Before and After!

 

“But Momma... I want a

big girl room!”

Lola and I have this telepathic thing going on… so I knew she wanted a big girl room bad! Lou-Lou- dry up those fake tears… Your momma is always up for some thrifty decorating… so it began!  And two days later her entire room was brand new… well, kind of.  

Some house hunters walk through houses and are horrified by tiny bedrooms… not me.  I love them.  As my mother says, “Smalls rooms demand where things go” and she loves that about them… and I do too.  But I still love options- so I wanted to reconstruct Lola’s room.

“Ohhhhh Paw-Paw!” 

Before I really committed to this project I had to know in my mind if I planned on using the same room for our next baby, but after much thought my heart just couldn’t bare moving Lola to another room.  This was her little precious room.  New baby gets new precious room.  Lola gets updated new but same room.  And she loves. 

Okay let’s get to the pictures…. eeek.

Old room- the nursery right before she arrived (awe)… (if you want to see the changes along the way- they are scattered through old post- but this is the beginning…)

The rocker has been long gone (and just sold it on craigslist for  more than I bought it for!) and a few months back she got a pretty, fluffy carpet rug that we stole out of Kebby’s Nick’s room.  Over all the shelves and toy chest ate up a lot of space and the paint was always a bit dark although cozy for a little, sleeping baby, but not for a crazy 19 month old girl.  Still love that cheap brass (heavy brass) chandelier we painted cream.  (ps- if you are an avid blog reader- you know our crib was to die for gorgeous, but Lola just never thought so- she has had a big girl bed since she was 12 months.)

Hello big girl room:

The miniature floor lamp was a great find from Goodwill… after looking everywhere on the Internet and having no luck, I drove to our local Goodwill and lo- and behold- there is was.  Smiling at me and me back and her.  It’s been in a closet just waiting to be used.

Okay so a quick run down…

• Thanks to Paw-Paw, we were able to take the gigantic toy chest out (that I didn’t use for storage) and thanks to previous owner, put down flooring that was left behind.  The bad thing is if you take a toy chest out of a babies room, you got to give the mom a paint brush.  I was going to have to paint the shelves where they were hidden a long with the wall which meant I might as well take the opportunity to paint the entire room a lighter color, right?  Well again, thanks to grandparents, Maw-Maw gave me money to buy two whooping cans of Sherwin Williams paint, called Wisteria Greige.  Love then name.  Luckily I had the special rolller it takes for that intense texture and all the supplies. 
• Pretty new curtains from lavender gingham I made a couple months ago.  I love them.  I painted the curtain rod cream to blend in with everything else.  It was bronze.  Love the crystal knobs on them so had to save it.  Curtains cost me $25 to make which included 6 yards of fabric and 6 yards of lining.
• Her bed is the same.  I bought the Jenny Lind bed at Target and painted it cream since I couldn’t find a cream one anywhere!
• The rug, thanks to Kebby, adds a great cozy, play element and it really helped her become more settled in there.  (Funny thing- the carpet rug in my room did the same thing for me!  Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!)
• I redid the shelves (still may move things around some) to give it a decorated, yet little girl playroom feel.  I like it much better.  And her toy collection is growing!

Sidenote:  A big idea to moms- don’t let your kids’ rooms get overcrowded.  It’s so easy to let happen but they play much better with fewer things out.  Lola has little containers stacked in her closet with food, little toys, dishes, etc... that we get down to play with, then clean up and put back up.  Also, just read in a magazine and it turns out to be right on, if you have special toys that they can only play with at certain times, like during “independent play time” then they are more than likely to encourage them to play on their own for a bit and they feel like it’s special time instead of their in trouble time.  It works moms!  Try that instead of “Please just go play in your for a bit!”  Have you said that yet to your kids today!?  Haha

• Okay I do have a TV in her room but before anyone bust out with babies shouldn’t watch TV and it’s not good until they are 2 or 3… well that’s all dumb because there isn’t cable in her room and she watches educational videos (Does Elmo count?) and it really helped her learn to play in her room and not right by my feet all the time.  It has been a lifesaver.  I already had the TV and Target was out of cheap DVD players so we opted for a Sony one that was $40 which is not like me, but people- this was a great $40 spent.

 

Okay so I couple things I have to point out- this bear was bought off Etsy which the Paintedshed no longer carries this type of stuff.  BUT it’s one of two of my favorite things in Lola’s room.  It was a big splurge at $35 even. 

And this is my other fav!  I adore it and will never, ever be able to get rid of it.  Yes Laura, I have a few things that I love and are sentimental just not the rocker!  Haha…  I bought this at an Antique store and got it for $17 after I begged the lady to call the dealer to see if she would take $17.   It worked.  It was already framed and ready to be hung.  Just needed to be dusted a tad.   Love. 

Here’s her fluffy carpet everyone loves to lay on.  It is amazing.  Homegoods.  Funny store (well to me) this carpet was pretty expensive but since I have no carpet in my house I knew it could be used in any rooms for years…. well there was one almost just like it for half the price but I couldn’t give up the extreme thickness this one offered so after much desperation, a toddler meltdown (me I am talking about) my mom so generously had a weak moment and split the difference with me.  I can tell this story bc my dad doesn’t read the blog.  Hahahaha!  Thanks mom- Lola and I love this carpet.  Why was I wasting it in a guest room??? Thanks Kebby for the idea to move it over to Lola’s! 

I had to get Paw-Paw t finish off the room with new electrical plugs and plate covers.  Two out of the 4 were still old and I am obsessed with changing these things (the actual plug part).   I don’t know what it is about that yet it sure makes me happy!  So clean.

The room just feels so much larger, it’s unbelievable what taking out the chest did and lightening the wall/ceiling color.  I knew it would make a difference but not this kind.

And the best part about the makeover was it only cost me $15 total.  No lie. Glue for putting the floor down, plugs, and floor cleaner. 

Anyways I am in love with her room and she seems to be too.  She goes to the now empty space inbetween her bookshelves and says “Kaw-Kaw” because she knows Paw-Paw made that space new and pretty for her!  

I laid in her bed last night watching her just play with all her kitchen stuff and babies and wonder how do they really grow so fast? 

A special thanks to Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw for helping me get this done so fast!

And a big brag on Lola for entertaining me all day Tuesday while I painted.  You were the best painting partner and I am still amazed at how good you were.  I should have left one of those paint footprints you made on your floor as a memory.  Darn mop.