Big Girl Room

Ellen gets to go first, I think, because her room has taken the longest to come together (over 12 months, truly). And, if it wasn't for the pending arrival of Baby Sister, it might still not be done. 

You've seen a few peeks of her room before in my posts on Pelmet Boxes and the Custom Headboard.

Here is another "before" with evidence of the teenage boy who lived here: 

And some before pictures of Ellen's new dresser. She is just now getting to the age where many of her clothes are hung up in the closet, but it's so much easier if she can get her clothes out of her dresser and dress herself. Her old dresser is staying in the nursery, so I searched and searched for something affordable that I liked. I wanted something with some interesting details and, thank you Craigslist! My mom and I picked this up last summer (as in 2011) from a nice man in Roeland Park. It came with a matching mirror and I think was $125. It is probably from the 1950s and has been well-loved, but is all wood and sturdy. After the fact I came upon this dresser at West Elm that I think is remarkably similar!

 

The matching mirror was tall and skinny and, to avoid things being too matchy-matchy, I used this mirror instead that used to be in our Master Bedroom and was from the set of furniture my parents got when they got married. My maternal grandfather owned a furniture store - I come by this insanity naturally. 

And, the Afters!

You can't really see the detail of this art project, but I stole the idea from Pinterest (original idea from Amy Meier Design) and it is pages cut out of a Shel Silverstein book that I got at Half Price Books. The originals look great custom framed but, let's face it, HA! Not happening. So, I picked up these very inexpensive frames at Target and used leftover fabric from the pelmet box for the backing. I just trimmed the book pages with an Xacto knife and put it all together with double-sided tape. All in all, probably a $50 project or less. And, I tried to pick poems that made me think of Ellen (dancing pants, band-aid ...)

Stuffed animal tote from Land's End (of course - my favorite thing). Stuffed animals are multiplying around our house and I seriously don't think I've ever purchased one. 

Bookcase from Target that used to be in Ellen's nursery at our old house. The plastic strapping storage bins are from Land of Nod and are great for lots of uses. Santa brought them last year - thoughtful fella.The lamp that you can't see very well was a brass monstrosity I picked up at Habitat ReStore for $8. I spray painted it a watermelon pink color and got a new shade at Lowe's and trimmed it with black ribbon.

I got the rug for a great deal at Land's End - they have cute home stuff and often free shipping. The floor pillows were from Ellen's old nursery and were never used. I thought about getting her one of those overstuffed kid chairs, but decided this was about the same thing.

You can see the painted dresser and mirror here, too. I used Benjamin Moore Advance paint in a standard white. The guy at the hardware store gave me lots of tips, but there are all kinds of tutorials on Pinterest and I like Centsational Girl for that, too. In the end, I sanded and primed the mirror because it was dark wood. He assured me I didn't need to sand the dresser because it was already painted, but I really scrubbed it with TSP deglosser/degreaser and sanded the top only. My mom was a huge help. And I followed the tips from Centsational Girl to clean up the hardware with Brasso - good as new! I lined the drawers with polka-dot contact paper, which you can't see here.

The lamp is from the living room at our old house, with a new shade from Pottery Barn. The "Ellen" letters are from Land of Nod. I contemplated making them, then sent them my money instead. One of the better things in this room is the Dr. Suess print that Ellen was gifted by her Grammy and Papa Lund. I had saved it in a very special place, and was fortunately able to find that place after the move. It is a limited edition, signed lithograph (I think) of the Old Fish, New Fish scene. So special! I ordered the frame online at Emily Henderson's suggestion and it is very nice and looks custom.

Last wall! These built-ins required a good scrubbing, but are invaluable for all the "stuff" that accumulates up here. The mirrored area had glass shelves that were promptly removed and I turned it into a little dress-up closet with a tension rod. Ellen loves to admire her outfits and see if she is "stylish". I ordered the growth chart on Etsy after, again, deciding there was no time to make one myself. I wanted a place to document the growth of both girls and something that was remove-able if need be. Done.

And, to document for posterity, the bed has been made! Once ...