New Pillows for Spring

You know you have a problem when you have to sneak shopping bags in the house when your husband is not home.

Strangely, he notices shopping bags coming into the house...but he doesn't notice new pillows on the bed that he sleeps in.

It's like he has 'decorating' blindness.

But who am I to complain?

That darn HomeSense...if only I would learn to stay out of that store.

Last week, I spied these Amy Butler pillows.

I tried to resist them. I went home without them. But they kept calling my name.

So I went back to get 2 square Amy Butler pillows...and the little smaller one with the flowers in turquoise & green...that was the dessert to go with the dinner.

It was just the thing to cheer a girl up after a long, long winter.

Does anyone else have a pillow obssession?

A Boy's Room Makeover That Scores The Goal...

Can you tell that this boy loves hockey?

It seemed fitting that his room should reflect his love of hockey and the importance it plays in his life.
I think every child should have a room that reflects their personality and interests...despite the decor of the rest of the house.

So last week I left you with this picture of the unfinished room.

The hardwood floor needed to be finished and the room needed decorating.

Here is this 12 year old boy's new room now.

The wall colours were chosen by this hockey-loving boy with the help of a designer.

It paired a red accent wall with 3 surrounding walls of grey to give a great backdrop for the terrific collection of framed hockey pictures owned by this hockey-passionate family.

I then collaborated with  Mom on the organization of this room and how it would function.

This room was originally green with a bunk bed combination of a double bed on the bottom and a single bed on the top. The room also held other matching pine pieces: a large armoire, a desk, a nightstand and a bookcase.

Since one boy lives in this room, I suggested Mom get rid of the bunk bed combination after hearing how she detested struggling with changing the sheets of the bunk beds and 2 beds were not really necessary for the  function of the room.

She decided to keep the larger bed and plans to sell the single bed.

Another cumbersome piece of furniture in this room was an armoire {not shown}. I suggested that all of her son's clothing be re-organized into the closet with a newly installed closet configuration. With the armoire gone, this also freed up a ton of space in this room....making it feel more spacious and calm.

Originally, the wall to the right of the bed had been painted red, but with the bunk beds and the armoire now gone, it made  good sense to make the far wall the red accent wall to feature the bed and the cherished, framed hockey print of Ovechkin.

So Mom had the two walls re-painted to reflect the new floor plan.

New nightstands in black-brown from Ikea were added to frame the bed while also breaking up the matchiness of all the pine in the room.

Mom purchased the new black coverlet and pillows to complement the room in it's new colours.

She is still searching for new lamps for the nightstands.

This next space shows the bookcase placed in the corner by the closet.

I think every child should have a bookcase in their room for books and cherished objects.

Notice the tiny black hockey skate...it was worn by this boy and his older brother when they were just little tykes! I love this touch of nostalgia in a room!

I encouraged Mom to show and display any treasured hockey paraphernalia from her boys' years of playing hockey.

And here is this 12 year old's new study space.

The original pine desk was kept, with new Ikea shelves installed above for storage and display.

There are also 2 bulletins boards yet to be hung to complete this desk area.

 The only space in this room that I cannot share with you is the closet because the new shelving is to be installed this week.

I will be sure to share the finished results!

This hockey boy was pretty pleased with his new room....and I think it's a fantastic reflection of him!

I also spent some time with him giving some suggestions on how he should organize his collection of  thousands of hockey cards.

We sent Mom out to purchase a hockey collector's binder to store his very favourite hockey cards.

But that is a whole other post!

This post is linked to these terrific parties:

 

A Little Girl's Room To A Sophisticated Young Lady's Room...

I am so excited to share this project with you.

All of my friends know how I love to organize and decorate...it's a true passion of mine.

I was asked by a very good friend to help take her daughter's room from a little girl's room to a sophisticated young lady's room.

This project was scheduled as a birthday surprise for a young lady turning 14.

The birthday girl would come home from school to find her room  transformed.

We talked for weeks about plans for this room.

The transformation day was scheduled for January 17th.

Here is the result...

Below is the BEFORE picture.

The plans included leaving the room paint as it was.....it was fairly recent and a terrific colour.

The room would be refreshed with new bedding, new side tables, new lamps, new accessories, a new desk area and new artwork.

Mom and I spent lots of time coming up with a plan for furniture and accessories...black & white was chosen as the accenting colours.

I met her at HomeSense to look at new night stands and accessories needed for the space.

We chatted about how this space would function and work for her daughter.

Mom made many, many fun & exciting purchases!

On the morning of January 17th, this is what we started with:

 The pine dresser and night stand were removed and replaced with small black round side tables and new lamps.

New bedding and pillows were added. I added a fresh vignette to the shelf above the bed.

The dog canvases on the wall on the left side of the bed were a nod to this young lady's love of dogs.  The fashion canvases were chosen to give this room a more sophisticated feel. 

 This was the desk area on the morning of January 17th.

 Here's how it looked at the end of the day.

The little girl stuff was sorted into groups for keeping and groups for sending to Goodwill.

A new Ikea desk assembled by Dad was installed to provided maximum homework and laptop space.

The shelves, also installed by Dad,  hold lots of basket for storage.

A new desk chair provides comfortable seating for a young lady.

 Here is the top of the closet in the morning.

All of the stuffed animals on the top of the closet were also sorted and those which held special memories were kept...while 3 large bags went to Good will.

 The American Girl dolls and wardrobe were then placed on the top of the closet for safe-keeping and as well as a vignette that is very clean & pretty looking compared to the stuffed toys.

When you enter the room now...this is what you see!

I was so excited for this young lady to come home and see her new room.

I didn't get to see her reaction, but I heard that she was jumping up & down with joy!

I think it turned out fabulous!

Aren't those accent pillows on the bed just the bees knees?

For me, it was a SUPER fun day of organizing & decorating and helping this Mom achieve a dream for her daughter.....a wonderfully newly decorated space to take her through her teenage years!

This post is linked to these great parties:

My little world of brown & blue....

I love parties!

Today I am joining the Blue & Brown Bonanza over at Cottage Instincts.

I love blue & brown together.

It's one my fav colour combinations ever.

The one room in my house that needs to be serene and calm is our bedroom.

I want it to be a chamber of peacefulness...not busy or loud....not bright or overstimulating.

Enter a cafe mocha brown on the walls with fabric accents in soft grey blue.

It works for us.

It feels restful.

A respite from busy days.

 You will probably find blue and brown in every room in my house.

My living room has brown leather sofas with more shades of blue & brown in pillows, picture frames and our cuddle quilt for watching tv.

I made 3 of the 4 pillows you see, along with the quilt on the back of the sofa.

All with Amy Bulter fabrics...her colour combos are so delicious!

Thanks for letting me share a little of my blue & brown world!

To enjoy more blue & brown inspiration, click the button below and head on over!