Thursday, April 16, 2009

Decorating Help Needed!

We have been totally remodeling our home over the past three years! I'm not talking just new flooring or painting...I mean gutting! For example, there were times when I could be standing in the bathroom and look through the floor into our basement which is two floors below!

The upstairs of our home is about 90% completed! Finally!
For three years we have been living in constant clutter and disorganization! I absolutely hate it! The reason we live in such chaos is because while we're remodeling one part of the house, we have it's contents in another area and thus cluttering the liveable areas! My husband is doing all of the work himself (that's the reason that it's taken so long)! His full-time job leaves little time for remodeling.
One great thing about remodeling is being able to totally redesign your home! For example, we had a little room upstairs which was very very tiny. It was what we used as the baby's room. This room is right above our stairs. As we gutted it, we fell in love with the open feeling that it had. It made the room seem so much bigger. As a joke I said it would be cool if we left it open without the front wall. As my husband and I thought about the idea, we decided to do just that! It became our "loft." We put a railing up where the wall would go and it's directly over our staircase. It's a really cool room actually. It's sort of a library/computer room.

I wanted this "loft" to be a place where I could go and relax. The window faces our back yard and looks directly into a huge tree. I love this tree! This tree always has the most beautiful blue jays in it. I decided that I wanted to create a window seat where I could go to unwind, read, and meditate. So my husband built me a window seat. And on either side of the window seat built into the wall are shelves that houses the computer and books. I also bought a cute chaise lounge for in the room and an electric fireplace. It's a great room to escape to, and it's the last room to be completed in our upstairs. I cannot wait, and will share it with you once it's completed!

Anyway, since the whole house has been remodeled it's been bare. It has very few decorations up on the walls. I am in desperate need of decor! I either have it and it's not hung, or I am in the process of making it, which is taking forever! So I figured I would start in my youngest son's room. I want to complete one room at a time, so I'm going to start there.

The inspiration for his room came from this cute comforter bed in a bag set that I found at Walmart. It's from their new "Organic Bedding" line. Check it out...isn't it adorable? And the sheets have little paw prints and acorns on it! Too cute!
Another inspiration for the animal themed room are these alphabet flashcards that I found in the scrapbook section of Michaels Craft Store. Each card is approximately 5x7 and they feature the animals from A-Z! If you are interested in purchasing the cards for yourself they are $6.99 and are made by K & Company. They are a little pricey, but remember to use your 40% off coupon!
I bought two sets. I wanted one set for decorating and the other for learning! The back of these cards have facts about the animal on them, which makes them extra cool! Here are a couple of my favorite cards:I figured that these cards would be soo cute if they were each hung in 5x7 frames. What I originally planned was to buy 26 cheap frames and spray paint them different bold colors and group them on the wall as a collage. But the more I thought about it, 26 is ALOT and would take up the entire wall most likely! Not to mention the cost of 26 frames. But I still love the idea of the bold frames and these prints on the wall. What do you think? Is 26 is that too many?

I did think of framing possibly my favorite 10 or so and hanging them on the wall around a large letter "A" for Alex? Wouldn't that be cute? I even thought about using the letters to spell Alex and framing just those. What do you think I should do with these cards? Any ideas?

I'm also planning to use my Cricut machine to make a framed sign of his name. I have the "Zooballoo" cartridge and planned on using it to create a sign for on his wall or door.

I also wanted to paint some whimsical animals on canvases to go with the comforter and alphabet cards. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to paint until I was lying in bed last night. I decided to paint the exact animals that are on his comforter. I figured this way they would go together and make everything look uniformed. What do you think about that?

I love whimsical things and love bright colors. I really wanted to make his room pop! He absolutely loves his new comforter and actually looks forward to going to bed at night now!

What kind of things do you think would look cute in an animal themed room?

7 comments:

  1. The new Wal Mart bedding is CUTE! Did you see the birdies?? So TWEET! lol!

    I will see if I can find the info on the drawing that I had done of my girls. I'm not sure if the young lady is away at college or not...

    Aren't the balls of YUM great??!! I made one for Jen (did you see it on her blog?) after my friend, Joy, made one for me! I am going to make some smaller ones tonight to go on my candlesticks. They are FUN!:) Lori

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  2. That bedding is ADORABLE! So perfect for a little boys room. My son is 9 and I think he would still like that. I also Love those flashcards. I think It would be fun to frame them and hang them together. Or as a border all around the room at eye level. I love creative people! Clearly you are super creative!

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  3. Your hubby sounds like quite the handy guy! How nice that he is able to do all of the remodeling himself....that saved you a TON of money! I can't wait to see the loft area.

    That comforter for your son's bed is absolutely ADORABLE! Depending on how big his room is all of the letters framed may look a little busy. I do think his name would be adorable framed out or selecting a certain amount (you said 10) and framing those. I think his room is going to be CUTE!

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  4. Hey! Thanks for linking to my blog. I saw once (it was probably Martha) someone who had installed a couple of strips of small molding across the wall and slid alphabet cards in them. Does that make sense? You would have them all in a row, like a border, but they would be defined and held in place by the molding. Cheaper than frames and easier on the eyes. If your wall(s) still isn't big enough to do that, I would vote for spelling a name or some words with them. Hope that helps!

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  5. 26 is a lot. I would spell out something fun with a couple of them or use initials. Or you could just switch them out from time to time.

    If you want to use them all I would put some in frames and use others to mod podge unto the back of a bookcase or the top of a side table. Or you could make a garland, or hang them from curtain clips. There are a ton of cute things you could do that would be a lot less work and less money than 26 frames! ;D

    You could even just buy a big frame and do a collage.

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  6. Cute bedding! I truly admire that you guys are doing the renovation by yourself...that is awesome and you must be sooo proud with each completed project! And you know it's done right! :-) Susan

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  7. This set is adorable! I found one at walmart but it was only available in full size and I need twin. :( I'll have to look again...

    and your children are adorable btw! ;)

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