted me asking for design help with her empty living room. 

 Her and her husband had started decorating the room by adding in gorgeous Brazilian walnut flooring and painting the walls Benjamin Moore's Gray Wisp.

But then they got stuck and the room sat empty.

 The young family wanted the space to serve as a causal living room + play space for the kids + computer area for both mom and the kids.

The following plan is what I designed to help them complete their space.

 

1. Wall color: Gray Wisp (Benjamin Moore)

2. Art work:  Blooming Allium in Old Metal Coffee Pot (Art.com), 

Dahlia with Clouds Behind (Art.com)

Passion Flower Against the Sky (Art.com) 

in dark wood Ribba frames (Ikea)

3. Sofa: Ektorp Sofa in Vellinge beige (Ikea)

4. Throw Pillows: Coral Embroidered Pillow Cover (Pottery Barn), 

Vanessa Floral Pillow Cover (Pottery Barn - no longer available), 

Jute Braid Pillow Cover in Ivory (Pottery Barn), 

blue and white pillow cover is from (Etsy),

Burlap Accent Lumbar Pillows with Greek Key Pattern (Ballard Designs)

Grand Chenille Throw in Blue Smoke (Pottery Barn)

5. Coffee Table: Morgan Large Cocktail Table with Baskets in Aged White (Ballard Designs)

6. Area Rug: Poolside Brown/Bone Indoor/Outdoor Rug (Overstock)

7. Side Tables: Hamilton X Slat End tables (Target)

8. Lamps: Triple Gourd Clear Glass Table Lamps (Lamps Plus) embellished with coral colored trim ribbon

9. Chairs: Ektorp Jennylund chairs (Ikea)

10. Storage Shelves: Expedit shelf & Branas baskets (Ikea)

11. Desk: DIY Modular Office Desk (knock-off version of the Pottery Barn Bedford desk) - (plans from Ana White)

12. Drapes: DIY Burlap Panels (Tutorial)

The overall design plan for this space was to create a comfy, casual living room that had lots of storage for toys & books without looking too much like a ‘playroom.’ For the most part, I chose pieces that were kid-friendly and fairly easy on the budget.

In addition to purchasing/making the above pieces, I also suggested the client add white board and batten to the lower half of the walls to give the space some architectural interest.

I created two different, yet similar, floor plans to illustrate how the furnishings could be placed.

OPTION 1:

OPTION 2:

The left side of the room features a wall-to-wall desk with space for two chairs in both plans, while the couch & occasional chairs are in different locations.

I created a mock-up illustration to show the client what the desk could look like.

I included two open shelf base units on either end that hold baskets (Pottery Barn) for more toy storage. The center base unit could have drawers to hide important papers and/or kids’ artwork/schoolwork or doors could be placed in the center unit to hide printers, modems, etc. 

Above the desk, 3 large bulletin boards are hung for displaying the kids’ artwork.

The lamps placed on the desk are the Barometer Work Lamps (Ikea).

For desk chairs, I suggested finding two inexpensive (used) matching dining chairs and painting them white and reupholstering the cushions with a patterned fabric. 

The following was an inspiration picture for the desk area.

 (Source)

Now that the client has a plan to guide her, she's looking forward to finishing her space and turning it into a comfy, casual living room where she can read with her kids, watch them play, and spend some time on the computer.

A DIY Art Project (love sign)

 Inspired by these two images...

 Source 1

Source 2

...I decided to make a DIY art piece to jazz up our breakfast nook.

Here is my version of the two pieces fused together...

While the finished product is super cute, this project was definitely not without its' hiccups!

For the most part, I followed the tutorial from The Handmade Home, 

but with a few minor changes.

 Instead of painter's tape for the letters, I used vinyl letter that I cut on the Cricut (Plantin Schoolbook cartridge).

It took forever and a day to get all of the letters lined up and spaced just the right way.

Then I thought I'd be clever and spray a clear coat over the top to prevent the blue paint from seeping under the letters.

Bad idea.

The clear spray caused all of my perfectly placed letters to shrivel and curl up.

Total bummer.

 So I had to cut and place all of the letters. Again.

Once that fiasco was over, I painted it all using some leftover Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue (from our bedroom).

I should have removed the vinyl letters before the paint dried. 

But I got sidetracked after cleaning out my paint brush (I'm SURE it was the kids' fault) and didn't get to it until all of the paint had dried, resulting in this problem...

So I ended up using a tiny art brush to fill in all of the spots that had peeled off and an exact-o knife to scrape off the bits of paint that had seeped under the vinyl letters. 

 Tedious work.

After all of that work, the final step was to add a frame around the edges to hide the wood slats on the back that hold the whole thing together. I chose to do this last because I wanted to leave the frame wood colored and didn't want to have to paint around it.

Although this project was a pain in the you know what, I absolutely love it and would absolutely do it all over again. It was totally worth the work.

P.S. That gallery wall in the background is still a work in progress :)

Linking up to:

Because I Can't Do It All...

While I absolutely love helping people with their interior design dilemmas and completing design consultations for clients, I just can't give my little business the time it needs right now. The most important job to me right now is raising my little ones and I can't be a good mother if I am on the computer working all of the time. 

