July 6, 2011

Children’s Bedrooms

I mentioned in a previous post that my children share bedrooms. Boys in one bedroom. Girls in one bedroom.

Some of you asked to hear more about the children’s bedrooms, so here goes…

Let me start by saying WE RENT.

That means rarely are we in charge of the color scheme, rarely can we do much about where walls and doors are, and logistically, we have to “make do” with our circumstances. So, our bedroom situations are not ideal, but they work.

I like uniformity.

I am going to be totally honest here: the matching bedspreads on the girls’ beds are for MY benefit…not theirs. While it helps my brain to see uniformity within a bedroom, I realize I should not expect this in every aspect of their rooms. These bedspreads are starting to show their age, but until we decide new bedspreads are a priority {or this UK children’s bedding company makes their United States debut–love their Scripture bedding!}, we’re sticking with the matching bedspreads and allowing them put their own special animals and pillows on the beds to make it theirs. And yes, I do allow several stuffed animals and several pillows to be on their beds. I could fight this battle, but it’s not a worthy cause to me. Which brings me to my next thought…

They need individuality.

The same things I took into account when I was decorating my master bedroom are the same things I try to take into account when decorating a child’s bedroom. I am not of the mind that bedrooms are simply a place to sleep. Often this is the only room where a child has any say-so in what the room looks like. Let them practice here for the homemaking skills they will need later on.

The girls’ room has butterflies and horses and aqua blue and…

Legos

While Lego has fallen out of favor in our household (too “dark” for my taste–we much prefer the ones from Vision Forum), there are still a few that meet our criteria (Hero Factory being one of them…unless they change their storyline). And yes, my oldest daughter in particular, really likes them. So on her bulletin board, underneath her butterflies is a picture she printed off.

My favorite? No.

Reasonable? Yes.

God didn’t give me little copies of myself to raise…one of the most humbling aspects of parenting.

Right now, the girls’ room has

petite bunk beds (made in England and given to us by some friends)

an expensive-for-WalMart-but-not-high-quality dresser (2 of the drawers hold keepsakes for each girl, the other 3 drawers hold clothes)

a stacker with magazines and crafting supplies

a basket for Megan’s books and a basket for Melia’s dolls

a changing table and diaper pail (because there’s a place for it there)

In the closet is

a coat rack for purses and hats

Megan’s lock box

clothes that need to hang

shoes

their laundry basket

breakable toys (i.e. porcelain dolls, tea sets)

The biggest issue with their room is the paper stash that grows daily. There is a tub under the bed for papers, but it overflows all over the room, into drawers, and onto doors and walls. Until recently, the only solution I could think of was to periodically go through it all, either by myself…pitching at will, or with the girls…exerting much energy along the way. I finally came up with what I hope will solve the paper issue.

My oldest daughter (who is my “paper” child) now has 2 notebooks. One for

Things I Like

and one for

Homemaking

Those are the two main reasons she keeps bits of paper and magazines and whatever other papers lurk in the corners of her room. She keeps an entire magazine because of one article on 10 Reasons Why We Homeschool (from The Old Schoolhouse®). Or she keeps a catalog because it has one of her favorite books with a summary she likes. Having these 2 notebooks has really helped lessen the amount of paper around the room and has given her a place to keep all those tidbits of information she wants to hold on to for the future.

Now, for the boys…

When we moved to this house, there was one room decorated in red, white, & blue. We decided to put the boys in there, even though it was the smallest bedroom.

Our 13 year old has a twin bed, our 5 year old has a toddler bed, and our 2 year old has a toddler mattress that slips underneath his older brother’s bed during the day (the little boys have nicknamed it “the peekaboo bed”)

Also in the room you will find

safari decor my oldest son bought (with his own money) at a garage sale (that’s right…DOES NOT go with the Americana theme…but it’s ok…no, really, it is)

a plastic 3-drawer “nightstand” we hope to replace someday

their laundry basket

a gun rack used to hold their hats and backpacks

In the closet is

the same dresser the girls have

13 year old son’s hanging clothes to the left of the dresser, 5 year old’s hanging clothes to the right (little boys’ clothes are in my closet)

telescope, microscope, Scout stuff, etc

My boys are much tidier than my girls. The worst they manage to clutter their room with are their cowboy outfits and stuff the girls bring in!

Now, perhaps you are wondering about Boy #4…Mr. Garin.

Well, he’s in my closet.

Yikes! Did I just say that? Yep, I did.

My closet is big.

Big enough to hold my clothes, Garin’s clothes, Micah’s hang-up clothes, AND a porta-crib (because you gave me permission to use it!)

