About a month ago we were walking around the park and Clara pointed to a dogwood tree and said “wow, that’s a big big tree in a big big world.” John and I cracked up. So now when I think of Clara’s playroom/big girl room, I also think of the big big tree and the big big world of ours. Hilarious. Anyway, back to the room that we have affectionately (and ironically) called the playroom. Remember that it looked like this when we moved in?
And then it got all cluttered up with junk and looked like this?
And then we organized it with the help of my mom and it looked like this?
And then in a Groundhog-Day-esque turn of events a year later it looked like this again (thanks to months of book insanity)?
So we cleaned it one last time and had a big yard sale and auctioned a bunch of book projects off for charity and finally we were left with this:
I may or may not have done a victory dance around the daybed that included some very painful-to-watch moonwalking. Gaining any actual use of this room will be ten times better than the junked up storage room that it has been for the past three Christmases (how are we on year three of living here without reclaiming this room sooner?!). So as we’ve mentioned a few times, it will serve as a nice little playroom for Clara and eventually will be her big girl room once she graduates from sleeping in her crib.
Why switch rooms? Well, the nursery is so small that adding a daybed basically sucks up all the floor space, so moving her into the larger spare room and keeping the nursery for a possible future kiddo makes the most sense for us). Of course we can always update the nursery for a boy bean if one should come our way someday (heck, kids rooms are our favorite things, so we’d jump at the chance). In fact here’s an old mood board we did a while back to show how Clara’s room could be adapted for a little dude:
Once all the extra stuff was cleared out and remaining items were pushed to the center of the room, it was time to paint (we had used the room as a secret-book-project backdrop so it was a hot mess). We’d repainted sections of the walls around ten times in there to create different colored backdrops for shooting – and had even painted the trim around one window a moody gray color and stenciled a good portion of another wall. Nothing was safe from the madness of book shots.
Here are a few other oddly-painted angles:
So yes, paint was definitely necessary. First I painted the book-project-window-shade from gray back to glossy white:
Before we pick a wall color we like to think about the other things that’ll be going on in the room. So we thought about that for a hot second or two. We actually wanted Clara to have some input, so we asked her what colors she wanted to see in her big girl room. Not surprisingly, she said “pink and red!” (her faves used to be pink and orange, but she moved to pink and red about a month ago).
It’ll be nice to have another room in the house with warmer touches in those red and pink tones (you know we love us some green & blue, so that’s prevalent in a lot of other areas). It was even cool with John since, in his words “as long as we’re not going hot pink all over the living room, I’m down with Clara getting to pick the colors that we use in her big girl room.” Mah man. He can build a deck and he’s cool with pink.
So just to give you an idea where we’re thinking of bringing in those pinks and reds (along with other hits of colors/textures that make a room feel layered and not-too-matchy-matchy) here’s a quick picture of some items we’ve been saving for Clara’s big girl room in a little floor-pile together. Floor-piles are the new mood board. Just kidding.
We don’t want the room to be red/pink overkill, so using tones like white and navy – along with hits of other colors like yellow and teal – to break things up is definitely on the agenda. And since we wanted the items in the photo above to stand out (instead of being the same color as the walls) we opted for a soft and pretty neutral that we know will be just as workable with any other accent colors down the line. Let’s face it, kids can change their favorite colors on a dime, so we don’t want our walls to be forever dependent on a red & pink scheme, ya know?
And this time instead of going with a gray-ish neutral (which we’ve done in a few other rooms) we dipped back into the warmer neutral palette and went for a super soft tan tone. Sort of like tea when you put in too much milk. Mmmm. It definitely still works within our whole house palette, but it’s a slightly warmer than some of the other grays.
We were between two extremely similar colors, so naturally, we picked the one with the better name. Totally reasonable tie-breaker move, right? The winner: Alaskan Skies by Benjamin Moore (we bought a gallon of their no-VOC Natura paint in an eggshell finish). The reason it won: we honeymooned in Alaska and took approximately 650,367 photos of the sky while we were there. The sweet little coincidence is that the paint in Clara’s nursery is Proposal (also by BM), so I guess we’re subconsciously drawn towards wedding/honeymoon related names.
