About 5 years ago, when my youngest was 4, I started longing to have another baby. This shocked no one more than me. Raising the three that I had, at that point, had been hard, exhausting work that I feared was only going to get more complicated as they started to age and mature into a thousand different after school activities.
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I began to really think about WHY I wanted another baby. Was it because I wanted to hold a tiny human again? No, not really. Was it to bring my husband and I closer? Nope, need no help there. Was it to try to give my only daughter a sister? Oh hell no. That’s what cousins are for. And we all know it surely wasn’t because I longed for multiple doctors’ visits, sleepless uncomfortable nights, or anything that had to do with the word “pump” (unless it’s a shoe).
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In truth, what I found I missed the most was the excitement and anticipation of it all. (This is a reoccurring theme in my life. Stay tuned. You’re bound to see this again.) I loved finding out the gender as early as possible so I could spend endless days concocting the very best name and designing the most creative and adorable room.
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And there we have it. I wanted to have another baby so that I could design a new room in my house. That seems reasonable. (Insert eye roll here.) Thank the good Lord, I came to my senses and decided to redo my powder room instead! LOL! (Another post on my powder room redo in the future. I promise. I can sense your anticipation and excitement. Again, eye roll here.)
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I LOVED designing my kids’ rooms. I like to work with a theme in a child’s room. (As described in blog post “Inspiration” from 6/1/17.) For my own children, the themes came easy. I would fall in love with an inspiration piece and then my mind would just explode with ideas from there.
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For my oldest, Pottery Barn Kids was featuring this adorable percale sheet set of old woody style cars holding a surfboard on the top. The colors were AWESOME. I still love that mix of medium french blue with navy, avocado and a brick red. I cut up the sheets to make a crib skirt, valances, and a box pleated dust ruffle for the daybed. My hubby and I were also able to find really handsome framed art for the room that kept the theme going without installing a full on tiki bar in the corner. (Although I did use metallic palm trees from Orientaltrading.com to frame out the two windows. SUPER fun.)
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I like to add at least one special element to the room on the ceiling since babies spend so much time on their backs. In this room, I found a flying fish kite at The Discovery Store that we suspended from the center of the room with its bright colored tails trailing off and down one corner.
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My middle’s theme came just as easy. Again, I fell in love with a bedding pattern. This time a bold bug themed printed bed set from Ikea. I purchased two twin sets of the duvet cover and pillow sham. I used one as is for a twin-sized top bunk and cut the second set up to make a full sized comforter cover for the bottom bed. Ikea also had this super cute, lime green rug with a family of large black ants marching their way across.
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In keeping with my love of putting some charm up high, I found a large butterfly kite to hang just as we had the flying fish kite in the other room. SO fun! And a piece of art that we had purchased on our honeymoon in St. Lucia (See post “Tickled Pink” published 7/6/17) was the perfect addition.
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And then the princess’s room. Oh, I was SO excited to find out that I was having a girl. I love my boys terribly, but momma needed some girl hormones in the house. I picked out a print when I was pregnant with my middle child, that I knew I would use for a little girl’s room, if I ever got the chance. Here was my chance! The “Ballooning over Paris – 1890” print was ordered the very day that I found out baby #3 would be a girl. In contrast to the boys’ rooms, I kept the pallete a little more quiet. I chose a buttery yellow for the walls and used crisp white and chocolate brown spread throughout. With small touches of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, and hot air balloons sprinkled about, it was a very sweet and cozy space. And in keeping with tradition, for her ceiling, I splurged on a petite crystal chandelier from Pottery Barn Kids. Fit for a tiny palace.
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Although my kids have outgrown their original décor, and have moved on to Crazy Tween Town where mom no longer reigns as head designer, I still have my attention grabbed by pieces that I see that inspire me for a child’s room. Take, for instance, the artwork from one of my FAV artists, Ellen Kelley McHale. Her sweetly colored palletes would be the most amazing launching off point for a room design. I personally own a few of her prints. But, man oh man, if I were having another kid…..
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For a boy, I am mad for the “Dream Big” print. Group that with “When Rabbits Surf”, “Under the Sea”, and “Whale”??? Really?? Do I need to say more? Pair that with a soft green and white ticking striped bedding, bold navy to “anchor” the room (no pun intended, but how funny?) and splash an unexpected yellow or orange…???!!! LOVE!
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And for a girl? A sweet tea party theme could start with the “Breakfast in Bed” print. Use fresh turquoise, white, and a poppy pink to make the room fun. Or calm things down with a sweet cherry blossom pink and white and make the “Geisha 1”, “Geisha 2”, and “Geisha 3” prints collection be the star of the room. Pottery Barn Kids even has some beautiful cherry blossom accessories right now!
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I can’t stand it! Maybe I need to rethink this baby thing….
I would love to hear what inspired your kid’s room. Please share on my FB page. Or, if you need help getting started on your room, let me know!
1 Picture by Picture People.
2 Shoes, Bow Pump Red by Aminah Ambdul Jilil. Medela Breast Pump.
3 Boho Playhouse Canopy by Magnolia Home Kids.
4 Robert Downing Jr. LOL!
5 Pottery Barn Kids sheets circa 2003.
6 Scored this print at a Flea Market in Daytona Beach, Fl in 2003. Could not ID the artist.
7 Flying fish kite from The Discovery Store circa 2003. You can also see the metallic palm tree on the window from Oriental Trading Co.
8 Bedding and rug from Ikea circa 2005.
9 Found this butterfly kite at Kitty Hawk Kites in Outerbanks, NC circa 2005.
10 “Ballooning Over Paris 1890” from Chairish.com.
11 “Wildflowers in Glass Jar” by Ellen Kelley McHale.
12 “Dream Big” by Ellen Kelley McHale.
13 “Breakfast in Bed” by Ellen Kelley McHale.
