First of all, yes, we’re still tiling a few hours each day (usually from 10-midnight after getting C to bed and doing blog/book stuff). But we’re getting there – and should definitely have a holy-meatballs-we’re-finally-done reveal for you on Monday. Yay!
Who wants to pet it? Just me?
But back to the matter at hand: last weekend I rearranged Clara’s room. Again. And I owe you guys the details (a few of you even noticed things had moved around here and requested an update), so whoop, here it is. Let’s dive right into the moving madness. Heck, free use-what-you-have rearranging isn’t that bad, is it? No heavy breathing required. From you, at least (I did my fair share of creepy mouth breathing while pushing things around). It actually was only a few simple switches, but the room still looked tore up from the floor up for a little while:
As usual, Clara was in there “helping Mommy dec-rate.” Decorate only has two syllables according to the bean. I love that you can’t see her at all here because she’s not tall enough to poke up from behind the changing pad where she was “juggling” cloth diapers while singing Firework by Katy Perry. No joke.
Just for fun, here’s Clara helping me the last time I went crazy and moved everything around:
Kinda looks the same except she’s wearing summer stuff.
And now here’s the new layout description to help make sense of the madness (see the sketches of makeover 1 and 2 here). Well, it won’t really make sense of my furniture-shuffling-neurosis, but it might explain what’s where and what used to be where:
- The crib which used to be on the wall in front of the door got moved to the wall across from that on the far side of the room
- The dresser that used to be on that wall moved to where the crib once lived
- The chair and side table pretty much stayed where they were
- The floor lamp that used to be behind the chair got moved into the kitchen (where it’s used in our sitting nook by the fireplace)
- Clara’s hamper got “hidden” back where the lamp once was (more on that in a bit)
And here are a ton of pics of her room after my recent switches. First off, it’s nice not to walk right into the side of the crib now that it’s back on the wall I originally wanted to put it (somehow I always planned to put it there but when we moved we stuck it in a corner, and then pulled it near the door, and only now is it back where it “belongs”). It didn’t jut out all that much, but the dresser is about half as deep, so it feels more open when you walk in again.
That little C on the door is from Anthropologie on clearance about a month or two ago. It was $6. Whenever we walk by it Clara says “C for Clara.”
Behind our little reading chair is Clara’s hamper, which is nice because she likes to take everything out of it and throw it around, so putting it a bit out of the way deters her. Sometimes. Other times it’s just a fun obstacle-course-like challenge.
Ah, the crib is finally on that back wall. Mom bliss. All is right with the world. And since I’m Señorita Safety all the frames over the crib are well out of Clara’s reach (the crib is pulled about 18″ away from the wall, although that’s hard to see in these pics). They’re also not only hung with screws & anchors or nails (depending on if I hit a stud) but also reinforced with heavy-duty 3M adhesive strips (which are 100% removable so they won’t kill the wall, but aren’t baby-removable, so nothing will come a-crashing down – even in another unlikely east coast earthquake). Is that crazy first-time-mom enough for ya? I thought so.
Here’s the corner that’s opposite the green mirror and chair:
The shot below is meant to show three things:
- the crib is pulled around 18″ from the wall (although there’s a weird double shadow so it really doesn’t demonstrate that very well – in fact it only looks about 3″ away)
- there are still many blank walls in our house (we still need to add some art to that corner)
- Clara’s closet is still my favorite place in the whole house (as in, I hang out in there and stroke the potato stamped walls)
One of our favorite furniture makeovers ever is still Clara’s $20 craigslist dresser:
It takes a licking (wooden fruit, cars, and blocks get whipped at it often), but keeps on ticking…
Every post deserves a detail shot of a stuffed alligator:
More details. They’re my favorite things in here. The handmade stuff, like these bookshelves John made…
… and the mobile I made.
Another favorite thing in here is the art wall. So many personal things that make me misty eyed. More on everything that hangs up there here.
Monkey detail shot!!!
