Non-Baby-ish Boy Nursery

Next best thing to setting up a traditional nursery.... polyvore!

Baby Boy Nursery by katiepeters featuring seagrass area rugs

Even before we listed the house, I planned to use and borrow from what we already had as much as possible.  I also knew that I wanted versatile pieces that could grow with the child or be moved to other rooms later on.  Most of the items in this set are simply placeholders.  Feel free to view the sources on polyvore, but don't for a minute think that I spent this kind of $$.

Sources:

Black Crib- Garage Sale (spray painted)

Wooden Dresser- Craigslist (similar)

Bentwood Rocker- Craigslist

Brass Lamp- Goodwill (similar)

Velvet Drapes- Pottery Barn (purchased long ago)

Jute Rug- RugsUSA (purchased long ago)

Moroccan Rug- RugsUSA (one of the only new, significant purchases for the room)

Acrylic Book Ledges- from here (didn't purchase due to moving)

Dog Art- painted by my grandmother (this is just a placeholder)

Letter B- from here (didn't purchase due to move)

Crib Sheets- TJMaxx (sewn from a full sheet set)

Crib Skirt- Burlap with white border (sewn from fabric on hand)

Blue Bunny Lamp- Wedding Gift

Changing Pad Cover- Black and white houndstooth (sewn from fabric on hand)

Stainless Steel Trashcan- Target (hoping it will hold in the smell)

Books- Target (on the registry)  

Last but not least...

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Is this not the cutest mobile you've ever seen?  Made from felt (with lines sewn on to look like notebook paper) and wire.  As much as I would love to plop down $58 and as much as I am sure the craftsmanship justifies it, it is simply not in my budget.  So... I will try my hand at making my own.  Hopefully I will get around to showing you how it turns out.

ps.  Is it bad etiquette to register for baby books?  Have you ever?

Bedside Book Storage

Call me crazy but I think Pottery Barn is slowly turning it up again (after 3+ years of 0 love from me).  The last magazine yielded a few good ideas, one of which has already been put to use.

 

David likes to have all his reading options within arms reach.  When the drawers fill up and the top is stacked to the max, they overflow to the floor.  A wise woman once told me that if I wanted dirty clothes IN the laundry basket, I needed to put the basket wherever the dirty clothes are dropped.  This seems to be the same principle.  I'll let you know how it goes.  haha.

Inspired by...

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I used to save all the good PB catalogs back in the day when I actually liked the overall style, but recently relocated them to the local recycle bin (whoohoo!).

Remember when PB had that bright, graphic, modern feel?  Before that it was all classy and expensive-looking, and even furthur back it was warm and homey with ticking stripe and fun floral prints.  Over the years, I've trained myself to look at the styling and details rather than the actual items.  Mostly to combat coveteousness, no kidding.  It's kind of amazing the fun ideas you can pull from these magazines...usually with stuff you already have around the house.

 

What ideas have you borrowed from catalogs lately?

 

What If...

our little hallway

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stripes & crown molding

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 bee skep pendant light
No clue how or if this would work...

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patterned rug

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ps.  Have you entered the giveaway?  If not, head over to The Mustard Ceiling and leave a comment!

Antique Marble Lamps

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Mine- They've been in a closet since I bought them two years ago.  I think it's time they come out, don't you?

Cabin Living 2

Living Room by krpeters on Polyvore.com


On to the living room... which is pretty self explanatory, but for fun I made a little diagram in paint.  Can you even read the tags?  :)  Whatever.  I know I can't fool you into thinking I'm any kind of professional.  But it's fun to try.

The blue and cream basketweave fabric would be used to make a couple more throw pillows.  The antler bowl and books are for the coffee table.  A glass lamp table lamp on either end of the console behind the sofa and the wheatgrass in between.  That's it.

Oops.  Just saw that I forgot to mark the three little lines at the bottom of the diagram.  They are windows.

Mixing styles is harder than I thought.  Especially when rooms are open to each other.  I'm not entirely sure I got the mix right on this one, but I think I'd be willing to try it anyway!

Cabin Living

This fall Southern Heritage built a modular log cabin to be set in Ashville, NC as a model home for a builder down there.  I rode down with them to watch the set and found myself dreaming up a plan for how I'd decorate the place. 

 

Just kidding.  At the risk of offending someone, I have to say I'm just not attracted to cabin type decor.  And I definitely cannot imagine living in it.  Obviously I'm no expert, but as I was thinking about the whole model home thing it dawned on me that it would make the most sense to decorate the place in a way that appeal to the greatest number of people.  For example, NOT using the above furniture and accessories.  Although I'm sure my furniture choices are a not perfect crosscut of what people like, I do think using a mixture of furniture and accessory styles (traditional, cabiny, modern, etc) would give each potential customer a chance to imagine living there.  Plus, decorating a log home with cabiny furniture just seems too predictable, doesn't it?

The main conclusion I came to was that the cabin needed plenty of soft furnishings to offset the hard finishes.  The whole interior is beautiful unfinished (pine?) wood- walls, floors ceiling, everything.  It also seemed like a good idea to use some painted wood furniture as a contrast.  For colors, I'd stick with earthy blues and greens.  And since colors on opposite ends of the color wheel compliment each other, blue would go very well with the yellow undertones of the wood. 

The living area is very open and mostly one color except for two features- the stone floor to ceiling fireplace with a chunky rustic mantle and the stained kitchen cabinets.   The breakfast nook is at one end of the kitchen and has three windows against which I would set the striped storage bench with a couple fun pillows.  I'd mount the curtains wide and high so as not to cover up the windows.  The round drop-leaf storage table is perfect for the small space and the rug underneath is the perfect combination of colors (but not my favorite pattern ever).  To add a bit of modern, I'd use an antler chandelier and three of the galvanized cafe chairs at the table.  Luckily, the chandelier also satisfies the need for something cabiny.  :) There's a bar on the kitchen island to which I'd scoot up two of the painted green bar stools.

Eat In Kitchen by krpeters on Polyvore.com


After all that, I'm still not convinced I could live in a cabin.  What about you?  What's your dream home?  And don't even say heaven, cause that's just too obvious.