Smile And Wave

My Unexpected Small Bathroom Solution

Time to play catch up and share all the projects that have been keeping me busy this summer! First up is this organizing solution to a small bathroom problem. Head over to A Beautiful Mess to see how I used this IKEA plant stand to clear up some counter space and teach my kids how to be a little more responsible. We could all use a little more counter space, right? Also, responsibility.

I'm such a fan of thinking a little outside the box because sometimes the garden section of a store has just what my bathroom needs! Do you ever give your stuff a new job just because it makes perfect sense somewhere else?

-Rachel

Top photo: Janae Hardy

Sebastian's Room Makeover

Sebastian's room makeover has been in the works since January but I finally put the finishing touches on it last week and he is one happy kid! We ended up with a slightly Star Wars themed room but I made sure the main elements that we purchased were items that will last him through any specific phase he's in and still feel cool in his teenage years. Also, I can't believe we're even close enough to the teenage years to start thinking about that!

There were four main challenges that presented themselves with this space that I kept in mind while choosing pieces for his new room. The first was making sure it was designed so that he still felt like it was an accurate reflection of his interests while also feeling like it was put together with a plan. The second was introducing pattern without going with full-on preppy stripes or woodsy plaids. The third was to use darker colors without making this already dark room feel like a cave. The fourth was finding a way to work within the limitations of a rental home. As with all of our home projects, we were working on a bit of a shoestring budget so I had to stay flexible with my design, resourceful in finding new pieces, and patient in how quickly it all came together. 

Here is a before and after of this corner of his room. It's a downstairs, L-shaped room on the dark side of the house. It has lovely high ceilings, an attached bathroom (you can see the door in the before image), and a large walk-in closet that used to be part of the porch (not shown). It was shared in the rental listing as a fourth bedroom that could also be used as another family room since it was so big. When we first moved in we used it as our master bedroom and had Smith's crib in here as well. Then we did some musical room switching and Sebastian ended up downstairs.

His original bed frame that went with the mid-century headboard lost some parts during our last move and then life got really busy really fast so we just kept his mattress and box springs on the floor with the headboard kind of propped up against the wall. With so much extra space, we would stash extra chairs or random big toys in here when company was coming over and then they'd just stay in here. We even had Christmas decoration boxes stashed in a corner for at least two months! We taped up his huge dinosaur drawing mural in one corner but there wasn't much else in this room that was done to either of our tastes. Thankfully he was patient as we came up with a plan and the time to execute it!  

Here you can see the door that leads to the downstairs bathroom. It creates an L-shaped room that can be a little awkward for furniture placement but we finally came up with something that works. 

Rearranging Basics 

This is the wall where his headboard used to rest against. It also dips down lower than the rest of the room. Old house problems! By finding a new place for his bed that would make better use of the unique shape of the room, I was able to carve out stations for lounging, homework, storage, and a gallery wall. 

This space is now a little nook where we hung shelving from IKEA and created a little homework station. He now has a place to display some of his stuff without Smith getting into it! I went with white broadcloth and sewed my own curtains for these odd-sized windows. This one looks out into the backyard and offers great morning light on sunny days. By using pattern and color in other elements, I felt good about keeping the curtains white in order to avoid darkening the room any further with colored curtain panels. 

Incorporating Pattern 

There aren't quite as many easy patterns to incorporate in a pre-teen boy's room as there are for little men or girls at any age. You can fall back on stripes and plaids but then that can feel preppy, nautical, or woodsy pretty quickly. Nothing wrong with those if that's what you're into but I wanted something a little different. I searched for a rug for weeks knowing I'd probably inspire the rest of the room and finally found this Safavieh Handmade Cambridge rug on Overstock. The pattern was perfect and I knew the rug would last forever since it was wool. It was on a great sale so I jumped! 

