Vintage Nursery

Good Monday bloggy friends!  It's the end of July, which for many of you symbolizes the near-end of  Summer.  Your kiddos will be headed back to school in the next couple of weeks, but here in Jersey we are only mid-way through the Summer.  Our children don't return to school until after Labor Day.  

Our weekend was split between working around the house and having fun.  Yesterday my heart was heavy in church.  I can't explain why here, but I'll just say that I was surrounded by a lot of sadness.  It was one of those situations that made me feel selfish for ever complaining about the mundane.  Additionally, our church was hit by a major storm a few weeks ago that left one whole section heavily damaged by water and sewage.  We stayed for Sunday School and then I was socked with a terrible allergy attack so we couldn't even stay for services.  I'm thinking the allergies may have had something to do with mold in the part of church where we were teaching.  Not sure...

After church we took the family to the 4-H Peach Festival in Historic Mullica Hill, NJ.  I did some antiquing too, as this is also the antique capitol of South Jersey.  I'll share what I picked up later this week!  Then it was out for an early dinner at Pizzeria Uno.  Middle has Celiac Disease which makes it hard to eat out.  Fortunately there are a few restaurants that are catering to those with a gluten-free lifestyle, and Unos is one of them.  I highly recommend it.

I'm starting off the week with a post of Little's vintage nursery.  This room started off fairly bare and neutral, which as most of you know I dislike.  So I've slowly been adding personality by mixing in some of my favorite vintage finds.  

The only thing new in this room is the black furniture, which was a gift from my parents when I was pregnant.  Everything else was either given to us or picked up at a yard sale, flea market or Craig's List.

 The sweet banner was a gift from my dear friend Christina.

This bookshelf is home to so many of my favorite things, including that 1983 World Series baseball signed by the entire team.  At the time, my sister and I were babysitting for some Phillies players.  They made the World Series that year, but lost to the Orioles.  At one point, John Denny's two sons were sitting on the floor of my parent's family room watching their dad pitch in the World Series, without a clue as to how cool that was.  John Denny won the Cy Young award that year and he gave my family several signed baseballs, with names the like of Tug McGraw and Steve Carlton.  It's a treasure, and when Cole is older it will be moved out of reach!

Vintage art hangs on walls throughout the small room.

I made this arrangement using craft paper I picked up at a yardsale.  So fun!

These vintage paint-by-numbers were all separate Ebay purchases.  I especially love the one on the right.  Precious!

Our family's favorite place to visit is Tennessee, so I picked up this old license plate at the flea a couple weeks ago.

So who lives in this sweet space?  My Little Prince.

Thanks for visiting and have a fabulicious week!
xoxo,
Kim

Linking to:  Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
                    Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Clubhouse/Craft Room

What do you do with an empty but usable space that is just screaming for some attention?  How about turn it into a clubhouse!  Sound like fun?  That's exactly what we are doing here at the Bliss House in our basement-turned-Green Girls Club-Craft Room.  Middle has decided to start an eco-concious club with her friends and they need a place to plan, create and, well, meet.

It is only in the beginning stages, but we are very happy with the progress so far!

The jumping off point was the IKEA headboard-turned organization station that I found on Craig for $70.  It's quite narrow, which is perfect for space-saving reasons.

The sides pull out or can be hidden by rolling back into the headboard.  We have been busy filling up the shelves with things from our craft stash.  Glass jars make the perfect place to store things like ribbon and markers.

The walls are painted Asparagus in Baer Paint.  It makes a great background for colorful accents like the paper lanterns from Pier 1 (thanks to The2Seasons for info on where to buy!).  The floor material is called Allure and was purchased at Home Depot a couple years ago.  It is made to look like hardwood, but conducive to the temperature changes in a basement.

And Target has a wonderful selection of supplies, like these colorful bins and the cork squares, which were only $6.

We are having so much fun down here now!  We are on the hunt for a colorful area rug and table/chairs for the middle of the room.

What project are you working on these days?
Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious week!
xoxo,
Kim

Linking to:  Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
                   Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House

Teenagers and Trashpicking Don't Go Together!

TIP:  When traveling with a teenager, don't ask them to get out of the car and help you load someone's trash into your trunk.  They don't like that.  Something about possibly seeing someone they go to school with or worse, having a picture of it on Facebook.  Anybody else out there extremely grateful there was no social networking when we were young?  Holla!

And of course it wasn't something small, like a mirror or a broken frame.  It had to be a large desk that required a lot of heave ho-ing.  I've said it before, these trash-picking adventures would make for great reality tv.  I would call my show "Curbside Follies".

Anyhoward, here is aforementioned desk before:

And its new groovy self now:

Every desk needs a chair, so we looked on Match.Com and found this cute little number.  JK, we had it in storage.

Sprinkled on some cute fabric from Walmart (cause I'm cheap like that) and ya got a groovy twosome!

Now for sale at our booth!

Paint for this project was Baer Paint in Rolling Hills, followed by a coat of clear poly.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious day!
xoxo,
Kim

(p.s. don't forget to tip your teenager)

Joining:  Share Your Creations Party at Kristen's Creations
              Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
              Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed

Little Man Cave

Where Little Man plays...

Our Basement/Play Room.

This amazing painting was delivered to me when I was pregnant with Cole.  A sweet surprise from a very dear blog friend, Terri of Dimples & Dragonflies.  Terri painted this herself.

Fun, fun, fun.

Time for my nap Mommy!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious day!
xoxo,
Kim

Evolution of a Family Room

When I look at old posts of my Family Room I really can't believe how much it has evolved in such a short period of time, and on such a small budget.

Here is how it looked at Christmas time.

The room was dark and heavy - that Tuscan look that was very popular at one time, but seems to be fizzling out.  My taste has evolved to a more light and airy cottage feel.

Here is how the room looks now.

The room has really come alive with lots of vibrant color amid a pale yellow backdrop.  Exactly what I wanted.

Painting the walls yellow was the catalyst, but this Ballard giclee, a Craig's List find, was really what sparked the transformation.

Followed by a new look for the mantle.

And more finds from Craig, like this fun rug and a coffee table, which has since been painted.

I think the IKEA sofa, also from Craig, has made the biggest impact in the overall transformation of the space.

Next I switched the position of the coffee table and rug which totally changed the feel of the room, making it much more cozy.

The accessories on the coffee table keep changing to accommodate little hands.

New accessories help to lighten the mood as well, such as the little yellow stool - a clearance find from Target - a wicker lampshade from Pottery Barnt and throw pillows from Ballard.

Other changes include a new arrangement for the top of the entertainment center.

And some vintage accessories.

I added some fun trim to this otherwise boring lampshade for a touch of whimsy.

I'm learning to add splashes of color wherever I can, like this little accent table that recently got a new paint job and was accessorized with some yardsale finds.

Storage is always a necessity when children are around, like this toy basket, which I stenciled with our house number.

I've also learned to include something a little unexpected, like these leopard print window treatments, a subtle addition to the room.

These pillows arrived last week from Carol Maguire Home who hosted my Summer Kickoff Giveaway last month.  I love how they go so perfectly with the giclee.

Thank you Carol!

The room is still evolving, and some things still need to be done, like buying a matching loveseat,
and reupholstering the chair (wouldn't that make a great birthday present sweetie??).  Suggestions please!  I think a salmon color would look great!

But one thing is certain - this room is definitely a happy space that reflects our family perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious week!
xoxo,
Kim

Joining:  Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
               Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style