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It’s an owl…it’s a tiger…it’s on the wall

OUR 2nd HOUSE

This little corner of Will’s room is one of those areas that we use every single day at least twice.

It’s where we rock & read to the Tinkler before naptime and bedtime.  It’s the sweetest part of our day.  That chair holds the only time Will allows us to cuddle him, to be touching him for longer than two seconds and pray over him without the interuption of “APPLE JUICE! FIRETRUCK!  BOOGERS!”.   So obviously it’s pretty sacred to us.  And we really want to make it a much better spot to get our rock on.

The little side table didn’t really get the job done.  We needed more surface area and the brass light shined directly into our faces when reading – making it a little hard to relax.  So when I saw this bookshelf at Goodwill for under $10, I rammed a few unsuspecting bystanders to get my grubby claws on it.  It actually has another shelf but we didn’t have the little bracket plug thingies to install it so I’ll have to run to the home improvement store to pick some up.  For now though, it is functioning much better by providing additional surface area for all the naptime books and assorted Will-paraphenalia.

Obviously Will is also excited about it – hence the interpretive dancing to show his approval.

I also took the time to hang a few things overhead.  Can you tell I am really committed to this piece?  Because the last two things that were here didn’t even get a smidge of artwork.

The alphabet artwork is actually a framed paper (I got it for a few dollars when we visited John & Sherry & Clara last October in a little shop that had it with a bunch of cool pieces of wrapping paper).  I love the vintagey feel.  And the Owl was a birth-day gift from my friend Brook the day Will was born.  It’s very cool and I must ask her to commission another piece for me.

Oh and shortly after I put it up, I told Will “Honey – this is an owl”

To which he replied “NO.  Tiger!  Raw Raw!”

And then I died laughing.  In his defense – it does have stripes.

Overall – I think it goes well with the little gallery wall over Will’s bed.  (for those eagle eyes out there – yes, I removed one of the little lower frames after I noticed Will could reach it and lift it easily from his crib – better safe than sorry, right?!)

I think I decided that I am gonna Polystain the bookshelf to match the crib.  I’m afraid that paint will not hold up as well with the constant shifting of books and things.  Here’s the photoshopped version to see how it can be classied up with the darker hue.

Speaking of changes…I also switched up some things on the other side of the room.  Here’s what it looked like before…

…now we moved the dresser to the middle of the wall and put his little playtable and chairs in the corner near the window.  He was constantly dragging a chair over there to see out the window (he likes birdwatching and apparently thinks a firetruck is gonna pull into our driveway at any moment) so I decided why fight it.   Plus, it gives him a whole lot more room in front of his toyboxes…you know, for toys.

I think I am gonna put the round mirror over the dresser now.  I needed it before to soften the edges of that toybox but now with all the globes – it is really being too roundish.  It’s like seeing a girl with three boobs.  There really is a ‘too-many’ boundary (although I’m sure some boys would disagree).  So I am thinking – let’s pull the mirror over…and let’s create a spot over Will’s toybox for art to be displayed (if you haven’t noticed, I am a big fan of diy artwork and trying my best to instill that love into Will).

So there you have it folks – Will’s room in a nutshell.  Still a whole lot to be done but slowly we are inching our way forward with what we have.  Maybe by the time the little baby is born, he’ll have a decent room 🙂

Have you been tweaking any spaces lately?  Any misidentified animals that made you chuckle?  Anyone doing any interpretive dancing lately inspired by room decor?  Hoping for some more beach photos?  Yeah – consider this post me stalling so I can go through them all and get my edit on 🙂

 

p.s.  Polystain is awesome…here’s a past post where I did it and fell in love.

p.p.s.  The owl used to live in Will’s old room.

p.p.p.s.  Yes – that is burlap on the accent wall.

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Comments

  1. My daughter is almost 3 and we had a little conversation the other day about a friend’s name. She likes to argue (or so it seems!) about anything, so I totally get the owl/tiger issue. We’ve had similar issues with cows and horses. She definitely knows the difference but she likes to play/pretend differently. With the name thing the other day, we were going between “Martha” (the correct name) and “Marsha” (my daughter’s version) and after about 20 rounds, my daughter told me to “stop talking.” I guess that’s a better version of shut up that she told my husband a few months ago (and quickly learned not to say that again!). Out of the mouths of babes, right?!

