First off, thanks to all of our friends who have been praying for Ty. He is feeling much, much better from the Influenza B strand from you-know-where. Praise. The. Lord. We are still praying for some cousins who are sick with this Yucky Stuff.
Have you been enjoying the new blog? I just love it! As promised, here is the first of a few giveaways, your choice of a custom Scripture print for your home, designed with love from Jessi at Naptime Diaries. (Isn’t that a cute name?) Here a sample of her adorable prints:
They look super cute up on the wall, too. I heard about Jessi from my friend Lauren, who has tons of these displayed around her home. Here’s some in her kitchen, in a picture I shamelessly copied from Lauren’s blog. I love the series of prints above the sink:
Cute kitchen, right??
Which actually brings me to my next point. (And how you can win a print of your own choosing, so stick with me here…)
I H.A.T.E. Decorating.
It is one of my top five failures as a mother, wife, and homemaker. (Others on that list: sewing, scrap-booking, ironing, and remembering to take back library books.)
Here are the reasons why I hate decorating, and thus, do not do it, and thus, am a horrible failure at it:
- It costs money, and I hate spending money.
- It takes forever, and I hate any project that takes longer than a day. I LOATHE unfinished projects. Decorating is one, giant, unfinished project.
I mentioned recently that I have neglected to decorate Sam’s poor barren bedroom…Well, the time has come. Sam and Ty will be moving into this joint room together, and I want it decorated!!
Here it is now:
and
Isn’t it awful? No paint. No themed artwork on the walls. No cute bedspreads. No NOTHING.
So here’s how you win the contest, and get to select your print off of Jessi’s site, shipped to you, for free:
Give me a piece of decorating advice for the boys’ room.
Any sort of advice will work…Suggest a store, a kids’ product you bought, a paint color suggestion, an idea for the bedspreads, a theme idea for the boys’ shared room, places to get cute little decorating items…just basically, what would you do in this room for two boys, on a budget???
To enter:
- Comment below with your decorating tip.
- “Like” Smartter Each Day on FB, or subscribe for email updates.
I’ll announce the winner Monday! The winner can choose from one of the 8 x 11 custom prints on Jessi’s Naptime Diaries Shop (any from collection on pages 1-3).
Thanks & good luck!
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One word: Pinterest. And I love little boy rooms that they can grow into. Not too “little boy.” Upholstered headboards made with with pluwood and fabric from a discount fabric store….curtains from a coordinating fabric. Add a few things to the walls….framed fabric (see a theme here?), mirrors, painted garage sale frames or shelves…and you have a great start! Do you have a bookcase you could repurpose? Maybe paint it and either paint the backs of the shelves in a different color or…you guessed it, add some fabric, and you’ve got a nice place for baskets, bins, toys, books, etc.
Hey lady! I already have a few of Jessi’s prints throughout my home as well, and LOVE them! would love to win one to give as a gift though :). I always go with color themes, rather than characters or objects… that way, you won’t run into the problem of it being “too young” down the road and you can change it up here and there over the years more easily. also, almost every room in my house started with a small piece of inspiration (I decorated Asa’s room around 2 small antique paintings, and Bellamy’s was designed around the wallpaper i chose. and lastly, we really love our floating shelves for books and baskets, rather than bookshelves. they’re more interesting and help the room seem bigger by taking up less floor space 🙂 gosh, that was a mouthful! sorry! I’m pretty much obsessed with decorating. ha!
Carey – do you have pics of your floating shelves on your blog? I think I’m imagining the right thing but not sure 🙂 Thanks for the insights from the decorating queen! 😉
Girl- I am coming over this week and help you come up with a plan. We need to look at consignment kids stores and wall stuff too. I found some of the girls decorations for 2-3 dollars at places like that. You just let me know when works!
Ha I almost drug you over today because I got so fed up!! 😉 You are welcome anytime!!
Speaking from my own experience (I have 4 boys), they are already chock full of energy! Therefore, I like their room (yep, they all share!) to be muted in color & decoration… I want the room to be a place of rest & relaxation… not a zone to get their imaginations soaring! I’m also not a big fan of character sets… they can outgrow them quickly.
