Kid's Rooms - Part 3 Girls Rooms

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1. AllPosters.ca: Angelique Tulips I, $284.99
2. Home Depot: 5 Light Chrome Chandelier, $169.00
3. Fabric.com: Summerlin Geranium, $10.98/yard
4. Fabric.com: Randy Geranium, $10.98/yard
5. Heirloom Linens: Alto Cotton Quilt, $129.99/queen
6. Ikea: Birkeland Queen Bed Frame, $389.99
7. CanadaFlowers.ca: Pink And White Tulips, $65.00
8. Ikea: Utsira Mirror, $24.99

As always, I started this room with a sensational fabric (see Item #3), which gave me the perfect jumping off point for this room’s design. When using such a bold coloured fabric, it is important to keep everything else in the room neutral, light and airy. This is why I choose a dreamy white bedspread (see Item #5) and a chandelier fit for a princess (see Item#2).

Choosing long lasting ‘bones’ for a room will allow the room to have enduring appeal to your little diva, but have fun with adding bright, bold fabrics to spice it up. Pillow covers can be easily switched, but it is expensive to change a ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ bed frame.

And, as with most women, girls love feeling like…well...girls! Add some tasteful painting of flowers or some real flowers if they are easy to come by, and make sure to always throw in a few items that sparkle for some instant whimsy. Shinny mirrors, chrome lamps and airy bedding – that’s enough to make any girl smile!

Kid's Rooms - Part 2 Boys Rooms

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1. Fabric.com: Ele Village Brown White, $6.98/yard
2. Fabric.com: Hooty Owl Village, $6.98/yard
3. Fabric.com: Fancy Dot Mist Putty, $6.98/yard
4. Sears: Circular Mirror With Silver Frame, $319.99
5. Ikea: Hemnes Storage Bench, $129.99
6. Map Town Ltd: Cranbrook Globe, $120.00
7. Ikea: Dekad Clock, $8.99
8. AllPosters.ca: Mountain Meadow Farm, $84.99

Whenever faced with decorating a child’s room, I love creating a whimsical room that the child can grow up in. Keeping more permanent pieces neutral will allow the room to grow with the child, and there are many ways of adding whimsy with less permanent items.

For me, choosing fabrics is usually a jumping off place for a room’s design – and this couldn’t be truer than with children’s rooms. Finding a few fun fabrics will allow you to spice up a boys room, without being stuck with permanent juvenile fixtures (‘Toy Story’ carpet? I think not.). Use the fabrics for things like bedspreads or toss pillows – things that can be changed easy (and cheaply) once your child out grows his love of elephants.

The biggest thing to consider when designing a child’s bedroom is storage – especially with a little boy. Boys seem to be collector’s of things – little trinkets that mean the world to them. Store these little treasures in wicker or fabric baskets, placed on book shelves. This way they are easy for your little one to reach and play with, but still hidden from Mommy’s design eye. Small benches that double as storage containers are also a great way to hide sports gear or ‘stuffies’.

The number one thing to remember when decorating a little boy’s room is: he is a little boy. All he wants is a durable room that will be able to keep up with his rough-and-tumble life style (and sticky little jam-hands!). Choose items for lasting resilience and you will have a room that will be able to grow with your little man.

Kid's Rooms - Part 1 Baby Rooms

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1. AllPosters: Fern Collection 1, $164.99
2. Trans Globe Lighting: Resin Bird Hand Painted Table Lamp, $54.08
3. Ikea: Bastis Hook, $2.99
4. Fabric.Com: Waverly Lovely Lattice Citrine Fabric, $10.98 yard
5. Fabric.Com: Waverly Harmony Spa Fabric, $16.98 yard
6. Fabric.Com: Premier Prints Spirodots Chocolate Natural Fabric, $6.98 yard
7. Da Vinci: Kalani Crib, $248.98
8. AllPosters: Petite Southern Maidenhair Ferns, $124.99

Today, I am starting a series of ‘how-to’ articles for decorating kid’s rooms. I do this not just because I have talked with a few moms (and mommy-to-bes) who are lost on how to decorate their child’s room, but also because I have seen so many kid’s rooms that make my skin crawl. I am in favor of decorating in a quirky, endearing style – but I think that this is usually a missed opportunity to reflect the overall style of the rest of your home.

I have never been a big fan of heavily themed rooms, and this goes for baby’s rooms as well. I love when a small accent is done tastefully, but it can be a slippery slope if you don’t keep in mind that ‘less is more’. I also firmly believe that a baby’s room should reflect some of the parent’s taste. Your 5 month old will not notice that their room is not daffodil yellow, but more of a smoky blue. Remember that YOU have to spend a lot of hours in this room (sometimes at very distasteful times of the night), and you want something that you find relaxing. I also believe in using more mature colour scheme so that your baby will be able to grow into the room, not grow out of it.

I love gender-neutral colours in a baby’s room. Not only am I pro not knowing the sex of a baby (there are few surprises left in life, and this is one of my favorites), but what about the second baby? Will you really have the time and funds to re decorate the nursery if the second baby is a different gender? What about the third? Or forth (if you’re really a trouper!). I love light, smoky blues, and I believe that with the right accents this colour can look very neutral. Look for lots of whites, ivorys, and taupes – this will tone down the boyish brand of the blues.

