Tag: pinterest

Wizard of Oz Inspired Kid’s Room!

I’ve been meaning to really amp up my numbers of inspiration boards*. With a house that’s pretty much “finished” as far as we’re willing to go (trying to pinch pennies helps stem the urge to constantly redo things or buy new [old] furniture) I’ve started creating imaginary rooms for imaginary people. That was always the most enjoyable part of playing The Sims, right? Or is it just me?

For kids rooms, I love going with a theme but at the same time I see the benefit of not going too themey, that is, not plastering the room with a character’s face. Kids hop from phase to phase (okay, okay, adults do this all the time too) so it’s not good to spend TOO much on particular items that fit within a certain theme. I’m also drawn to “reviving the classics,” that is, stepping away from the pre-packaged Disney bed in a bag (I will admit–in elementary school I was dying for any Disney bed in a bag. My neighbor had the Pocahontas set. So lucky).

Here I’ve taken my inspiration from the Wizard of Oz. A movie that here in Kansas is either met with great enthusiasm or great scorn, depending on who you talk to. Anyway, I digress.

This all started with the yellow rug. I love the idea of a soft “yellow brick road” underfoot and the ombré style is very on-trend. Ideally I wanted a poppy bedspread, since that is where Dorothy & her crew fell asleep, but in my searching I came up empty. Instead, I used the Marimekko poppy shower curtain for a graphic punch of red. Yes, it’s polyester and not cotton, but don’t you think it would clean easily? For the bed, I dressed it in a sweet blue but stayed away from Dorothy’s signature gingham because I felt that its rigid geometric properties (it’s a grid) wouldn’t jive as well with the crazy poppy curtain–I wanted a larger scale print. And this whimsical animal print  just stole my heart.

I like a rich wood bookshelf (this one from Land of Nod) with some concealed storage to wrangle books and toys and everything else that comes with being a kid. The dark wood looks a bit more mature, and will last longer, than white laminate particle board (which is common in kids’ rooms). For the paint, I chose a soft gray as a nod to the black and white beginning & end of the film. It will add dimension to the room while still being light enough to bounce around natural light. I also like to think that gray will camouflage scuffs and bumps on the wall which are inevitable. At least it’ll camouflage them a little bit.  Plus, using a neutral color like this makes it easy peasy to change up the room for the next phase–a few years down the road, hopefully.

For those of you who think this room is a little color-crazy, remember it’s for a child, and remember how color-crazy the movie itself is. In fact, Nicole at Making it Lovely shared an interesting article on techniclolor and the Wizard of Oz last week (after I’d begun working on this room, mind you).

Shopping List:

  • Yellow rug here.
  • Marimekko poppy shower curtain here.
  • Wizard of Oz prints here.
  • Lions, tigers, & bears print here.
  • Bedding here.
  • Lions, tigers & bears pillows here.
  • Paint: Sherwin Williams Spatial White here.

Please comment to let me know what you think! Got any ideas? Got any requests for fun kids rooms?

*I know I’m not the only one who hates the term “mood board.” What does mood have anything to do with it? I prefer inspiration because if one can’t buy the exact pieces listed, elements of the board can “inspire” you to look for similar pieces.

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Sneak Peeks

Yes, that’s a plural “peeks” up there. I have many projects on the docket and hope to complete several of them–gotta build up the momentum. This also helps remind me to take “before” pictures. Now that the whole house exterior is painted (more on that another day) I can do some “fun” and necessary projects. Okay, not all of them are necessary.

This dresser:

Snagged this dresser at Goodwill for a “landing pad” to place next to the front door. It’s not this blurry in real life, I promise. I’m going to prime it and paint it a deep gray, using leftover paint from the master bedroom or guestroom (the colors of the 2 rooms are slightly different. Honestly thecolor will depend on how much paint we have left of each color). It used to have a third drawer but it got broken at the last second after we’d gotten it into the house in transport so I’m going to remove all the drawer components and use it for a shoe corral. This will be especially helpful during the winter months when nasty, wet, salty (from the de-ice product) shoes must stay by the front door for the sake of clean floors. The drawers will be helpful for storing winter gloves, scarves, hats etc and freeing up space in my closet and Doug’s wardrobe.

This fireplace:

I’m going to paint the inside of the fireplace teal to mimic the front door (which isn’t currently teal but will be as soon as it warms up enough to leave it open for long periods of time so the paint can dry… Which means next spring). I haven’t decided if I should continue storing the records here (they do look kind of cool, but too short) or go the candleabra-in-the-fireplace route. The fireplace is non-functioning so we can’t build a real fire in it, so painting and styling it is the way to go!

A compost bin:

Totally ripping off John’s method from YHL, this weekend we hope to build a compost bin out of pallets. It will be an upgrade from the cardboard box we’re currently using, and a great place to put our leaves after we rake. Another thing to check off the list before snow and ice set in for the next few months.

A mobile:

For my friend’s baby room. Since they didn’t know the gender of the baby until she was born, most of their stuff is a tasteful green and yellow. Time to dial up the PINK! I found a ton of awesome inspiration projects on pinterest, and it’s hard to pick just one. Maybe i’ll create a hybrid, or put my own spin on one! Can’t wait to get started!

Zucchini Boat

I guess you could call this my Pinterest Challenge, part two.

Pinning dream DIYs and not following through seems to be common, although all the completed challenges linked to the bottom of YoungHouseLove.com and BowerPower.com, etc. yesterday, show how with a little inspiration, projects can get completed. I was so excited to see how many people tackled projects!

Well, I’m going to actually try to tackle some recipes I’ve been pinning. Cooking is almost easier than DIYing because, well this is me as an example, while a coat of paint dries it’s easier to wander off and forget about your project. Cooking something on the stove or leaving the oven on would, I hope, demand a little more attention. So, yesterday I took one of the three giant (over 12 inches) zucchinis given to me by my Mother in Law and made these zucchini boats.

Actually, I didn’t follow any recipe. The only thing I did that I saw on Pinterest was make the boats themselves. Whatever else I put in was just my “let’s use up this produce from the fridge before it spoils” effort.

My boats. I used zucchini, tomato, green pepper, onion, black beans, tuna, creole seasoning, salt, and topped it with Swiss cheese. Next time I want more zest in it, so I’ll use more tomato (only had one on hand this time) and will definitely use more cheese–probably mix some shredded cheddar into the filling. All in all, this tasted good and was a good way to use up a lot of veggies!