I then got the idea to do a similar repeat pattern on the walls with the Walls Need Love Easy Stripe. I had been overthinking what kind of wall design I wanted to add based on how easy it would be to recreate, how cost-effective it would be, and whether or not it would feel special enough to share. I thought about doing diagonal stripes across the whole wall and even entertained a repeating hashtag pattern (still love this one but I imagine it would be a LOT more work) before realizing this kind of repeating arrow pattern not only felt cool enough for a pre-teen room, it went well with whatever Star Wars vibe this room was starting to develop.

Having a pattern on the floor as well as the wall felt like a great balance to having a lot of solid colors in the bedding, curtains, chair, and other furniture items. I didn't want to go overboard but I do think patterns can make a space feel more layered. I'd like to eventually add in more pattern with a handmade quilt at the end of his bed and as many throw pillows as he'll let me get away with! 

Designing without Losing Personal Touches

I utilized storage pieces I loved that added to the design of the room in order to stash away some of the special toys and keepsakes that had made things feel cluttered. The thrifted set of lockers now hold all of the Star Wars magazine posters that Sebastian had taped to his walls. He was really attached to them so we decorated the inside of the lockers like they do in all the jr. high sitcoms. I then let him pick out these two Star Wars posters from Etsy that felt a little more artistic and fit frame sizes we already had. Here are a few more of our favorites: Here, here, here, here, here.

We rolled up the mural of dinosaur drawings and will hang it up in the huge closet in this room (not photographed yet) and then made a designated gallery wall for new artwork he and a friend had made of themselves as Star Wars characters. I used more of the red Walls Need Love Easy Stripe vinyl tape to hang everything on the wall to add another bit of red and to add some consistency to the different drawings and paintings. 

Going Vertical

This shelf unit from IKEA was in our bedroom for awhile but felt out of place so I brought it to Sebastian's room and placed it over his vintage school desk to create a homework station that can also keep some of his favorite toys out of his brother's reach.  The large acrylic letter S is vintage and has made an appearance in almost every room design we've done over the few years and the Washington license plate is from our brief but exciting time living in Seattle. Sebastian was born there but is religiously opposed to supporting the Seahawks since the Broncos are his team. It's one of those keepsakes I put out more for my own amusement than his. 

When styling this space I made sure I didn't overfill it with everything he owns so it wouldn't feel too heavy. I also staggered items according to height and bulk to make it aesthetically pleasing. It was easy to find repetition in the colors red, blue, and black since almost everything he owns falls into that color story. Thanks Marvel comics. 

Also, I'm not opposed to putting holes in the walls as long as they are secure and won't create larger holes down the road. Life is too short to have bare walls when you know you'll be in a rental for more than a year in my opinion! Learn how to patch them and enjoy the difference shelving and artwork make!

I did purchase a lounge chair at a wholesale furniture shop that I stopped by on a whim that I wouldn't necessarily have chosen for anywhere else in the house. It's not a piece of furniture that will outlast his teen years but it's comfortable and stain-resistant and a great spot for reading upside down or sideways with his legs hanging over the arms. He also has a neighborhood friend that hangs out over here after school and I wanted to provide another place to sit other than the bed or the floor. 

I also attached one of his X-Wing Starfighter toys to a string to make that corner a little more fun. It's made from foam and I think has a few missing pieces so he was fine with me suspending it in mid-air. 

This boy finally has a finished space to enjoy after such a long wait and I'm so thankful that I was able to work with Walls Need Love to make it special. Check out the tutorial for how I worked my repeating arrow magic here. If you're a renter and in need of something affordable and fun for your walls, I can't sing their praises enough. 

Now that Ruby and Sebastian's rooms have had some attention, I'm thinking it may be time to start working on our own! Keep your eyes peeled for a wish list post in the next few weeks. Thanks for coming back again and again to see what we're up to over here. Your presence is appreciated!