  3. I desperately need a shelf unit by our rocker too! I love those pre-nap and bedtime cuddles too! I agree that the big mirror will look great in the middle of that wall. I still just love that toy box system. It’s awesome!!

  4. Please lose the creepy oil painting over the crib. Don’t mean to be judgey, but it’s creepy, too dark, and doesn’t work with the other things over the crib. Way too heavy for a little guy’s room. Okay, I’m done now. Generally love your style, sorry for the negative comment.

  5. Hi Katie! I have been following your blog for a while and wanted to say congratulations on your growing family. I am 6 months pregnant with my first, and have definitely been getting some great ideas/advice from your blog. I was wondering if you could please tell me where Will’s dress is from? I think it would work really well in our nursery.

    Thanks! Kelly

  6. Check out the globe turned pendant light featured in Annie Selke’s Fresh American blog. Looks like it would be perfect for Will’s room.

  7. Yeah – I saw that – amazing. But I just don’t think I could cut a globe…it’s like some folks with painting wood. I would also have to master my maniacal laughter if I ever would cut the world in half 🙂
    xo – kb

  9. haha…we love that old creepy thing. It’s a reproduction of a Rembrandt and it’s hopefully gonna work when we finish that wall…plus, it represents Will’s great grandparents who we inherited it from 🙂
    xo – kb

  10. If it makes you feel better, my almost 2 year old was sitting on my lap while I was reading the post and when I scrolled to the picture of the owl he said, “tiger, mama, tiger!” So, maybe in toddler world the picture really does look like a tiger. Or, I need to spend more time teaching my guy about birds! 🙂

  13. Aww, Will’s room is so sophisticated for a little boy. I love it!!!

    When does he get a toddler bed? He’s getting so big!

  15. Love the room Katie. I love that it has a “big boy” feel to it! I can’t wait to see how the polystain transforms that bookshelf…and I checked out the polystain post, I MUST use this information, and quickly…so many things to stain, so little time 🙂

  16. This is a weird thing to say, but you’re lucky that you can do this type of stuff to Will’s room and he really enjoys it. When my son was was Will’s age, if there was something on the wall and within reach, it didn’t stay on the wall very long. After awhile I gave up and just dealt with bare walls as it was a fight not worth fighting.

    As for the tiger / owl thing, I used to insist that the coyote on Bugs Bunny was a wolf. According to my mother, I did stand corrected on the issue, but since I insisted that Wild E was a wolf, she let me think that until one day I told her that Wild E is a coyote. She then promptly told me that she had been telling me that all along and was happy that I figured it out.

    The nut doesn’t fall far from the tree in my family as my son did the exact same thing, only I didn’t do the “I told you so” when he figured it out. I just smiled, nodded and said something along the lines of “Why yes, he is a coyote” and promptly changed the subject.

    It’s just part of being a toddler. Teens do the same thing only the subject mater is usually deeper than what animal species are cartoon character is. This isn’t to say that it’s better, it’s just different. I still smile and nod when The Boy figures something out.

  17. Polystain?? Tell me more! I checked out the post that you linked to and I’m wondering two things: can you just wipe it directly on, or do you have to sand down the existing finish? Second, can you use it on laminate do you think? I have an ikea coffee table that is blonde “wood” that I would like to darken up–do you think polystain is the lady for the job?

    Also…this is belated, but we’re moving into a new house in about a month and I’m totally ripping off the office bathroom colors…a version of your bathroom will be appearing in Virginia before the end of the summer 🙂

  18. love it all! i wish i could find cool $10 things at our goodwill!
    my 1 year old daughter learned to say dog a couple months ago and EVERYTHING is a dog! we’re trying to work on some new words, but her little texas accent saying “dooowg” is just too cute!
    when i read your line about “maybe by the time the little baby is born,” i swear i thought it said “little BOY” and i thought you were just nonchalantly slipping in the new baby’s gender! congratulations!