Hah. That might be the best use of three exclamation points ever. Just kidding. This is:
You get a car!!! You get a car!!! You get a car!!!
Oh to be Oprah for a day. What’s wrong with me? Maybe don’t answer that. Anyway, when it comes to Clara’s third layout since we’ve moved in, I’ve learned not to make any declarative statements (ex: “I love it so much I’ll never move stuff around in there again!”) but I definitely love it the more than the past two setups. So it’s a keeper. At least until I go crazy again…
What rooms have you guys been shifting around? Do you have some that never get changed (our bedroom and living room are pretty much the same as about a month after we moved in) while others seem to move around all the time (Clara’s room and our kitchen seem to have enjoyed the most change so far).
Wow you guys are busy! I just wanted to thank you for using a breathable bumper. As a nurse I hate seeing the big fluffy ones still used or even still sold in stores. Here are the most recent guidelines posted last year from the American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/AAP-Expands-Guidelines-for-Infant-Sleep-Safety-and-SIDS-Risk-Reduction.aspx
Perhaps you could add your breathable bumper to your list of products and where you found it for those parents who still want to use a bumper, I know they are sold in most stores now like Target and Diapers.com.
PS-can’t wait to see the tile finished, I’m loving it!
That’s a great tip, we’ll have to add our bumper to the source list!
xo,
s
I love rearranging things every now and then! It’s a great way to refresh a room without getting new furniture!
Love the redo…..it is so satisfying to change things up with what you have. As for more art. I just discovered a great artist on Etsy……check out http://www.etsy.com/listing/54780060/loving-fox-art-mother-and-baby-fox-fine
She has really reasonable prints that are simply amazing and is running a needle in the haystack contest each week so you could win one. This week’s contest is on her blog at http://eastwitching.com/2012/01/08/haystackers-are-you-ready-were-at-game-10-draw-takes-place-on-sun-15th-jan-2012/
I must confess that even though I enter the contest, I ordered an original for my neice for Valentine’s day. She is 13 and redecorating her room and loves these animals. I think it will be something that she will keep loving as she grows.
Thanks for the links! Off to check it out!
xo,
s
A watercolour of Berger would be perfect but I don’t think she is doing custom stuff anymore…..but maybe if you give her some North American visibility, maybe she will do one of the little guy? You certainly have a big audience.
Really good to know I’m not the only one that’s constantly rearranging :) Drives the hubby crazy! Always love the feel of a newly-arranged layout! Clara’s room looks great!
The wall of penny tile is looking awesome! Would love to pet it :)
My rooms are constantly changing, sometimes for improvement, sometimes for fun. Right now the living room is shifting – new couch, new placement. And I am also working on my sons rooms. Oh, and the kitchen, its also shifting, fridge in the middle right now while we work on a wall. ha
Man, I wish I had a chance to move things around in my 16mo-old’s space. Her room is less than three feet by about nine feet, but makes up for it in height, which must be about 15 or so feet (maybe more?). Funny how I’m always studying the space for ideas though!
This post makes me laugh… my sister has furniture A.D.D. too and changes her boys’ room about 3 times a year. It looks great…AND, I LOVE those pigeon books… they crack me up !!
Sadly, my rooms pretty much stay the same because they are pretty small and there aren’t that many options.
I love the crib on that far wall…. it just seems more “right” somehow. LOL
I don’t know why, but I think this is the first time I really noticed the proximity of your laundry room to the kitchen. Are y’all going to continue the cork floors in there, too?
I also notice how much more green the kitchen looks in that first pic and I love it. Is that a true representation of the color?
Oh yes the cork floors will go into the laundry room too! As for how green it looks, in real life it’s a softer avocado color. Not pastel but definitely not neon or bright. Just sort of like an avocado or celery color. Hard to describe…
xo,
s
After 1 year living here, we finally got things moved around the way we like them!