-Rachel

Stitched Custom Quilts: My New Favorite Kickstarter Campaign

The concept of designing a quilt for someone you love, even if you don't own a sewing machine or know your way around a fabric store, was my favorite part about the Stitched Kickstarter when I first read through their e-mail. They were offering a chance to review one of their printed quilts to help spread the word and my interest was piqued. After scrolling through their site, I realized the possibilities for designing a custom quilt were ten times what they first appeared.

I liked that they had some templates in pleasing colors but what sold me on this concept was that I could choose a traditional template and then drag and drop color options into each block to get an entirely different look. I was able to design a quilt that is really similar to some I've been wanting to make for the last two years that would've never passed through my sewing machine. It wasn't even until I came back to watch the Kickstarter video again that I realized there was a tool to customize a quilt from scratch using blocks! Talk about a fabulously versatile tool!

I got my quilt in the mail yesterday and was thrilled with the quality of the fabric and print. While it's not a hand or machine-pieced quilt, it still has the texture that comes with being quilted together with a long arm machine and the rich colors and patterns that come from factory printed fabrics. It was ALL I COULD DO to keep Smith and his applesauce-covered face from wrapping himself up in it when I pulled it out of the packaging. We cuddled on the couch as soon as I cleaned him up. We're both big fans. 

After watching their video and reading more about their purpose, my new favorite part about this campaign was their excitement to offer flexible working hours and fair wages to refugees. I can always get behind a company that cares about their employees and goes the extra mile in working with their unique needs to help them improve their lives. 

I love what Stitched is doing and I really want to see them fully funded ahead of schedule. These quilts would make the perfect gifts for new moms as they get all nesty in preparation for their new baby or for high school grads that might need a little comfort as they transition away from home. I can see some of the fun templates being popular with all of the ages in between as well! It's such a great concept for anyone who appreciates the beauty of an heirloom gift but doesn't feel like they can make one themselves. 

You can learn more about their Kickstarter campaign and become a backer here. I'm going to go snuggle under mine after I pour another cup of coffee before a certain someone wakes up from his nap!

-Rachel

P.S. This sponsored post is in collaboration with Stitched but all opinions are my own. I'm always happy to support and share about companies that are doing special things and putting more beautiful products into the hands of those that appreciate them. 

Easy Stripe DIY with Walls Need Love

You may remember the mini room makeover I worked on in January that featured Walls Need Love Design Packs. Ruby's room was so fun to work on because she's all about pink and gold and patterns and textures so I didn't have to think too hard on how to refresh her space on a budget. Well, I'm back with a second room-in-progress featuring Walls Need Love's Easy Stripes and am happy to share how their removable self-adhesive strips are taking center stage in a sea of solid colors.

Sebastian's room was probably in even more need of a little love as his space is on the main floor and was a catch-all for the random extra chairs and big toddler toys we'd toss in to hide whenever company was coming. It also housed our Christmas decoration boxes the entire month of December and well into February! Poor kid! So neglected! I finally had some time to focus on designing his space in early March and then things came together rather smoothly. I'll be sharing full details and the full room tour in a separate post as I still have some shelving to add, a bed frame to assemble, and all the styling he'll allow and then we'll be golden! Today is all about how to think outside the stripey box when it comes to using the Easy Stripe strips.

As a renter, it's almost impossible to make changes to the color or patterns on your walls unless you've got a trusting landlord or don't need that security deposit. This is the main reason we almost ALWAYS make white walls a high priority on our list after wooden floors when searching for a cute rental. Our current rental is a beautifully remodeled 100-year-old home with beautiful windows and woodwork but the paint color is a sad little shade of gray. Like the kind of light you get on a rainy, winter day. It's not the worst in the world, by far, but I regularly have to work on my good attitude about how it affects the brightness of my photos. However, I'm a firm believer in working with what you've got and enjoying it as often as you can! 

After working with Walls Need Love the first two times, I knew their product would be the perfect option for making Sebastian's room feel a little more exciting. 