Just to give you an idea of what’s in my head (not to say you should actually purchase these! I like checking thrift stores & yard sales first):
Bedding: http://www.target.com/p/circo-boy-plaid-quilt-set/-/A-13576262#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink
Colors: I’d pull one of the darker tans from the bedding set & then use maybe the blue or red as accent (pillows, art, curtains, whatever)
Wall art: http://pinterest.com/pin/33636328439065917/
AND: http://pinterest.com/pin/33636328439246775/
Whimsy: http://pinterest.com/pin/33636328437594118/
I’m fairly good at decorating in my head… It’s finding the time & money & sitters that seems to be my biggest hinderance 😉 And Pinterest is a goldmine of ideas!
I concur! I am bad a decorating, as well. I blame it on the the fact that we have been married for almost three years and lived in four different apartments. I just don’t want to take the time to decorate a space that we aren’t going to be in for a long time! We are moving again in May and will be staying put for at least three years, so that excuse will no longer be valid. I am looking forward to decorating both my husband and I’s room as well as our kiddo’s room. I pin frugal/cute decorating ideas, but just haven’t implemented any of them yet!
I also like you on FB!
BARTER! By that I mean trade what you are good at for someone elses’s decorating skills. If someone had ever offered to prepare dinner and dessert while watching my children. I would have happily planned and painted a bedroom on whatever budget was offered. It would have been a wonderful, welcomed opportunity to do what I enjoyed.
A great decorating tip I once received was to choose an “icon” – some object that appeals to you, whether it is a picture or piece of fabric or even an item of clothing. That icon reveals the colors you like, the mood you want and so much more. It makes choosing everything easier – if it doesn’t go with my icon it doesn’t go with everything else in the room.
Home goods has great quilts for kids rooms that are very reasonable. I bought them for Parker’s room and the girls room. About $40 for a twin and they are fairly timeless.
I’m bad at decorating, too! It takes me forever because I want everything to be perfect, so I end up with tons of blank spaces on my walls, just waiting for the “right thing”. I’ve been living etsy to find unique and original home decor things, especially for the girls’ rooms. I love having things unique to our home that no one else has 🙂
Yes, Pinterest is the place to look! I agree you shouldn’t be overly theme conscious. Just pick bedding or art or something as a jumping off point and coordinate from there.
I like alot of the Ikea ideas out there.. Like using the spice racks for books… Or the magnetic knife strips for race cars/trucks, or their cheap frames spray-painted to display the dust jackets of books as art.
I’m not great at decorating either – it’s overwhelming to me and I have a hard time seeing the “big” picture. One thing that has worked for me is creating gallery walls with pictures/artwork. It doesn’t seem as permanent as other decorating decisions as you can always change out the pictures or artwork if it doesn’t work. I love searching for fun prints on Etsy but you can use whatever you like. Here’s a little tutorial: http://www.younghouselove.com/2013/02/a-little-clara-cluster/. This is another one I like: http://www.housetweaking.com/2013/01/23/a-last-minute-gallery-wall/. Oh, btw, I saw this paint advertised the other day and thought of you (and Sam) . . . it’s super pricey but supposedly very “safe” (https://lullabypaints.com). Looking forward to seeing pictures of Sam’s room 🙂
I’m pretty much going to reiterate pinterest – it’s the best! I do love decorating but agree that it is a never ending project – I seriously dream about what to do next in our house and am constantly frustrated that I never have time to do everyhing I dream up…or have the space! So here are my thoughts for fun decor for the boys:
I love me some stripes so maybe a feature wall with stipes behind the bed. Some color combos I like…
-orange, teal, white (http://pinterest.com/pin/230809549625195807/)
-red, navy, gray (http://pinterest.com/pin/230809549625195798/ or http://pinterest.com/pin/230809549625195261/)
Since both boys are into cars/construction, a road on the walls might be a cool. I thought this was the neatest idea – magnetic paint to hold the cars to the wall! (http://pinterest.com/pin/230809549625195117/). Also like the racing stripe behind the bed (http://pinterest.com/pin/230809549625195236/). Another fun idea is magnetic strips for construction/cars on the wall (http://pinterest.com/pin/230809549625195110/) – apparently Ikea sells these cheaper (wish we had one near us…jealous!)
Another fun idea I’ve always loved is a reading nook. Saw a cute use for old crib mattress (http://pinterest.com/pin/230809549624207474/) and a cheap way to create a wall of books with plastic rain gutters (http://pinterest.com/pin/230809549624446113/). Might have to get hubby involved in that one =).
Let us know what you decide and we’ll come up and help decorate!