Babies are so innocent and natural, that I feel their room should reflect that. Use accents with leaves, ferns, and other natural elements to get a whimsical design. Those of you that know me well, know that I am all for patterns. I love polka dots and paisley, and can often be seen fondling the bold striped fabrics at our local fabric store (www.clothcastle.com). Use lots of different patterned fabrics, in a similar colour scheme, and you won’t be disappointed.

A Change of Scenery

After 3 years working for the Provincial Government, I have decided to leave and move to the private sector (gasp!). I now work for Hourigan’s (www.hourigans.com), a local flooring company, working in on their insurance claim flooring jobs. If you have a flood or fire in lower Vancouver Island, you will probably talk to me at some point.

This was a tough decision for me to make, but I am already happy with how much interior design work I get to do! You know how much I like spending other peoples’ money!

Down With the Committee

Good grief...

Even though this photo speaks for itself, I have to explain the back ground story behind this horror.

My parents are renovating their house right now, more immediately their guest bathroom (http://morgandesigninc.blogspot.com/2010/04/less-talk-more-action.html) So as my Dad was pulling out the toilet fixture a few days ago, he moved it to just outside their front door, until he goes to the dump this week. Sunday night, friends announced that they were stopping by for some coffee and good laughs, and just before they arrived, my Dad remembered the toilet! In an act of desperation, my Mom quickly threw a hosta in the toilet to lessen the devastation to the eye.

My parents live in a somewhat gated community, with outlandish rules and regulations. Spring time is the time of year when the committee sets foot on the streets, and seeks out any deviations to these regulations (I’m not kidding.) I can just picture their faces when they walk past my parents house with a flowerbed toilet on display at their front door! My Dad says that my Mom likes to ‘look for a fight’ with these committee members. My Mom simply calls it ‘challenging them’.

Less Talk, More Action!

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1. Moen, “Quinn” faucet chrome, $219.99
2. American Standard, Cadet 3 toilet set, $219.99
3. Euro Craft Marble and Granite, Marble Crema Marfil, $ LOTS.

Last Saturday, I went shopping with my Mom for her powder room, which has recently been completely gutted. We went out to look for many different things for the bathroom, and ended up almost purchasing everything she needs. We purchased the following items: counter top, sink, toilet, faucet, mirror, light fixture, soap dispenser and even the towels. It was a long day, but we got so much done - how did we do it? The key to our productive shopping spree was this: preparation and just picking something. My Mom and I had spent a few weeks emailing each other photos of possible items, and before we even left in the morning we had a basic understanding of what we wanted (at least for the big purchases). Now the second, 'just picking something', may seem simple but it is not that easy for some people (hint hint Mom hint hint). Acting on your gut instinct can be a scary thing, but you have to learn to trust yourself and your decisions. How many times have you found the perfect 'something', still insisted on looking at a million more - but ended up buying the first choice anyways? Instincts - we have them for a reason. Also, pick your battles. While looking for a toilet, we were both overwhelmed by all the choices. But to me, a toilet is a toilet. As long as it is a brand I trust (I usually rely on American Standard), then it should be an easy choice.

And on top of being productive, we had a great time! Or at least I did. We went to a bunch of my favourite stores for bathroom renovations: Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.ca/), Rona (http://www.rona.ca/), Home Sense (http://www.homesense.ca/), Splashes (http://www.splashesonline.com/), and Euro Craft Marble and Granite (http://eurocraftmarble.com/). They are all well priced, and about half of them have employees that are actually helpful (not mentioning any names, of course).

The only downfall to the day was the ‘Great Tape Measure Hunt of 2010’. As I stole my husband’s $25 tape measure and ran out the door, he shouted to me to not lose it. Well, we lost it. We spent the last hour of our crusade retracing out steps and revisiting all the stores again. We did not find it, but are pleased that someone in the Colwood/Langford District got a free tape measure. My husband – not so pleased.

The 5 Minute Warning

Sometimes it's the little things

You've just received the call. Aunt Sally is in the neighbourhood, and is stopping by for a quick visit. You have 5 minutes to clean your house - panic time!

But there are a few quick things you can do to tidy up your house before she arrives that will make a drastic difference. First, remember to only clean the areas of the house that she might actually be in. Will she really insist on looking in your master bedroom? Probably not. Will she be stripping down and taking a shower in the upstairs bathroom? Let's hope not.

3 minutes - Grab an empty laundry basket and run around the main rooms, scooping up everything that is horribly out of place. This includes the cable bill on the dining room table, the wet bath towel on the staircase banister, and the pair of wellies in the middle of the living room (What? Just my house??)

1 minute - After you've cleared away some of the clutter, and ditched the basket in a bedroom, grab a paper towel and some Windex and wipe down all things shinny. Things like the kitchen faucet and the mirror in the guest bathroom (she will most likely use the bathroom during her visit, so make sure to make it sparkle).

At this point, start keeping an eye on the driveway, if you can. There are few things more embarrassing that being CAUGHT doing the mad clean.

1 minute - Tidy the worst spot. For me, this is right by the front door where everyone piles their shoes in a big pile and throws their keys and cell phones on the small table. Right angles are your friend. It is funny how a table can look so much neater if the wicker basket on top is lined up right.

If you have any time after this, put on the kettle, and set up the tea cups. And most importantly - never apologize for the mess. You probably see your house in a worse light than Aunt Sally will, and apologizing will. Be proud of your house! You work hard on it every day - you might as well enjoy it!