I searched Pinterest to see what other people had done with washi tape or similar removable strips and got some great design inspiration. I knew I wanted something that made a statement without being a project so challenging that I gave up halfway through. After entertaining the idea of an entire wall of diagonal stripes, a repeat pattern of hand cut hashtags (still love this concept), and trying to recreate the look of flying at light speed like they do in Star Wars, I finally settled on a simple repeating arrow shape. It looked simple enough but there was still a bit of math involved.

Before ordering I had to measure out the length of the walls I wanted to cover to make sure I didn't run out or place an order a zillion times bigger than I needed. Upon arrival, I used my ladder and yardstick to make some marks to guide my design. We have an A/C duct that was retrofitted into the house on one side of the room so I was sure to take that into account. It was 17" lower than the ceiling line so I marked the corner shown below under the air duct as my highest point and then measured up 17" from the floor up to mark my lowest point. Then I found the center of the wall by the side of my window frame where the tip of the arrow would touch and made a mark there. Then I just carefully made a few dots with a pencil along my yardstick to help me visualize the line it would create from the top corner to the tip of the arrow. 

There was a little bit of trial and error in play but I also got pretty lucky with my measurements. I attached the first strip at the top of my corner and then carefully unrolled my roll so I could get down the ladder and gently place it on the center point near my window. This would've been a great project to do with an extra set of hands but my extra set of hands was keeping the smallest member of the household out of my way and off the ladder, so take heart that it's not impossible to do this all by yourself!

After placing the first strip, I finished the line of that arrow with the bottom strip. I was really happy with the size of things and then just made consistent marks for the next four arrows. I measured up 6.5" from the top of the first strip to where I wanted the bottom of my next strip along the seam of my corner. Then I'd follow the top of the first strip about halfway up the arrow and make another mark measuring up 6.5". I'd repeat that until I had three marks. I tried finding the marking place for the point of the second arrow but decided to just let the strip overlap the center line instead. Each time I stuck the next strip on I would step back to make sure it was (mostly) as straight as possible before moving on to the next strip. 

Getting a clean corner was something I was unsure about since it wasn't a right angle but it ended up being simple. 

Step One: Be sure your two strips overlap where they meet and then pull back the top strip. Trim the bottom strip with scissors so that it won't stick out from under the top strip. 

Step Two: Place your top strip back in place and be sure to double check it doesn't have the bottom strip peeking out. 

Step Three: Make a mark by folding your top strip back until it creases along the line you want to cut or mark it lightly with a pencil or chalk and then cut off your excess. 

If you cut a little too much you can easily fix the look of your line by cut another piece of Easy Stripe tape and placing it on top. It smooths down nicely without it looking like a botch job. It's pretty forgiving that way!

It also comes with a little smoothing tool to help flatten out any air bubbles on your wall. I had to completely remove two of the strips after getting distracted and mismatching my arrows and they came off without any damage to the paint on the walls. I've not had the same luck with washi tape, so this was a major relief. 

 

I am so thrilled with how much of an impact these simple little strips of red tape have in his room and I can't wait to share the rest soon! I'm sure you're already sensing a bit of a theme? I made sure Sebastian was involved in the direction his room makeover took and while it has a little more of a theme than we've ever done before, it's a theme we are both excited about and can easily adjust should he outgrow it.

Have you ever tried self-adhesive wallpaper or decals to make your space a little more special? I love how affordable this kind of option is when you don't want to make a big investment in wallpaper but still crave a little more pattern and design on your walls. Also, it always feels good to be able to knock out a project in an afternoon all by yourself! High five to all of you hard-working, creative mamas and papas out there. 

-Rachel

P.S. I worked in partnership with Walls Need Love to bring you this Easy Stripe DIY and was compensated for this post. All opinions are 100% mine and I'm proud to work with a company that makes my life better because it makes it easy to share with my fantastic readers.  

 

Smith's 2nd Birthday

Even though I've already been through this whole getting older every year thing with my first two, the days since Smith's last birthday have flown by with warp speed. I love that everyone can sit in their own chairs and feed themselves, that all three kids can pretty much tell me what they need, and that we are THAT MUCH CLOSER to the day when we are a diaper-free household but still...did we skip a month? Was it September? I don't remember much from September. 