  19. Katie!

    This is soooo crazy! I was just sanding an old antique family chair outside because I wanted to give it a darker look and I thought….let me take a break and check out what’s going on over at Bower Power while I eat my peanut butter, bananas, and fluff sandwich (don’t judge) and it’s like this post was meant for me! I’ve been searching and researching for how to get all my furniture, including this chair that’s outside, the same color without painting them(I’m a Goodwill & Craigslist deal finder too). I’m so glad I checked your site before my hardware store run because this POLYSTAIN sounds amazeballs! I started following you just as you were moving in to your new place, so thanks for the link back!

    YAH! Chrissy

    PS – toddlers at the beach…so freaking cute!

  20. Kb! Does the end of your post mean you’re having another boy? I didn’t know if I missed the announcement of if you were just going for vagueness..

  23. Okay, did you just sneekily reveal that the next baby is going to be Boy?!!!! Did anyone catch that or maybe you already revealed that I’m just late in the game!!! Please tell!!

  24. I am loving everything about the new decorated look!!! Perfectly done. Does your friend Brook have a business? That owl painting is SO good!!

  27. She doesn’t. I told her to open an etsy shop but apparently the paintings take a long time with two little ones so I think she voted no for now.
    xo – kb

  28. We don’t know for sure yet – it is a little early to say but I am 98% confident that the future ultrasound will reveal boy. I’m wagering here.
    xo – kb

  30. Well – I am willing to put money down it’s a boy. I don’t know why I think that but I’ve already been searching for boy names 🙂
    xo – kb

  32. I’ve never used it on laminate – but I know some other folks have. And I did sand a little – just to give it some grit…but I’m not sure it’s necessary. I got an email from one girl who used it on a ceramic lamp with success…no sanding.
    xo – kb

  33. His crib actually converts to a toddler bed…we’ll probably take that plunge the day my belly gets too big to bend over the railing 🙂
    xo – kb

  35. i’ve seen a lot of cute boys rooms lately on pinterest that remind me of how Will’s room is coming together. very ‘i live in Cornwall, i have an accent, my mom has style and we are incredibly witty’ kind of look. LOVE. And with those rooms are striped rugs. Do you think your blue and white one would go? Just a suggestion! http://pinterest.com/pin/36591815692444722/

  36. *rembrandt rolls over in his grave*

    a girl with a broom is creepy? really? jeesh.

  37. What is the color on Will’s walls? I’m thinking something very similar for my son’s “big boy room.” He’ll be 2 next month and will probably be in the nursery until another baby comes along to kick him out, but I’ve been thinking about a room similar to Will’s- with khaki walls, dark wood, and nautical blue and white stripes.

  40. It might be just me, but your photo paths might have changed? I am seeing random images in your posts. Probably a bug, but thought you should know.

    As always, love your blog!

  41. Did you like the place? Can you share the details/house contact information for the house in Destin? No joke, I was getting on to look for places to rent and decided to blog surf a wee bit before I did. We are trying to plan a family vacay in June.

    THANKS!

    : )

  42. When I was growing up, we had a cat named Rabbit. It caused a lot of concern at the local hospital when my sister kept pointing to the poster of a cat and saying “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit!”

  43. I’m not sure if this was already mentioned, but Will looks just like Cole in the profile picture after his “lashes” shot.

  45. I can’t believe ya’ll fell for that tourist trap. We did several years ago and the food sucked at literally every restaurant there! It’s fun to walk around with the kids and they have movie night every so often, but the food really needs an upgrade. However, that part of the beach is BEAUTIFUL– we go every year.

  46. Hi Katie,

    It would be great if you write a post on how you take care of your clothes. I’ve noticed that you wear lotta white clothes and how do manage keep it so white/clean/..I always gets stain somehow and have to throw it away. Same thing is happening to my baby’s (8 month old’s) white onesies…Pretty please do a post when you get a chance.

    Thanks Much!

  47. Aww that’s too bad that the food stunk for you guys. We didn’t have the best food ever everywhere we went…we did love everything we ate at Stinky’s…but as a whole, we didn’t go for the chow 🙂
    xo – kb

  49. The bookshelf is awesome! I like the photoshopped darker finish.

    Will is soooo cute! Love the vaca photos! My almost 2 year old daughter WHISPERS, rawr, rawr when she sees a tiger or a lion. Hilarious! Loving this age!

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