gray or grey?

 

We are painting the walls of the future guest room/nursery gray.  I think it’ll pair nicely with the white Jenny Lind bed and crib that will be in there and plan to add a pop of color with a dresser painted in a robin’s egg blue color (maybe Duck Egg chalk paint by Annie Sloan?).

The only problem now is deciding WHICH color gray to pick.  Here are some top contenders:

Source: westermanfam.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

 

Nimbus Gray by Martha Stewart (available at Home Depot)

Source: tarpapercrane.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

 

Wickham Gray by Benjamin Moore

Source: kellimurray.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

 

Glidden’s Smooth Stone

 

Do you have any suggestions for great grays that I need to know about?

A little room swapping and update…

Since we found out we’ll be adding a lot more PINK to our family this fall, we did some re-arranging of rooms in our home this week.  My dad built Grayson some beautiful bunk beds (look for these in another post) that we going to be a much better fit in what used to be our guest room.  My parents drove the beds out this week and they are FANTASTIC!

While I had the chance, I thought I’d update Grayson’s room a little to reflect the things that he loves right now…HORSES!  Here are a few of the things that we have so far, along with some projects that I’d like to complete.  Click the links below if you’re interested in online sources!



1. Paint, Monroe Bisque by Benjamin Moore
2. Arstid Wall Lamp, IKEA
3. Curtains: Barn Dandys fabric by Robert Kaufman (fabric found at Joann Fabrics, curtains made by me)
4. Pillow cases (made by me using this tutorial): Sweet Horsey White fabric by Michael Miller (from fabric.com)
5. NYPONROS Duvet cover and pillowcases, white/blue, IKEA
6. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Emperor’s Silk, hopefully to be used on a small bookshelf
7. Planked Pony wall art from Pottery Barn that I plan to “knock off” using this tutorial.

Look for an “update post” in the near future showing the (hopefully) completed room!

i love stripes…

In order to add a little interest to our entry way, I am thinking of painting stripes on one wall.  The current paint color is Monroe Bisque by Benjamin Moore and I’d like to paint wide stripes in a color about 2 shades lighter than that.  Here is some inspiration from around the blogs.

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Mary Jo on Pinterest

The beautiful striped Reading Room at The Lettered Cottage

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Mary Jo on Pinterest

The look I'm going for, although a little more “tone on tone” stripes instead of the more bold ones above…

Source: abodelove.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Great gallery wall on a striped wall…

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Tips on painting crisp stripes, which I’m hoping will work on our textured walls.  It looks like her walls are textured, too, so I’m hopeful!

What are your thoughts on stripes?  Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

12 in 12...february's project

February's 12 in 12 project is spicing up our guest bathroom, which also serves as Grayson's bathroom.    Here is what it looks like in all it's tan, white, and striped glory...

The view from the hallway.

I love these letter hooks that I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby last year.

Not sure what happened to the hand towel...I'm guessing Grayson used it to dry off something (probably one of his little horses or "skateboard guys") he was washing in the sink.  Just keeping it real, folks!

This is definitely not going to be a remodel at all...we just need to add some pops of color and spice it up a little!  I'll be back tomorrow to share some of my ideas and inspiration! 

Have you done a little "spicing up" in one of your rooms lately?  Pinned any great kid bathrooms that are still "guest friendly"?  Do share!

our art center…

Although we’ve had a mild winter so far, I’m preparing myself for the snow (or ice) that’s sure to come our way when we least expect it.  After all we did have 2 feet of snow in February last year! 


One of the things that I’ve been doing is sorting out and organizing all of Grayson’s “art” supplies to make sure that we have plenty of things to do when it’s cold outside.  He loves to draw and color, but it’s nice to have different things ready to pull out at a moment’s notice!  I thought I’d dedicate the next few posts to a few art projects or ideas to do with our kiddos when winter strikes.  First up, our art center…

When we moved in, we had a random little wall just outside of the playroom and just on the other side of the desk area in our kitchen.  It was the perfect place to put this table and chairs that a friend gave us. It’s definitely not the most “decorated” area of our house and it’s not going to earn any design accolades, but we strive to have a very kid-friendly home (after all, it is his home, too). 

