Baby Girls Room Reveal~

Today is the day!  For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you know I have been working on baby girl's room in anticipation of her arrival home from the university.  Well, she is due to arrive home this evening after a VERY long drive (12 hours).  Her sweet beau flew out on Saturday to tour campus, and to make the drive back home with her.  The worst part of their trip is over...getting out of Texas!  When they say "everything is bigger in Texas" they mean it.  It takes her 3 hours, give or take, just to get out of the state!! From there on out, it is a straight shot home.

I know ya'll are ready for the pictures, but just a couple of things first.  I had a few ask about the paint I used for her furniture.  I used the same primer and paint for this project as I did when I redid our Pottery Barn piece and mirror.

Primer:  Gripper (white) by Glidden found at Home Depot.

Paint:  Advance (semi-gloss-color matched to Ikea drawer) by Benjamin Moore.

Dresser Handles:  Rustoleum Spray Paint & Primer in one (flat soft iron).

Gripper is my go to primer!  I have used it on many furniture pieces, our entertainment center, mantle and bath room cabinets.  You only have to lightly scuff sand any shiny finishes and you are good to go.  I generally apply two light coats.  The primer also comes in gray, and the white can be tinted as well.  I had it tinted when painting our entertainment center, mantle and cabinets since I was going from white to dark chocolate brown.  Less top coats!!

My first time using Advance by Benjamin Moore was when I redid our Pottery Barn piece.  It was on a recommendation from the gentleman at the paint store.  All I can say is, where was this paint when I did all those other projects??!!!  It is the easiest paint to use.  A little goes a VERY VERY long way.  I used a brush for the intricate parts, and rolled the rest with a sponge roller.  This paint flattens out as it dries and cures...no brush/roller marks.  You can see them a bit when applying, but trust me, for the most part they disappear.

With all the pieces, I applied two light primer coats.  Advance has a built in primer, but in both instances I was taking very dark (red and black in this case) to light or white.  And, then applied 3 light top coats.  On some pieces I am sure you can get away with 1 coat of primer and two top coats.

The primer dries quickly, and the paint generally sets up overnight.  Even in our gosh awful humidity!!

Her dresser handles I sprayed with a couple coats of Rustoleum to match handles on her other dresser in the room.

Okay, without further ado...here is the room.  I tried to get the best shots this morning, but as you can see her room gets full on sun through the side windows making it a little difficult for this amateur.

Study area to the left, repainted bed and dresser.

A closer look.

This dresser was a find at a local flea/antique store years back.  

A closer look at the details on the dresser and the handles.

Ikea Hemnes 8 drawer dresser.  I used a drawer from this to have the paint color matched.  The mirror is the one that used to hang in our downstairs foyer.

This wall was originally solid.  When this room was our girls playroom, we added the nook for our big screen tv, when  the room became our oldest's we added the bench seat that houses storage below (under the cushion is a hinged top).  We will add some more pillows and a throw to this area.

This room has two dormer spaces that are fairly tight.  This one showcases all her volleyball awards, medals, pictures and balls.  The wire basket is from Home Goods and holds her mini souvenier  tournament balls.

The bookcase is the Hemnes bookcase from Ikea.  This is perfect for storing books, yearbooks, keepsakes, and her collection of Bibles.

A closer look at her volleyball collection.

Study area.  This girl has spent many an hour at that desk.  Someday I will have to share an up close picture of her desk chair and the reason why I refuse to paint it!!! The desk and bookcase are from Ikea.  Why they did away with the expedit is beyond me.  The new version does not look as sturdy.

A closer look at the desk.

Her beloved chalkboard wall.

Perfect for adding some inspiration.

This is the other dormer.  The  Hemnes dresser/shoe storage is from Ikea as well and holds her jewelry and shoes (well, some of them anyway...this girls loves her shoes just like her sister).  And, a full length mirror.

Close up of her bedding.  The white quilt and shams are from Pottery Barn (pick stitch) and the Lilly bedding is from Garnett Hill.  The throw pillow I had made along with her bench cushion by our local upholsterer, and then had a girlfriend monogram it for her.

Cork coasters I painted to help protect the finish on her newly painted dresser.  This girl loves her sweet tea!!!

Well, there you have it!  I am just glad I got it all done in time (hence my lack of posts lately).  We can't wait for her to arrive home.

Home Sweet Home-Bedroom Reveal

As most of you know, our oldest just recently graduated from college.  While she has been living away from home since her freshmen year, most recently in her own apartment, she does keep a room at home for the occassional visit.

We have filled her room at home with many wonderful memories from her childhood and teen years...lots of figure skating awards and medals, and all her high school cheerleading awards and pictures along with her yearbooks.  You get a sense of who she is just by being in the room.

I have always loved blue and white, and she is a fan of pink.  So, we combined the two and couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out.