(but you know… for now :)
http://theweecolonial.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/1275/
Looks great! Have you guys thought about what you are gonna do when she moves into a big girl bed? (Bedding wise, arrangement wise, etc.)
We think the playroom will be her big girl room and the eventual baby number two will end up in the nursery. That way she can use the daubed in there as her big girl bed.
xo,
s
I’m having anxiety attacks over here thinking about drilling into that gorgeous tile and “ruining” all that hard work!
The shelving will look fantastic but I’m projecting my own failure at doing something like that right and ending up with unsightly holes after all the hard work!!
Why yes, I am a skosh bit crazy looney tunes!
I’m always rearranging the cabinets in the kitchen. It drives my husband crazy!
I love the look of the new tile, but each time I look at it I wonder: is it going to be difficult to clean?
Oh we still have to grout all the cracks so it’ll be flush. Then we seal it and it’s nice and protected! We sealed our bathroom tile and after we used it over a year I never scrubbed it and it still looked new!
xo,
s
Oh I am just as nuts as you! I like to rearrange rooms and even re-purpose them! Once in a while I will have a “bright” idea to redo the upstairs extra bedrooms and want to move every piece to another room. Although I must admit my husband stops me and makes me think through it a bit before I move EVERY last piece. But he doesn’t stop me in the family room where I am constantly rearranging the couches and the tv and the chair… I just can’t seem to get a handle on where would be “best”.
Hey guys! love the progress so far.
I had a questions regarding the ventellation/exhaust duct over the stove. are you guys gonna tile behind it? I would assume yes. Have you picked out an exhaust hood? sho you know if you have to do anything at the wall or around the ceiling before you tile right to the ceiling?
did that make sence? ah well have a great weekend guys.
We will be busing a wood range hood cover so we know how much tile (approx) it’ll cover. So we will tile the entire wall to the ceiling except for the area behind that silver duct for the range because it’ll be covered.
xo,
s
I feel like I remember an issue with a heating vent being the reason the furniture got moved around before (am I crazy?). If I’m remembering correctly- is that why the crib is 18″ from the wall now and is that working so far with not blocking the vent? I ask because we originally had our daughter’s crib on one wall (actually the same crib as Clara’s- ok now I do sound crazy!) and I moved it because it was on the wall with the vent. But I keep wanting to move it back. Maybe this is the way to do it???
Oh yes when it was in the corner it was in front of the vent but now that it’s centered on the wall (and pulled away from it) it’s much better! Maybe try pulling yours out to see if that helps?
xo,
s
I looooove the baskets in her table beside the chair! I was just in Target the other night and saw baskets that look really similar, is that where they are from? My husband called them “messy weaved”, I’m sure that’s not the technical term but it describes them pretty well! P.S. this is my first time commenting, but I read your blog everyday! You both give us so much inspiration to get busy fixing up our house! :)
They’re from Linens N things a long time ago but the ones at Target look really similar!
xo,
s
We just rearranged our living room (you can read about it here). The layout had been bothering us for months!
Aw congrats! It’s so fun to shift stuff around!
xo,
s
I feel like I’ve been waiting for the kitchen FOREVERAH!! (which I’m sure you feel even more so – although you get to have the fun(?) of actually creating it). Clara’s room looks GREAT!! I just added a light we had sitting on our bedroom floor (since we bought it five years ago) to my son’s room, which was always too dim with one light. Seriously changed how I feel about his room. I’ve always liked it, but now it just seems so welcoming and well, bright!! I tried moving some things in our bedroom after that, totally didn’t work, moved it all back. Thanks for the inspiration to keep trying new things!
Forget petting, I want to press my whole self against that tile! Are you second guessing putting up shelves now? ;)
Also, in case this clarification makes the above image less creepy, I’m a woman (named Allen).
weird, I feel like I’ve just revealed a secret (I do enjoy the gender anonymity online, though!)