My three 3-year-olds are at home with me full-time and that, in itself, is a full-time job. The only time I have during the day to get anything done, whether it be cleaning, blogging, or doing projects, is the 1-2 hour nap window I get each afternoon. That's just not enough time to do it all.

So for the time being, I will not be available to hire for design consultations, at least until my three kiddos are in preschool and I have a little more time open during the day.

I'll still be blogging, though, and am willing to offer my advice on small-scale design dilemmas once in a while. And I'll be sure to let you know when I'm open for business again!

P.S. If you've already hired me for a design job or have purchased a gift certificate, I will still complete any projects that I've already been hired for :)

Budget-Friendly Playroom Redesign

I recently finished a Playroom Redesign for a client with 4 children, ranging in age from 4 months to 10 years old. She wanted to create a playroom that was fun & functional for all 4 of her children while also flowing with the decor in the rest of her charming home and staying super budget-friendly.

The client's space is long and narrow, which can often be tricky to decorate. The best way to tackle long rooms like this one is to decide how the room will be used and divide it into 'areas.' For this playroom, I divided it into 3 zones: a reading area, a play area, and a homework/art area.

Then I created the following inspiration board to make the 'zones' come to life.

The first zone was the Reading Area, which is located at one end of the room under a large window. The client expressed that she wanted the look of a built-in window bench without 'building it in,' so I suggested that she do a knock-off version of Pottery Barn's Stratton Daybed (by following plans from Ana White) because its dimensions would fit perfectly under her window.

For the narrow bookcases to flank the window and daybed, I chose Ikea's narrow Hemnes bookcases in white.

To bring some color and pattern into the space and to provide comfort for reading, I chose a variety of throw pillows to sit atop the daybed.

 Premier Prints Village Blue Pillow Cover from Modernality2 on Etsy.com

 Textured Linen Pillow Cover in Flan and Chunky Stripe Pillow Cover in Gold from Pottery Barn.

 Designer Green Trellis Link Lumbar Pillow Cover from KloeStudio on Etsy.com

 Duck Egg Blue Pillow Cover from Chezlele on Etsy.com

Textured Yellow Floral Pillow from Target

 Home Textured Throw in Gold from Target

For the walls, I suggested she go with a light, yet playful, blue (Benjamin Moore's Spring Sky).

To meet the needs of kids with varying ages, I suggested she place two small desks at the opposite end of the room in the Homework/Art Area. Both desks are the Micke Desks from Ikea, but one is a little larger so that it can hold the older kids' computer. 

To give the desks a little more personality, I suggested adding some decorative knobs, like these Glass Daisy Knobs from Hobby Lobby.

Here is a virtual rendering of what the Homework/Art Area could look like.

To help with storage and to keep the desk organized, I hung Ikea's Lack Shelves above both desks and used various bins and baskets to store papers and other supplies. Above the desk on the left side, I hung Ikea's Fintorp Cutlery Caddies to hold the kiddos' art supplies. 

Above the right-hand desk, I hung a display rail (tack strip) to hold important papers or artwork.

In lieu of traditional rolling desk chairs, I opted for stools because they take up less space and can be pushed all the way under the desk when not in use. These stools are the Ingolf Stools from Ikea.

For those of you who have experience with kids, you know they create a lot of art. To display some of her kids' art, I suggested she create a rotating art gallery on a wall in the Homework/Art Area. This can be done by purchasing some frames at a thrift store, spray painting the frames, removing the glass and replacing it with corkboard. 

Source

I also thought it would be fun for the little ones if a chalkboard was added to the wall under the art gallery. 

Source

The inspiration behind my design for this space was this Handmade Avant-Garde Serenity Ivory Rug from Overstock.com.

Not only do the colors flow great with the colors in the rest of the client's home, but it also has a touch of whimsy and creates a great anchor for the 'Play Area'.

The best way to keep a playroom organized is to provide enough storage for toys. To help with this, I suggested the client go with the Expedit bookcases from Ikea for housing baskets to fill with toys and hold the TV.

The map art above the entertainment unit was found on Etsy.com, 

Source

Source

while the 'Fun is Good' print is a free printable from Paper Coterie.

And last, to provide a little comfort in the 'Play Area', I selected a blue & white chevron striped pouf from Etsy.

Source

So, there you have it. 

A multi-age, budget-friendly playroom, whimsical playroom.

For more playroom inspiration, feel free visit my Kid's Spaces Pinboard.

Spring Mantel

Ah, spring, glorious spring. 

It's been a loooooooooonnng winter here in the Pacific NW. I've been so eager for spring this year that our mantel has actually looked like this since January, when I took down all of the Christmas stuff.

The sun finally showed its face today so I was able to get some pictures of our mantel while we actually had some natural light shining in the windows.

Nothing fancy, just a few vintage finds and some little pops of greenery. The candles, glass pillar candle holders, and faux greenery were from Ikea; everything else were finds from the antique & vintage shops here in Snohomish.

The art niche in our front entry received a coat of SW Comfort Gray to give it some interest. I paired an arched metal mirror with a white pitcher from Ikea filled with pussy willow branches to give it a little spring flair.

Now if we could just get the weather to be a little more spring-y, I'd be one happy gal.