bye-bye wallpaper

My husband finished removing all of the dino wallpaper in Ella's new room (go Ted)!  And surprise, it doesn't seem like the plaster in here has EVER been painted.  We found evidence of old wallpaper behind the built-in shelves after we removed them and the lovely window valence with the dentil detail.

Here are the photos from Ella's room when we bought the house.

And here's a nice close-up of the dino wallpaper:

And, now that the dinos are officially extinct, we've got a nice black slate.

We still have a bit of the wallpaper glue to remove - it's that lovely green stuff on the walls and man, is it sticky!  And this past weekend, we finally got to the store and picked out some paint samples that we hope to get up on the walls and ceiling soon.  Stay tuned!

e's room

While I mull over the million ideas I have for the kitchen, I'll give you a little peek inside Ella's new room.  When we first began negotiations to purchase this house, I posted a mood board for Ella's new, big girl room.  It was a necessary distraction from all of the other work I knew this house would require if our offer was accepted and it kept Ella excited about the impending move.  Well, three months later and those early plans have changed a bit.

Here's where we started (all sources can be found here):

Ella has changed her mind on a few things, mainly, the color of the bed.  Almost as soon as she chose the raspberry bed, she recanted and became dead set on a black bed and hasn't wavered since.  So we've ordered the black version of the bed above from Land of Nod.  This major change, along with her request for a teal room has shifted my design plan just a bit.  So here's where we are now:

1_In place of the mid-century dresser, we've decided to go with a more muti-functional storage solution from IKEA - the STUVA line in white.  Our setup will differ from what's shown to provide additional space for folded clothing.

2_The (dark) teal ceiling!  After requesting the bed in black, Ella asked for teal walls.  Honestly, a full room of teal with a black bed scared me.  I had bad flashbacks to the NIKE windbreakers I wore in middle school.  I just could't go all the way there.  So I think I've convinced her to let me just paint the ceiling a beautiful, deep teal.  I hope doing this will allow me to add additional color to the room in the form of toys and accessories without it looking like a box of crayons.

3_Now that the ceiling will be dark and the bed black, I thought I might lighten things up with this Possini Euro Design Flower Pendant.  It is a room for a toddler and this was a good place to add an element of fun.

4_I'm still stuck on the Firenze Velvet Tassel Pillow from Anthropologie.  And the graphic, black and white LAPPLJUNG RUTA pillow from IKEA I had in our former living room will be relocated to Ella's new room.

5_Jenny Lind Bed in black from Land of Nod

6_I am having a hard time finding a rug I like for the room.  The previous one just doesn't fit with this new direction.  I'm hoping I can find something a wool rug with a classic, vintage feel in deep jewel tones that will grow with the the room as Ella gets older.

7_The Eames RAR Molded Plastic Rocker in lime from Herman Miller will be following Ella to her new, big girl room.

8_Ella's curtains from her former room will grace the two large windows in this room as well.  One pair may require a hem to lift them up above an existing radiator.

9_A big girl bed deserves a big girl nightstand.  I found this one on Overstock - the Atlantic Powder-coated Metal Side Table.  At just under $40, this will be an easy piece to swap out in the future and the basic white table will be a good base for a colorful lamp.

We are currently stripping wallpaper in Ella's room and prepping for paint.  Updates to come!

a big girl room

We bought a house.  At least I think we did.  We finally have an accepted offer, did all our inspections, BUT we haven't heard from the seller in over a week with regard to the inspection results.  She's overseas and has apparently not been heard from.  So, until the seller reappears, we're distracting ourselves with the fun stuff.

There have been a lot of discussions in this house the past few months about our move to Cleveland, and more specifically, Ella's new bedroom.  Today she made a few decisions for the room (and I filled in the rest).  Her excitement makes me smile and I am so excited to tackle her room first!

1_If you haven't guessed already, I like color, especially when it comes to a child's bedroom.  When I found this fun Cotton Ball Light String by Cable and Cotton and showed them to Ella, she flipped.  What could be more exciting, when you're almost three, than the thought of having Christmas lights in your bedroom.  All.  Year.  Round.

2_We went to our second City Flea in Cincinnati (our first in Washington Park) this May and I picked up this cute little print from Jodi Lynn's Emporium of Doodles.  The colorful hot air balloons will pair nicely with some of the existing photos and art we already have hanging in Ella's current room.

3_The Rio Pendant Lamp in antiqued brass from Jonathan Adler will be a good, permanent addition to her bedroom.  I think it will survive any future decor shifts in the room and will compliment the style of the rest of the house.