Haha, feel free to come over for that full body hug! We definitely love it without shelves but we think they’ll be the icing on the cake! I can’t wait to put all our pretty bowls and dishes and cups out (you know, so they can play with our tile!).
xo,
s
I just realized that the Britney Spears song by the same name was playing on my iPod while reading this post. Creepy?
Everything looks great! I love the kitchen reno so far, and just to reassure you, I rearrange my apartment ALL. THE. TIME.
Haha, it was the perfect soundtrack!
xo,
s
Where did you get the frame all the way to the left that doesn’t have a mat but has a white frame and clear glass?? I’ve been looking for one everywhere. Thanks!
That’s from Ikea! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
I would love to be able to shift stuff around in our house, but the small, old rooms are really only able to have furniture put one way. I will live vicariously through your rearrangements.
I love the changes in Clara’s room. Great use of space. And I can’t wait to see that oven wall-of-tile done. It’s going to be gorgeous!!! :)
I used to move my bedroom around all the time when I lived at home with the parents, but my house really doesn’t allow me to move furniture around all that much. Things kind of fit where they fit. That is why I need to move my decor around so I feel like there is something new. That works for me. ;)
I meant to ask you…how will you finish off the tile above the doorway to the laudry room area? A thin moulding or something else? Thanks! :)
There is crown molding around the whole room so we will bring a piece along the top of that whole wall of tile to finish it off and link it to other walls in the room that have it.
xo,
s
I’ve got a pretty amazing visual image of your curled up in the closet, cooing to and stroking to the walls.
Haha, that totally happens.
xo,
s
The penny tile is looking great!
We’ll be doing a lot of furniture shuffling this weekend as we convert our office into a nursery for our baby boy due in March. We’re also cleaning out every closet in our tiny little house to try to make room for baby stuff…it’s amazing how much stuff comes with kids, even though we are trying to keep it pared down.
Is it gonna be a pain in the booty to install shelves over the backsplash? Do you cut out sections of the backsplash to install or just kinda drill through it?
It looks awesome so far! They almost look like dimes from far away, glistening!
Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!
You just use a drill bit that goes through tile and just make a clean little hole in one tile (it won’t effect nearby tiles or anything). Sort of like hanging a towel bar on a tiled bathroom wall. Then the shelves themselves will cover the holes so it’s seamless.
xo,
s
I’m constantly moving furniture around too (in fact, rearranging the bedroom today!). Love that Clara takes it in such stride! I don’t know WHAT our future children will think of their mama but our cat thinks I’m insane and hides when I start shuffling things around.
I love shifting around the baby’s (well, she’s not a baby anymore) room I guess because everything is so moveable! You can’t push a queen size bed around like you can a crib!
Just wondering if Clara has attempted any escapes from the crib yet. Isla June got her leg up over the side and I keep thinking she’s just waiting to get up the nerve to jump. Ah!
Hah, you’re right! Maybe it’s just the easiest room to push around! As for escapes, Clara is amazingly tame about that stuff. She didn’t even attempt to climb up on our couch until about two months ago. She’s the opposite of a daredevil! Haha. So noting more than a little dancing around goes on in the crib – no legs slung over yet! Isla June must be more of a go-getter. Haha.
xo,
s
The hubby and I just rearranged our bedroom, painted a wall, got an $18 (clearanced) mirror with lots of pretty circles at Michaels, and a new bed in the last couple of weeks–MAN, what a difference it makes!! Nothing wrong with moving furniture around until you’ve found what makes you do a happy jig!
Are you putting a white trim or molding where the paneling and penny tile meet on the wall with the window? Or are you leaving it with the seam? I love the penny tile!
Oh yes there will be a little something to “cap” the tile off! More details on Monday!
xo,
s
I was curious if you have ever replaced the doors in your prior house or if you have plans to change in this one? If so, any reccommendations on how to (where to?) choose a reasonably priced door? Thank you!