Since I’m the cutter-inner and John’s the roller in this relationship (those sound like weird euphemisms) I was totally jealous about John’s big erase-the-past roller moves. Meanwhile I’m sitting on the floor painting above the baseboards. Look at me go! Just kidding. And now for a montage of John rolling over all of the randomly painted portions of the room (I wish it was a montage, it’s just this picture and the one above).
Not gonna lie, it felt pretty good to watch him go over all of those random colors and stencils on the walls and finally move towards a room that’s all one color again. Meanwhile I was inching my way around the room cutting in around the windows, doors and the ceiling. Speaking of which, we didn’t paint the ceiling (just left it white) but we’re debating adding some soft tone up there someday down the line after the room comes together more. Stay tuned…
I think we’re in love with the wall color though. Not too pink, gray, or tan. And not too white, so the window trim, molding (and future crown molding that we’d love to install) pop nicely against it. Just like extra milky tea against a clean white mug. Yum.
So we’re currently waiting for the paint to dry so we can move all of the furniture back into semi-normal spots.
Then we’ll share more photos along with planning/details/projects as we go! Back in 2010 Clara’s first nursery evolved over the course of about 20 posts and two or three months. Can’t wait to watch this bare little room take shape…
So that’s what we’ve been up to. What did you guys do this weekend?
Lindsey says
Have you seen this?…
http://blog.landofnod.com/honest-to-nod/2013/01/a-room-of-her-own-.html
YoungHouseLove says
So charming!!
xo
s
Amy K says
I have to say, I’m kind of disappointed with the color choice of Clara’s big girl room. I mean, I get it, it’s your house and all, but you both picked such an awesome color for the guest room that I thought Clara’s new room would be the obvious choice to pick a crazy color she would love.
It’s only paint, right?
YoungHouseLove says
Don’t you worry, there’s going to be color, pattern, and interest galore in there – we just didn’t want to choose a bold saturated color that she’d tire of in a month or two :)
xo
s
Briana says
Hey! Love the new big girl room color scheme! Can’t wait to see it all put together. Quick question… Where did you get the teal clock? I’m redoing my kitchen in teal and red and that clock would be perfect :) or just any suggestions on where to find teal accessories… Thanks a million!
YoungHouseLove says
That was from Hobby Lobby a while back I think! Hope it help!
xo
s
Marisa says
Lots of teal accessories at Target right now – every other blog I read today seems to be posting about their new home collection and saw some (online) that may help you!
Jennifer says
Playrooms are so much fun to decorate! Sadly, mine is going from a little boy playroom to an xbox video game room. The boys have specifically requested for it to be dark and “cool.” Off to decorate a cave!
YoungHouseLove says
Fun! Good luck Jennifer!
xo
s
Jana says
Looks good – soft and perfect for pops of color. Just curious as to how this paint color compares to Sand White from Glidden (I think from your first house). They look kind of similar or is one more gray/tan? Just wondering because I painted my bedroom Sand White and it’s not quite as warm as I wanted, although I agree I don’t like the yellow/brown of most tans. Such a dilemma :) Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
I think it’s lighter and more milky if that helps. Like you added more white to Sand White and watered it down.
xo
s
Lauren Nicole says
I bought a new lampshade and an organizing bin for the linen closet. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
Marisa says
Love Clara’s color selections – for some inspiration, I’d check out the recent post on the Land of Nod blog titled “A Room of Her Own” featuring a super cute pink and red room, though they really went with a full-on color assault (not in a violent, negative way – perhaps I should have used a different word than ‘assault’?).
Also, I *just saw* a rug with your colors, including that neutral, on Joss & Main … It’s called the Melinda rug. Saw it and thought of this post!
YoungHouseLove says
So cool!
xo
s
Leah says
Haha – My husband is also the “roller” and I do all the “cutting-in”!!! Isn’t it amazing how great it feels to just get that paint up on the walls??? Instant gratification…and it looks super, guys.: )
My six year old said, the other night, when we commented on how well she did with her dinner,
“All I left are crumbs on my plate, just like Santa does.”
Thanks for all the inspiration!! Can’t wait for the weekend, so I can finish a project we started this past weekend – a lower cabinet for our butler pantry which has been empty for over four years!!!
Have a great week – can’t wait to see the “big girl” room!: )
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo
s
Seriously Sassy Mama says
I bough a rug, a couple new pillow colors, and a TV stand for the living room. I am having alot of fun! Now to figure ou the art work!
