Zombie Blog (and a Kid's Room)

It's alive!

Just when you thought the blog was dead, it has returned from the grave like something out of a horror movie.  I find I always have good intentions toward it but kind of think of posting as one more thing on my to-do list.  Just finding time to get projects done is iffy, so finding time to do them and then write about them...not so much. Maybe it will come easier with time, but right now it is what it is. Sporadic.

Anyway, I thought the project of redoing Miles' room over Memorial Day weekend was worth a mention, mostly because I actually finished it in a weekend.  It was a true weekend project, unlike most of our other weekend projects that take months.

Here's what it looked like before, with an underwater theme.  We first did this room when I was pregnant with Lucas, so about 6 years ago. As you can see, we were a little...heavy-handed, shall we say, on the themed kid's room concept.  But it was fun, and how many times do you get to go nuts and paint fish on a wall?

Now that Miles is ready for a regular bed, I thought I would take a different approach and redo the room more neutrally and make it kid-friendly with accessories.  It makes things easier since we are not sure how long we are going to stay in this house, to show off the room as a potential adult bedroom or office or whatever.  But I still wanted it to be fun for Miles, because what kid wants to be stuck with the 'converted office' bedroom?


Anyway, here is the 'after', forgive the photos, it's hard to get an overall shot in a room this small!:

I decided to go with a neutral blue-gray (Behr "Blue Fox") and bought some colorful bedding and a window valance from Target.  I really like their DwellStudio line, although I had to order online because they didn't carry the one I wanted in the store.  I was really happy with the quality for the price though.  The sheets have a really nice feel to them and wash up really well.   The  window valance is also from Target, although not part of the same set (to avoid looking overly matchy). I chose the duvet cover instead of a bedspread because it is easier to wash, and I just filled it with an inexpensive comforter from Ikea.  The toy storage, bed, and frames and accessories are also all from Ikea.  When Miles gets a little bigger the bed flips over to become a mini-loft to make more floor play space, like this:
Kura Bed
which is good because this room is pretty small.  The wardrobe piece is a built-in that came with the house that we just painted white when we did the room the first time, but it is mounted to the wall so Eric had to rip it off and move it to another corner to make the bigger bed fit.  Also the changing table in the 'before' pic is really a built-in desk that we mounted at the right height for a changing table.  Now we took it down and will put it back in the room as a desk when he is bigger and the bed is flipped over (there's no room for it now.)

All the artwork is from Feed Your Soul: The Free Art Project here
(Thanks to Nicole @ enzy living for pointing it out here)

I liked the birds and got a kick out of the fact that they go with the hippo bedding (hippos and birds have a symbiotic relationship...I know...no one will notice that except me!)

I still think the room looks a little empty and one thing I miss from the nursery is the mobiles that were up (you can't see them really in the before pics, but we had 2 hanging mobiles up of swimming fish). I am hoping to find something to hang when we go to Mackinaw Island this summer to add another element to the room.