Actually never done that. Anyone have ideas for Kelly?
xo,
s
I don’t really have an “answer” per say, but after hubs completely drilled apart our door in our former house in an attempt to install a new door knob for me, he gave up and drove to Lowe’s to just buy a new door. Well, they told him that we better stick with our door because of the age of our house (70 yrs) and because it had most likely settled, there would be no way to get a new door to fit appropriately.
So, I guess that’s not an answer, just a heads up. Maybe check with the peeps at Lowe’s or Home Depot?
Oh wow I didn’t realize you guys were doing that entire wall! Thassalottatile! It’s going to look gorgeous!!
I want to pet it too!
I love everything about Clara’s room – the flower mobile, the dresser, the drapes, the white crib, the mirror, her art gallery, and of course the closet potato paint. Love love love.
I have a couple friends who’s living rooms are always different when I come over. So fun. Sadly, once a room gets furniture in it, I have a hard time seeing it differently. Jealous of your eye for different. :)
LOL! I have that same monkey hanging on the back of my kid’s closet door!!! Does yours make eee-eee-eee noises?
Aw, mine’s silent. Now I’m jealous.
xo,
s
I’m about to do some tweaking in my baby girl’s nursery, too! Hanging pictures and updating wall art.
I like your furniture swap, but what I like even better is Clara singing Firework. My little girl, Charlotte, who happens to be exactly two years older than Clara, loves that song. We even caught her rendition on tape — http://explanationrequired.blogspot.com/2011/09/caught-on-tape.html
So cute!
xo,
s
I found some awesome furniture sliders at walmart (but you can find them at most stores) that work on hardwoods and seriously help with the heavy breathing! (they also make them for carpet) They are called “Super Sliders”.
I had originally purchased them for moving but I use them ALL THE TIME to move furniture to vacuum (I’m OCD about cat hair)…so I thought I’d recommend them to ya- maybe they could help you breath less creepily?
the penny tile looks awesome by the way! :)
Haha- thanks Vicky! Anything to help me breathe less creepily is a plus!
xo,
s
I like the clean lines of the crib. Where did you find it?
Here’s a post all about our crib hunting adventure: https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/02/nursery-progress-crib-notes/
xo,
s
Sorry for the random comment, but I have a question. We have a two month old and I am wanting to make a list of emergency phone numbers to have on the fridge. I want a list that looks cute, not just a few numbers written on a legal pad sheet. Have you done anything like this?
We haven’t but it’s a really fun idea! Anyone know of any free downloadable lists for Summer to check out?
xo,
s
My bedroom has been rearranged 3 times in the 6 months I’ve lived in my current place. I like change.
I actually hate how it’s arranged right now, but it is the only way the furniture fits where its not covering up the heat vent and it is too cold right now to limit the heat flow. COME ON SPRING! I need warmer weather so I can move things back into a more aesthetically pleasing arrangement!
Haha- that’s really funny! Sending warm thoughts your way!
xo,
s
3 things:
1. LOVING the tile! Gorgeous! Are you going up over the doorway on the stove wall too? or just butting up next it and going next to it?
2. We love the “Pigeon finds a hotdog” book. My kids CRACK up. I also highly recommend “Grumpy Bird” by Jeremy Tankard. I teach 4K preschool and the kids love it.
3. Where did you get that tree shaped stacking thing on the table by the stuffed alligator? Does that come apart and the kids can put it back again? I think it looks pretty cute and possibly something that could be DIY’d?
k, Anyways- love the redo!
:)
Annie
1. Yup, we’re doing that whole wall so the hood looks nice and balanced (since it’s in the center of the wall).
2. We’ll have to check out Grumpy Bird!
3. Yes! That’s the best little stacking toy ever and Clara loves it! It’s by Plan Toys and we got it on amazon.com. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
The pigeon books are the best!!! So excited to see tha tbook up there. Although, Don’t Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late is my all-time favorite (and my little boy’s).
Love the bed on the other wall. I bet it will help with the sunshine coming in at naptime too. This is random but does it bother you that your house has the plain painted interior doors? My 1960s house has those same kind of doors too and it drives me crazy.