Jess says
Hubby and I have also been stuck between very similar colors before, and rather than deciding on one or the other, we decided to be brave and buy two cans of each color and mix them together for a shade somewhere in between. It actually worked out really well. We had enough for touch-ups so hopefully we’ll never have to try and color match our non- existent color.
Alison Elissa Horner says
Looks gorgeous and sounds like it will be fun to watch this room evolve! Happy to see the project get underway. :)
Abigail Stender says
Especially once you have the crown molding (to break things up), I would encourage you to have some fun and get some color on the ceiling! I always feel that kids spend so much time looking at the ceiling when they are waiting to fall asleep, that they should get a kick out of what they see. Some inspiration for you (I would totally go for the fushia!): http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/painted-ceilings-130929
YoungHouseLove says
Love that idea! We did a brightly colored blue ceiling in Clara’s first nursery (with soft green walls).
xo
s
John says
I love how the room is looking. Next you have to start on making a kids on bathroom. You know how quick they grow up!
nicole says
this is random….but what kind of bushes are the ones u guys have on your front porch in the pic above? I had some out on our porch but they are dying due to no sunlight. I like the look of yours and I am assuming u also have shade…any help would be great!
YoungHouseLove says
Those are boxwoods. They like partial shade so all they usually need is water occasionally. You might have some sort of bug though, so snip a branch and bring it to a garden center and maybe they can help :)
xo
s
Tirsa says
I was a little surprised with your choice of color, but I totally understand. I am a color lover my self and had a hard time choosing a beige to depersonalize our previous house for sale. However, I found Aged Beige from Behr and completely fell in love with beige. It can be so versatile and pop against white trim. I can’t wait to see how you transform this room.
Jennifer Otey says
So excited to see what you do with it!
Callie says
I have been paralyzed with I-don’t-know-where-or-how-to-start-itis with my girls’ room. They each have a room but big sis moved into little sis’s room and they want to keep sharing. So now I have TWO undone, full of clutter rooms. But you made it look so straightforward to get going on the big girl bedroom that I think I’m ready to start. It shouldn’t be that hard, right? I mean, they have a room to sleep in while I work on the other one! Your clearing the room, painting, moving in/decorating one baby step at a time has inspired me. So if you ever think that your pointers (get the junk out of the room that you want to be free from junk) are too basic, fear not! People like me appreciate it! Thank you!
Tara says
I’m sure this question has been asked and answered a thousand times already but I cant seem to find the exact response so with apologies in advance, here goes: What color and brand and type of paint do you use for your trim? I love the way it looks so crisp and pops!
YoungHouseLove says
Our favorite is Benjamin Moore or Decorators White (semi-gloss). Hope it helps!
xo
s
laura londergan says
LOL – picking colors because of the name – who does that??? LOL . . . uhhhh apparently WE do as in I do & so do you!!! LOVE it! We chose a paint color for our master bedroom because it was called ‘soulmate’ – heehee Hope it works ;)
Kate says
Looks similar to our “Spanish” White” Dulux colour in our living spaces… love it- super easy to use a wide range of colours with it… and LOVE the idea of a coloured/feature ceiling colour down the line
Jane says
First- I love your blog! My daughter fell in love with Clara’s daybed- can you tell me where you found it?
Thank you!!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s from West Elm around 6 years ago. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Taina Cunningham says
Where did you guys get the stencil you had on the wall before you painted over it? I loveeeeee it!!!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s from royaldesignstudio.com. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Sarah says
Floor-piles are the new mood board. I love it!
Vanessa says
Maybe you mentioned this somewhere before, but where is the day bed from? I’ve been looking for one for my daughter and love the style of this one. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s from West Elm a while back (almost 6 years!).
xo
s
jamie says
Yo yo! Sup? I gots a questchun. Where did ya’ll come up with the “C” for clara’s pillow? I want to make an A for my bibi.
YoungHouseLove says
That was from Joss & Main a while back (made by a company called Happy Habitat if that helps).
xo
s
jamie says
Got a nuther… since u guys clean clutter really well lol i need some advice on cleaning my clutter. How do u clean venicion blinds(sp)? Mine somehow has pencil drawn all over it.
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh head over to pinterest and search for it – I saw a few tips on that over there (we usually just wipe them down with a swiffer, but more heavy duty methods are on Pinterest). Good luck Jamie!
xo
s