The Kids' Rooms.

I've been meaning to share these photos for a while, but they got pushed aside for other posts and eventually, I just forgot about them. A friend's sister's recent blog post (Hi Sarah!) reminded me about them as I caught up on her blog today. (Even though we've never met, I keep up with your blog regularly! It's become part of my morning routine. You know, wake up, pee, tend to the children, make coffee, read email, then blogs, and, if I have time, the news. And not necessarily in that order, either. Sometimes I make coffee before I pee.) ;-)

You see, Sarah is getting ready to decorate a nursery. And in doing so, there are a few items she is planning for her nursery that sounds like it might resemble Alejandro's, namely, the wainscotting and a similar paint colour.

When I was pregnant with Alex, I knew that I wanted to redecorate the nursery. But I decided that I was going to wait to see if the baby was a boy or a girl before beginning and before choosing a paint colour. I obviously wasn't going to change the baby furniture, that was a given. Or the layette. (My feeling is that white eyelet is gender-neutral enough.) And the room isn't very big, so the changes that would be made weren't going to be huge ones. It was going to be more like a 'freshening-up' of the room. (After all, there's only so much you can do with a 9x8 room!) I wanted it to be a nursery, but I wanted it to be a nursery that would be relatively easy for him to grow with, something that wasn't too baby-ish.

I decided that I wanted wainscotting in Bella's nursery, but given all the reno's we did throughout the rest of the house, we never got around to it, and before you knew it, she was 3 1/2 yrs old and moving into her big girl's room. So, I really wanted it installed for our second baby's nursery. I thought it would be a weekend job, however, it ended up taking us about a week. With much help & guidance from friends (thanks Pascale & Cory!), Ed installed the wainscotting and I did the painting. We are very happy with the end result.
P.S. in these old houses, take into account that not only are the walls probably not square (as you probably know already), but the floors probably aren't level, either. Take this into consideration when installing wainscotting, otherwise, the top of your wainscotting may not appear level when furniture is placed against it...

I haven't yet found anything that I love enough to put on the walls above the rocking chair. I'm always keeping an eye out! Also, still looking for a few more accessories, some wall hooks, etc...

Hello!

A few of Alex's friends keeping him company.

The former spare room was turned into Ysabella's new bedroom. I wanted something that said little girl, but something that wasn't too frou-frou-ish. I wanted a room that she wouldn't outgrow in a year or two. This is the result. (The wall colour, unfortunately, turned out to be much more green on the wall than it looked on the swatch. I was hoping for it to be a bit more beige-y. However, I wasn't about to repaint! ) But I love her quilt! And oh-how-I-love crown moulding! It makes painting so easy, and I love the way it just really finishes a room off.

And aren't those bed rails a pain in the butt?! They make it terribly difficult to make a bed/change the bedsheets! I'm hoping they won't be there for too long. (And in case you're wondering those are some of Bella's paper plate faces hanging from the ceiling in the corner.)

I can't I say enough about ambient lighting. I love it. I hate coming home to a dark house, whether it be a dark front porch, or walking into a dark house. Having just one lamp on makes all the difference. And did I mention that I have a secret love for dimmer switches? And bedside table lamps. Soft lighting makes all the difference, especially where babies are concerned. The dimmest light is useful for peaking in on sleeping children, for before-bedtime reading (when trying to encourage tired eyes), or for those quiet, peaceful 4am feeds when it feels like nobody else in the world is up.

I originally ordered the vinyl wall decal (pictured below) from Etsy.com to put in the left corner of the wall behind her bed (see above picture), just to the left of the bedside table. I wanted it to flow out from the left corner to just above the left side of her bed. Yep, that was the plan. However, it ended up being a 3 mos ordeal and a terrible, terrible experience. (First the seller said she mailed it, but it never arrived. Then she said she resent it, and after almost 2 mos, it finally arrived. However, it was the wrong decal! Then she never bothered to send the correct one and she ignored my numerous emails/requests. In addition, she didn't feel it was necessary to refund me. What a mess!) In the end, after a whole lot of formal complaints, I was finally refunded, but the entire experience left a really bad taste in my mouth, so, I abandoned that idea altogether. Instead, I settled on these lovely little $10, 3-D stick-on butterflies that I found at the Victoria Butterfly Gardens. (I think they match perfectly!)


I found this chandelier at Structube. It is (appropriately) called the 'Bella' chandelier. Feminine, but again, not too frou-frou. And of course, I'm still on the look-out for a few more things. I'll find them. Eventually.

And that is that. Good night, all. (I hope you find these photos somewhat helpful, Sarah!) I can't wait to see the finished product. I'm sure it will be beautiful!