I do wish we had cooler paneled doors! Maybe someday we’ll save our pennies and upgrade. John’s mom told me that John’s dad got her new doors for a big anniversary once (like 20 years or something). Such a cute gift! At least to someone who loves that stuff like me! Haha.
xo,
s
Love the srta. Safety nickname :-)
My step-son calls his Dad “Safetyus” as in the “Roman god of Safety” because of his relentless emphasis on safety.
Then again, when one is nearly killed while riding a bike when hit by a car, one probably develops a greater sense of safety. (Driver had a bad day and helmet saved his life.) That, or all of the years in Special Forces as demo made a dent somewhere.
Note to cycle-friendly John- the hub is fully recovered and has no sign of the accident- minus some gnarly scars (nearly 2 years later). He’s in full “qualify for Kona and Boston” mode which resulted in us nearly trimming a bike and running shoes instead of a tree for Christmas.
Haha- Safetyus is hilarious! I love it! And yikes – so glad he’s ok from that bike accident!
xo,
s
Looks great. I’m itching to redo my girls’ room. I’ve done it so many times and still can’t find a layout I love.
I was watching the sneak peak of next weeks Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Lisa used stools just like the ones you guys are putting in the kitchen at her bar in Sur. so fun!
Wahooo! Can’t wait to see it!
xo,
s
I was just wondering if you guys know what range hood you’re using because the height above the range that the hood is installed is determined by the cfms, etc.- so basically I wanted to know if you’re going to tile behind the vent thingy there (official name) in the chance that your hood will be hung higher than that. We got a chunky range hood from proline range hoods and it could actually be hung 36 inches above the range, which is awesome because it’s the depth of the stove so no one hits their head on the hood. We tiled our whole wall (blue green 1 by 2 inch glass tiles in a subway pattern) and had open shelves and a range hood much like you are doing and found it was much better to tile the entire wall and then put the hood on top of the tile. Knowing you guys you’re already many steps ahead on this, I was just wondering!
We are tiling nearly the entire wall, but will be building a wood range hood cover so we won’t do a very small area behind the upper vent hood since we’re certain it’ll be covered!
xo,
s
Hi guys! I actually came over here this morning to track down your email address and send you a question about your cloth diapering Clara, and then there was a mention of CDs in this very post!
Anyways, of all the people I know who cloth diaper (I plan on it once we have little ones), you guys are the only ones I know don’t have a monstrous stash. So, my question, is having only 12 dipes still working for you guys? Over the last year and some change, have you experienced any frustration with using only one size all-in-ones?
Thanks for any answers! :)
Yes! It totally works for us! We still have the same 12 dipes! Honestly I’m not sure that more than that would ever have been more convenient since we wash them every other day (per manufacturers recommendations) so she can’t really go through more than that! Still very happy with our dipes. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
clara’s room looks adorable!!
we’ve been busy shifting, too. we transformed our 3-year-old twins’ shared toddler room into two new big boy bedrooms (buh-bye guest room). i’d love your thoughts!
http://shootingallens.posterous.com/two-new-big-boy-rooms-for-christmas-18630
and for the record, i am heartbroken about splitting them up. but, i think having their own space for the past few weeks has been wonderful for them. sniff. they grow up sooooo fast!
Such cuuuute rooms! I love it!!! They look so happy in there!
xo,
s
that is a great idea to pull the crib out from the wall! i never did that with my babies and instead left it boring above.
one question i would be so grateful if you helped me out on….i bought the ikea flower light that you have hanging in your bedroom. Only the only light bulb that i can find to work is fluorescent and drives me insane. Since the light is already installed i probably won’t change it out and am wondering if you guys use a fluorescent or have a soft white? thanks so much! love, love LOVE this blog!!!!!!!!!!
We have a soft white one I think! It’s not clear either (those cast more shadows and are fun but we went with a soft white not-clear one because it seemed to give off nice light.
xo,
s