This little art center has turned out to be one of my favorite places in the house, at least in terms of practicality.  There’s no worry about cleaning up messy projects because the table sits on top of our laminate flooring. Play dough, paint, and other “messy” items clean up easily.



To make it easier to reach the art supplies but keep them off the table, I hung a little towel bar (found at Ikea) and some little red pails from the Target Dollar Spot.  We keep crayons and markers in these little buckets.  I know it’s a little risky to keep these items out all of the time, but Grayson uses them as they are intended…not to color on the walls or furniture.  If that’s an issue in your house, this might not be the best idea for you!  But it works for us.



It’s amazing how much this little space gets used, simply because the supplies are always out and at the ready.

Here's a little photo of our art center in use.

Do you have a spot in your home dedicated to crafting for your kiddos?  Or is your kitchen table always ready for a little coloring or crafting session?

playroom inspiration...

We woke up this morning to a beautiful blanket of snow...not too much, but enough to cover everything and make Grayson gasp in delight as he looked out the window.  What is it about snow that makes me want to simply stay still inside our cozy brick house and drink my coffee while watching the tiny little flakes fall?

Today is a perfect day for a little playroom inspiration.  The colors that we are using in the playroom are:

Here are some of the ideas that I have "pinned" as inspiration.

Source: nineandsixteen.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

I showed you these fabulous shelves from Nine & Sixteen the other day. I love how they are used to house the toys and books but are still definitely functional for a piece of furniture in the future.

Source: nineandsixteen.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Here's a wider shot of the same bookshelves. I love the orange lamps and the art above the shelves.  I am on the look out for a pair of lamps that I can spray paint orange.

Source: hollymathisinteriors.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

I love everything about this playroom by Holly Mathis. The colors she used are similar to my "inspiration" colors. Definitely going to incorporate a pennant banner somewhere in the room. Don't you love the chipper fabric she used for the curtains?

Source: ashleyannphotography.com via Shawn on Pinterest

I'm thinking of adding chicken wire to the wall that the art display frames are currently hanging on. It would be a great way to continue to add Grayson's art to the wall without being constricted by adding more frame.  Maybe hang the frames on top of the chicken wire to add that pop of color, too?

 

We already have all of Grayson's toys sorted into baskets and buckets, but they are lacking labels. I am definitely going to create some like this with pictures of the toys that belong inside.

Source: christaquilts.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

I'd love to make curtains for the play room out of this fabric, and even had it in my cart on fabric.com several times, but never could commit to it.  Being a former teacher, I love the alphabet but I'm wondering if there isn't a better "long term" option.  Maybe some type of stripe?

There you have it!  Scott and I are planning to work on the book shelves this weekend...I'll let you know how that turns out.

Do you have any great playroom inspiration or suggestions?  I'd love to know your thoughts!

Our Kitchen...before and after.

We just passed the 6-month mark of living in our new house.  That's a pretty big mark for a couple, now a family, who have lived in 6 places during our almost-6 years of marriage!  There has been an apartment, a couple of houses, and a little over a year spent living with another family when we first moved to Missouri...definitely not traditional, but it's been great!

The story of how this house came about is totally remarkable, one that definitely needs to be shared at some point...but for now, I'm going to devote a few posts to the "befores and afters" of our home. I know that this is a "crafting" blog, but since I've been showing you some of the decor that I've made for our home, I thought it would be fun!

When we first looked at this house, it belonged to an older couple.  This is going to sound crazy, but it felt like "home" as soon as we walked in...at least to me.  It definitely didn't look like my idea of our home, but it felt like it.  My husband thought I was completely crazy, but I could see past the somewhat dated interior to the total potential that this house held in its bones.

This is one of the first things that we saw...the kitchen.

Wow...I know.  I saw past the "faux wood" counter tops, linoleum flooring, and oak cabinets to the size!  Our kitchen in our last home was relatively small and felt totally separated from the rest of the house.  This kitchen was  a perfect size for me and was open to the rest of the home - or at least it would be when we knocked out that cabinet over the peninsula!

Here is what our kitchen looks like today...after a little over 4 weeks of work (with amazing help...part of the remarkable story that I'll share at some point) and 1 flood (a crazy story!), we have a beautiful, perfect-for-us kitchen....

Looking at the old picture, I almost can't believe it's the same place.  But it is...it's home.

I'll be back with more "before and after" posts in the next few days!