4_Ella has a Jenny Lind style crib in her current bedroom in white.  I love how it pairs well with more modern pieces.  So when I spotted the Jenny Lind line of furniture from Land of Nod, I knew we had found her big girl bed.  And it comes in colors!  Ella picked the bed in raspberry.  It should be a nice pop of color in an otherwise, fairly neutral room.

5_I love this pillow - the Firenze Velvet Tassel Pillow from Anthropologie.  It's the perfect piece to bring all of the colors we're using in her room together.  Now, whether I pay $78.00 for it is another story.  The concept is easy enough to tackle on my own.  I'm going to start hunting for a multi-colored tassel string and if I can't find one, I suppose I could always try to dye my own.

6_The Eames RAR Molded Plastic Rocker in lime from Herman Miller will be following Ella to her new, big girl room.  Now that we have a little more space in the new house, we're opting for an upholstered glider for the new nursery and so Ella will get to keep this little gem.  Which is a good thing, because she LOVES it!  Dare I say, it just might be her favorite reading spot.

7_The Knitted Graphite Pouf from CB2 that we purchased to use with the rocker will also follow Ella to her new, big girl room.

8_And to replace the open basket clothing storage she has now, we'll invest in a nice dresser for her growing wardrobe (the larger sizes just don't fit as conveniently in the open baskets as the little newborn onesies did).  This one is West Elm's Mid-century 6-Drawer Dresser in acorn.  I love the style.  If I can source a similar, vintage dresser before our move, I will most certainly scoop it up before I decide to spend some major bucks on something brand new.

9_And to finish off the space, we'll lay down this neutral Chenille Jute Solid Border Rug in gray over the wood floors.  It's flat enough to stack blocks on, but still soft for lounging on the floor.  And it's a pretty affordable option where rugs are concerned. 

a room for my bean

The first room I tackled in our house (while it was still a rental) was Ella's room.  She was still sleeping in our room when we moved in, so I hadn't thought much about putting her room together besides getting her clothing and changing area organized.  When we did move her into her room (when my husband started school) I was shuffling furniture around on an almost daily basis trying to find an arrangement that would work and transition well as she outgrew her crib.  The room had been painted a few shades of pale green (neither of which I liked), and to top it all off, I think both had a semi-gloss finish.  If you live in an old house with original plaster walls, painting a wall with a semi-gloss paint is a bad idea!  It only made more apparent every surface imperfection.  In addition, as in all of the other rooms in the house (except the bathroom and kitchen) the trim was unpainted and in pretty bad shape.

I decided to paint just the walls at first, and leave the trim as it was.  I used Mythic Paint for the room, a non-toxic, low odor paint with no VOC's (Ella was still a baby after all and I was concerned about the fumes of regular paint).  I chose White Sail Lake for the walls.  However, after the walls were freshly painted, the trim looked even worse.  So, I got to work stripping the old, crackled varnish off the wood, then I gave it a light sand and started painting it white, White Fur by Behr.  This was a huge job and took me several weeks of working at night after I put her to sleep.  But I think it was well worth the effort.  I really love white trim.

I moved everything back into the room and then realized that the ceiling was looking a little drab against the new white trim.  So I headed back to the store and picked a very pale pink for the ceiling,   Gentle Butterfly by Valspar (they make a Low Odor, Low VOC).  I still have a few areas to touch up along the ceiling (paint peeled away while I was removing the painters tape), but other than that, the room feels complete.

My mother made the most beautiful curtains for Ella for Christmas - Dandelion in White/True Turquoise by Premier Prints.  The curtains are floor to ceiling, have a grommet top, and are fully lined (and my mom has been gracious enough to write up a tutorial, to be posted soon).  The rocking chair is a classic Eames Rocker in Lime Green by Herman Miller (best Christmas present ever), and the rug is from Almsted in Lilac from IKEA (no longer available).  I made the collaged numbers hanging on the wall for Ella's monthly photos, and the canvas toy bins are from 3 Sprouts.  I really had no fear of color in this room and wanted it to be fun and eclectic.  

My sister made the alphabet prints for Ella before she was born (so fantastic), and the vintage kindergarten table is from my Great Aunt's home (she inherited it from the school she taught at).  We used two IKEA Expedit units that we already had, tuned on their sides and stacked, for Ella's dresser.  I picked up the white baskets at no less than 4 Target stores, calling all of the stores in my area to see how many they had in stock.  I was never able to get more than three at each store!

I am very fond of the growth chart by Milk Moon kids, given to us by a good friend, and I just recently added the stitched star garland that I made with the left over stars from my holiday Starry Garland.

We have so much fun in Ella's room, reading and playing with the entire family (including the dog), and I am excited to continue watching the room as it evolves and grows with her.