As a blogger of almost ten years (WHAT!) I can't not decorate for a cute little birthday backdrop. I've tried and I start to twitch. I'm not going to be painting watercolor napkin rings and hand-carving cake toppers or anything but a few specific details here and there can go a long way. Hosting big birthday parties at our house is not my...umm...natural gifting so we've just kept it low-key for Smith's first two years and had cake and opened presents with just us and have face-timed all of our out-of-town family and had drop ins from in-town family. All he really wanted, according to his most recent awareness of them in all of the books we read or shows he's watched, are balloons. Party City made that one easy on us.

I made the cake the afternoon before and had it scooted back on the kitchen counter out of Smith's usual range. I was getting ready to head to Party City but had to make a powder room stop and made note that Smith was in the living room with Brett and the big kids. Ten seconds later I hear the pitter patter of two-year-old feet run past the bathroom to the kitchen and hollered at Brett to get him. As soon as I got to the kitchen, I saw he had made quick work of his need to taste test his cake. There were tiny little finger swipes all over one side (see above) and frosting covering his little hand. Apparently, nothing is safe unless it's under lock and key. 

The next morning on his actual birthday I brought him downstairs and he squealed with delight when he saw his balloons. It was day full of phone calls, sugar, and toys with plenty of time outs but still a day full of memories. Brett kept the kids outside while I got the cake decorated and then I let Smith come in so I could get some pictures of just him. He wasted no time in getting back to his cake so I decided it was better to just roll with it. It made for some pretty darling pictures the second time around. 

We're so thankful for this sweet boy! He slept all night in his own bed last night for the second time in a week so I'm counting that as his birthday gift to his mama and hoping there's more where that came from. We've got spring break this week and great weather this morning so it's time to get moving. Thanks so much for all of Smith's birthday wishes on Instagram. If you're interested in making a candy explosion cake topper, Party City has a pretty great selection of individually wrapped candy for getting things just so without having to purchase twenty of everything. 

Thanks for sharing in these milestones with us!

-Rachel

 

Copper Desk DIY for A Beautiful Mess

Long live the copper pipe and all it's many uses! I designed this child-sized copper pipe desk after being inspired by a vintage set of stairs that were probably taken out of an elementary school's music department. I made some changes to help with stability and have already apologized to Ruby for deciding I need this desk to stay in my studio instead. Since copper is a softer metal, I only recommend this desk for younger kids that weight under 60 lbs. but it is a beautiful option for adding a special piece of furniture to your child's space (or your own)! 

Head over to this post to get the full tutorial and find out how you can make your own. 

Happy weekend, friends! We've got an almost two-year-old to celebrate tomorrow so today we're making cake and wrapping presents! Oh, this second one came so quickly. 

-Rachel

 

 

Kids' Room DIY RoundUp at The Stir

I've been contributing lifestyle posts over at The Stir for a few months now and just had this roundup of kids' room DIY's published. It's one of my favorites because I got to include the work of some of my most creative online friends. I'm sharing it here in case you're like me and always looking to be inspired by the way someone else used their talent to make their home more beautiful. 

Sebastian's room is due for a mini makeover this month so I'm continuing to scour craigslist for the perfect set of vintage lockers while I plan out the last details on a few other projects I'm hoping to create tutorials for. After many stolen moments searching Pinterest and sitting down with Sebastian to firm up a few things he'd prefer in his room, I think we're headed in a good direction. Cross your fingers that I find that locker set and maybe get a few extra long naps out of Smith so I can get Sebastian's room in shape! 

Here's to a productive and creative end of the month, beginning of the week!

