(Re)decorating the kids rooms: Avery's room

We moved into our house in January of 2010 and have done very little decorating other than paint.  But painting was necessary because the previous owners, for some reason, thought it was a good idea to paint the ceilings the same colour as the walls in every room.  Don't get me wrong, I've seen painted ceilings and they can look beautiful, but ours did NOT fall into that category because every room was a different colour (hunter green, maroon, navy blue, fairy purple, Pepto Bismol-ey taupe) and they'd completed the 'look' with carpet to match.  Avery's room was the exception upstairs with a light coloured wood laminate floor.  I'm not sure why her room alone had laminate when all the rest were carpeted, but hers was the fairy purple room so I'm not sure if there was much reason in any of their rhymes.

Avery's room still isn't finished, I need to sew a slip cover for her chair, I would eventually like to re-paint her bookshelf and there are odds and ends to add, but it's much better than how it looked at the beginning of December.

Before Avery was born I found this fabric at Designer Fabrics on Queen St. W in Toronto.  I fell in love with the sweet nursery rhyme feel of the graphics, the neutral background and pops of colour and it became the foundation of the design in her room. 

Sorry for the wrinkles!  This is her crib blanket and she uses it every night.

I used the fabric to sew her crib (set bumper pads, blanket & cushions) and I've tried to mimic the neutral background and pops of colour throughout the room while keeping the nursery rhyme theme without being too literal about it.

You'll probably be surprised at where I've sourced many of the pieces.  Over the holidays my brother described me as very 'thrifty', which is true.  I'm not too proud to buy second hand.  I know how hard DH works for the lifestyle we have and I try to honour his hard work by not wasting money if I can find great (less expensive) options.

Here's a walk around her room...
 
When you first enter, there's a built-in & reading nook.  A comfortable chair with a place to put up my feet was a must for this space, when Avery was born I spent a ton of time feeding and holding her in her bedroom.  Now we read stories here every night before bed.  I bought this chair on Craigslist for around $30 and once it has a slipcover its clean lines will be the first thing I see rather than the colour. 

Our comfy reading chair that needs a slipcover!

I love the olive coloured duck & cat ceramic figures beside the chair and have fought to keep them in the room - DH doesn't like them much!  The mirror was $10 at Goodwill and the side table & lamp are from Homesense.

One of my best friends bought the beautiful cream piggy bank for Mason when he was born but it looks much better in Avery's room. The fish picture was painted by my Aunt who's an incredibly talented artist and happens to be a perfect match for the green in this room. I love the whimsical vintage bunny driving the carrot race car that I bought on Ebay. He looks like he stepped out of a Wind in the Willows chapter.

You might see glimpses of the chandelier. I bought it on Craigslist and spray painted it the sunny yellow colour that's in the fabric. There's a beautiful store downtown where I'd driven past yellow chandeliers and fell in love with them and jumped at the chance to include one in this room. It makes me happy every time I look at it!

I haven't done much to the space around Avery's crib.  The vinyl tree (bought on Ebay) was pretty much the only decorating I did other than the crib set before she was born.  I'm hesitant to add anything that she could reach and pull down right now.

The biggest change is in the corner opposite her crib.  I found the bookshelf on the curb (yes, I bring trash home sometimes to DH's chagrin!) and loved the shape and size.  I knew it be perfect in this space.  I think I want to paint it white or cream, but for the time being it still works in the honey finish.

The little rocking chair was left behind in the house when we moved in.  It used to be red, but a litle spray paint made it fit right in!  The mirror was on drastic clearance at Homesense, marked down to $15 from the original price of $150.  It was so perfect for my vision of the room that I couldn't believe I'd stumbled upon it at such a ridiculous price.  The bird cage I found at Goodwill, the tree shaped candle holder is from Value Village & the owl is from Dollarama and spray painted a glossy antique white.

The wall shelves are from Goodwill as well.  The 'Avery' art was created by my uber-talented cousin and given as a 1st birthday present.  The clock doesn't work (boo) but I found it at Value Village the same day I found the beautiful vintage poetry books stacked under the mouse on the shelf below, and loved it because it reminded me of the pocket watch the rabbit carried in Alice in Wonderland.  It's perpetually 8 o'clock in Avery's room but I don't care!

I can't describe how peaceful and serene it feels sitting in this room.  Maybe it's because the clock makes it feel like time stands still!   I know it needs some tweaking and a little more work to make it perfect, but I love it.

- Jacs