Bedding-Ralph Lauren, navy pillows-Target, pink pillow-Ralph Lauren/Home Goods, lamp and navy shade-Target, side table-IKEA





Vintage dresser we painted-knobs are from Hobby Lobby, tray and mirror-Southern Living at Home, skating medals and awards.




Chair-IKEA ektorp, pillow-Target





Vintage bookcase-belonged to my grandparents

The wall opposite her bed has another dresser we purchased at IKEA along with her flat screen tv, but I figured you all know what a TV looks like!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving and Youngest's New Room (finally)~

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  Praying everyone has a day filled with blessings, family, yummy food and special memories.

I finally managed to snap a few pictures of our youngest daughter's new room the other day.  It was a bit overcast the day we took them, so I apologize for the not so great lighting ahead of time!

We still need to add a few finishing touches, such as art and a rug for the winter months (she has allergies, like me, so we don't typically use rugs/drapes in our house...shutters are on mom's wish list!).

Looking toward her entry, all of her furniture is painted semi-gloss black.  The long dresser and desk in her room were originally white and in her "little" girl room, the tall chest was a flea market find at $100 and with a little elbow grease and a coat of the black paint turned out to be one of our favorite pieces in her room.

Close up of her bedding, color scheme is white, black, silver, and a sagey blue (is that really a color?).

Close-ups of flea market dresser.  Globe lamp is from Ikea (it is so pretty when lit at night).

Her long dresser refinished.  The lamp is from Target, and the frame from Ikea.

Close up of the Ikea frame.  We found a great shiny silver paper at Hobby Lobby, kinda has a mirror effect.  We added her monogram.  The letters are cut out of card stock.  I found a font I liked, printed it out on plain paper, traced around them, then cut out on the colored paper to match her room.  The wall color is North Star by Sherwin Williams.  It is a really pretty gray, with a touch of blue.

 We added a bookcase from Ikea to store her yearbooks, Bibles, Magazines, Books and such.  The pictures on the wall are from her high school volleyball seasons.  Team and Individual pictures from each season (3 years of Varsity), her Varsity Letter Certificates, and her Scholar Athlete Certificates.  This is also where she displays the many mini-balls she has collected at various tournmaments she has played in.  As you can see, volleyball is a HUGE part of her life!

This originally was a solid wall when we first bought the house, as was the space where you see both closets.  We added the closets ourselves, and the cubby you see originally housed a big screen tv on a stand when it was the girls' playroom.  When her older sister moved in the room, we added the front with a hinged top, turning the cubby into a reading nook with much needed storage underneath.  We added the beadboard front when she moved into the room (it was plain before).  Both girls have enjoyed the spot!  And, when she has extra friends spend the night...they fight over who gets to sleep there!!

A closer look at the reading nook!  And the bear...both girls each received an FAO Schwartz bear for their 5th birthday from their dad.  The tales of how each got home riding in the front seat of dad's car are quite funny (picture a grown man riding around town with a HUGE bear in the passenger seat!)

The study area.  Her desk was repurposed from her little girl room.  We added a sisal rug from Ikea to protect her floors from her FAVORITE rolly chair from PB Kids (it is in serious need of a paint job, but I've yet to pry her butt out of it long enough to get it done).  Yes, she is a very good student!!  The expedite bookcase is a new addition.  She loves it!  We added some Itso storage bins along with some boxes and magazine holders from Ikea to house her markers, colored pencils and such.  This is where she keeps everything she needs to study and do her homework with.  The bulletin boards above her desk are magnetic and from Ikea as well.

Expedite up close.

View of the infamous Chalkboard Wall!  We added the magnetic strips at the top after the magnetic paint didn't work.  She keeps her notes, cards and such from friends up there.  She loves being able to write things on the wall (they often include scriptures, homework reminders, practice schedules and holiday greetings).  The little stool was a find at Home Goods for $29.  It functions as many things, step stool, side table and foot rest!

When not doing homework or playing volleyball, this is usually where you will find her.  Her fav chair from Ikea.  It moves around the room quite a bit, but can usually be found parked in front of her bed so she can watch tv (flat screen mounted above her reading nook). The hardwood floors...yes, we installed them ourselves (the entire upstairs).  They are Bruce prefinished 3/4" hardwood in Gunstock. 

Well, that wraps up the tour of her new room!  Happy Thanksgiving!!











Steal of the Day~

First, let me thank everyone for their get well wishes.  Our daughter is feeling much better and went back to school today.  Having been couped up in the house for most of the last week keeping a watch on her, I was itching to get out today despite the rainy weather we are having.  So, a trip to Home Goods was in order!

I actually went hoping to find a lamp to put on top of her new expedite bookcase from IKEA, but found this steal instead...

Yesiree...only $14.99!!!

It was perfect for her given what she's currently going through with the migraine headaches, and it was the perfect compliment to her new bedding and room (as you can see a sneak peek behind the pillow).  I hope to have the big reveal soon!

Hope everyone is having a great day!!