-Rachel

Images (clockwise from left) via Rubyellen Bratcher; Rochelle Mangold; Mandi Johnson; Merrilee Liddiard

Floor Pillow Tutorial for A Beautiful Mess

Looking for a quick(ish) way to add some color to your space but can't afford to spend your life searching for the perfect coordinating pillows in stores or online? Time to make your own! If you already have basic sewing skills you'll be able to whip out a floor pillow or oversized bolster pillow in an afternoon with the full tutorial I shared over at A Beautiful Mess this month. I made these for Ruby's mini room makeover and they've been getting lots of use!

If you've been wanting to learn to sew but get overwhelmed at the thought of figuring out where to start, SEW WITH US, an e-course I wrote with Katie Shelton, teaches everything you need to know to thread your machine, choose the right fabric, and learn all of the basic techniques you'll need while finishing home sewing projects and wearable items. The projects and techniques build on each other so that you learn while producing items you'll be able to use and then customize with your new skills. I see custom floor pillows in your future! 

-Rachel

Potato Stamped Bow Tie Curtain Tutorial

Need a weekend project? This potato stamp tutorial is a fun way to add some pattern to fabric (or paper) to customize something plain or just refresh something you already have in your space. I made this cotton curtain panel from fabric yardage to fit the specific size of the window in this room and then added a little pattern to the bottom 1/3 to add some interest without it getting too busy. I love the way it turned out! 

Get the full tutorial over at A Beautiful Mess, grab a potato, and have a little fun refreshing your own space!

-Rachel

 

Ruby's Room Makeover Reveal

Sweet little Ruby has one of the coolest rooms in our house but it sat in a sad state for over a year. I knew I'd have a little more project-focused time after the holidays so I started planning a few minor adjustments to make her space feel more special. Thanks to some paint, darling decals, time at my sewing machine, and a few trips to the hardware store, it feels completely different. We didn't spend very much money on this makeover but the right improvements and an overall idea of what we wanted went a long way in making this a room we all want to hang out in! 

As you can see, our before photo was pretty sad. The big kids had shared a room until we moved here so we when we split them up, Sebastian's mattress went to his room and left the top bunk with nothing but slats. This wall is the only space in the room that can host the bunk bed and was an ideal option for making use of the incredibly random cubby space that was carved out from empty stairwell space when the house was renovated by the owners. Except the slats weren't safe for kids walking across to get to the cubby hole! Indecision and a tight budget kept me from making a move to either buy a second mattress or get some plywood cut to create a floor that was solid enough for the kids to play on. We just stacked all of our extra pillows and quilts up there and made sure Smith never ventured up the ladder but it was pretty tacky. We also weren't sure if we would keep the bunk bed or bring her old iron bed up from the basement so I didn't bother painting over all of the worn out places. 

The old rug was dingey and the curtains were kind of just leftover lace panels from my fabric stash that were hung with tacks instead of on rods. There wasn't really anything on the walls because I couldn't decide if I was going to keep the bunk bed here or bring in her regular twin bed so I didn't want to start nailing things up and then change such a major wall space taker upper. None of this kept anyone up at night because we're so thankful we have the freedom to complain about how dumpy our safe, warm, private rooms ever look but I also know how much a well-organized, beautiful space can create a sense of peace and allow a little more cheer into all areas of our lives.

My first step was painting the bunk bed. I purchased this gorgeous but inexpensive area rug on sale at Wayfair to help style some of the finished photos in my weaving book but I knew it was going to be the focal point of Ruby's room makeover when I was done with it. She loves pink as much as I do! I then decided on a few complimentary colors to help calm down the pink and let Ruby choose which shade of minty blue to paint the bed. I used an HGTV sample size (I'll have to dig for the specific color number) and painted two light coats over my white. The sample size was 20 oz. of paint for $3.84 and I was pretty happy with the results. It's hard to be such an inexpensive makeover project! It immediately felt better in there.

I also measured out the space above the slats and had some MDF wood cut in two large sections at one of our big hardware stores in town. Getting it cut in two sections was the only way I could ensure I could get it home from the hardware store in our car but it also made it light enough for me to heave them up onto the top of the bunk myself. I went with MDF because it's a smooth surface so there won't be splinters should a child walk on top of it barefoot. I then covered it with two large quilts to help soften the look of things and now it's kind of a lounging space for Ruby to play as well as a safe way to reach her cubby hole. 

I then wiped the walls down to remove any hand and footprints and put up the gold Coronata Stars removable wall decals from Walls Need Love. Phase two was complete and just those two changes were already making such a big impact on the room. See how I measured my grid in this post here. 

My next step was figuring out what we already had that we wanted to reintroduce into this space. I folded our white, queen-sized quilt in half to use as her main bed covering and then brought in a lap-sized quilt I made last year. You can find the tutorial for that one over at ABM. I reintroduced some pillows we've had for years that worked well with all of that pink and then made her a new pink pillowcase with tiny panda faces printed on them. It was such an inexpensive way to incorporate something new that was a perfect fit for our animal loving little girl! I also made a floor pillow that doubles as a large bolster pillow and I'll be sharing the DIY for that later this month. The faux fur bolster was an easy project made from some leftover fabric from my Sew With Us e-course that I just stuffed with poly-fil and stitched close. You can find the tutorial for the kitty pillow here.

Once I had the bed fixed up, I added a curtain to her cubby hole using a wooden dowel that I cut to fit snugly and two screw hooks that I screwed into the ceiling. I added ring clips to the dowel before carefully fitting it into the screw hooks and hung a cut of knitwear fabric that I brought home to make more pillows but Ruby thought it should go up here instead. I think she made a pretty dandy choice. The dowel and curtain hooks I already had on hand and the fabric for the curtain was only $6 with a coupon. Look at me using coupons!

I wanted the cubby to have a soft surface to rest on but knew I didn't want to spend $100 on foam so I used a curtain panel that I'd found on sale at Target to create a large envelope pillow case. I then carefully folded up a few of the sleeping bags we don't often use as well as two quilts that have seen better days and tucked them inside. It solved a storage problem and a comfort problem at the same time and only cost me $12! The lights were purchased last year when we moved in and are perfect for keeping things cozy after dark.  

I replaced the lace fabric I had pinned up with tacks with a proper curtain rod and added some painted shapes to a white curtain panel. Here's the super easy potato stamp tutorial I created for A Beautiful Mess in case you are in need of an easy fix for some windows in your own space. Also, we brought in plants to add some more life into this space but have decided just to leave the large one as Smith hasn't seemed as curious about knocking it over. 

This art print was downstairs for awhile and is from Strawberry Moth. It may be one of my favorite prints in our house.  The woven basket is from Target a few years ago and the chenille blanket is vintage. You can find the tutorial for making your own pom pom wall art over here. 

Ruby is a big fan of her revamped space, especially because we added twinkly lights to the underside of her bunk so she can play Checkers with Brett before bed. Imagine my panic when I went to wake her up the morning after I finished everything and she wasn't in her bed! In my bleary-eyed state I got a little nervous and then heard her soft snores coming from behind the pink curtain. She had woken up in the night to go to the bathroom and crawled up there to go back to sleep! I wonder if she'll let me hide up there when I need a mama moment. Ha!

Thanks to a little bit of paint, some wall decals, a repurposed rug, and a lot of elbow grease, Ruby now has a lovely space to enjoy that feels so much better even when it's messy. It's really incredible how much impact a few little changes in a room can make, even as a renter! 

Now that Ruby's room is nearly finished, I'm thinking up ways to give Sebastian a similarly low-cost room makeover. His space is downstairs and has acted as a catch-all for our extra chairs and random toddler toys that we toss in there when we're expecting people to come over so it's time to put some thought into making it work for him. I can't wait to see what we come up with!

-Rachel

P.S. This post was partially sponsored by Walls Need Love to showcase their vinyl wall decals but all opinions are my own. I'm so thankful to get to work with companies that have great product geared to make our lives more beautiful!