Garin just isn’t old enough to be in a main bedroom without the others in the room causing him to wake up several times in the night. That is the very reason why we moved him from our room to the closet. The door of the closet is kept ajar and we all get a good night’s sleep. {Garin wakes up between 6-7 am}

Eventually, we may have to put some of the children downstairs, but for now with the amount of children we have and the ages they are, this works well.

So, how do you have your children’s bedrooms set up? If you have a post on children’s bedrooms you’d like to share, link up below!

March 24, 2011

Spring Spruce Up Link Up!

You’ve been listening to me ramble on about my bedroom, now it’s your turn! Have you visited the other blogs participating in the Spring Spruce Up? Have you been inspired? Have you tackled a project of your own?

Let’s see it!

Write a blog post, then click below to enter in your project so we can all ooh and aah over it! Your post will be visible on all the Spring Spruce Up blogs, so all our readers will be able to share their projects!

I can’t wait to see what you’ve accomplished!

March 23, 2011

Practical Tips for Making Your Bedroom a Haven

My bedroom isn’t perfect. There is still a lot to do since the move. And I’m not sure I would have chosen that deep burnt umber color for the walls if it were my own home, but I still want to give you some ideas on how you can take your bedroom, no matter how “difficult” of a space it is, and create a haven away from the rest of the world.

So, this post is where you take all that brainstorming we did and translate it into your real world. I’m going to offer you some very simple, “real world” tips because I’m guessing funds and time are not unlimited and if you truly are going to create a haven, you have to be able to do it right away before you either forget about it or life crams back into your space.

Here is my #1 rule to creating a haven…

MAKE YOUR BED!

Yikes! Did I just sound like your mother??? Yes, I did! If you do nothing else EVER to your bedroom, do the bedroom a favor and make the bed. Take a look at what that one thing can do for a room:

BEFORE

AFTER

Everything in the room was out of order. Kids had hauled blankets in during the early morning hours. I hadn’t tidied up a thing. But, the bed is the focal point of the room. That is where your eyes go to. Simply making that one place neat and tidy, you change the entire feel of the room.

Now, that brings me to the point of bedding. Coming from someone who knows what it is like to have a hodge-podge of mismatched bedding versus a well-outfitted matching bedding set, I can honestly say there is a huge difference. Having a set that matches makes you WANT to make your bed. But bedding can get expensive. The new set in our bedroom was a birthday present from my mom. A birthday present I asked for. Remember, I’m practical when it comes to gifts.

So, don’t be afraid to ask for something like that as a gift. Or scour thrift stores for things that match. It might take a while, but it is well worth it. And even just make it known throughout your network of friends that you are looking for a matching bedding set for whatever size your bed is. You might be surprised how many people have extra bedding just lying about their home taking up space.

Another great thing to have in your bedroom is some sort of soft lighting. There is something very beautiful and inviting about having soft light on in the evening hours as you retire to your bedroom. It blurs the ugly and warms up the less-than-perfect. You can do this with a simple lamp and a soft light bulb or use Christmas lights or rope lights in certain areas of the room.

Now, back to our brainstorming session…

Who are you?

Who is your husband?

Who are you together?

In our bedroom are mementos of our wedding day. Our wedding invitation, framed with dried flowers and ribbon, our wedding picture, my bouquet. All treasures and celebrations of our marriage. These sorts of things make good decorations about the marriage bed.

Now take into account how you can use the things that make you smile in your space. I really like baskets, so we have baskets that hold everything from loose change to phone chargers.

Perhaps your husband is a sports fan. That doesn’t mean you have to have NFL themed bedding and sports team pennants all over the walls. You’ve probably noticed how popular the Fleur de lis has gotten in decorating. Obviously, if he is a Saints fan, you can easily find a classy way to translate this to your bedroom space. Hobby Lobby sells a lot of fleur de lis decor or you can create your own knock off…

This decoration from Overstock.com retails for $65. However, you can do something similar with tiles from the hardware store or ceramic trivets salvaged from the junk shop. Spray paint the background and freehand the shapes on in white paint.

Now, the Saints is an easy one to figure out, but what about oh say, the Green Bay Packers. Pretty sure no one here wants huge pieces of Styrofoam cheese in their bedroom! In this case, use his favorite sports team’s colors as accents.

Think outside the box on this one. I imagine your husband will be touched by any gesture on your part to include his passions in the room. For years I had dead animals hanging over my head. You get used to it.

Maybe there are things you both enjoy. Perhaps you and your husband are coffee lovers. Think coffee shop when you decorate. Warm colors, scrap metal spray painted black and hung in funky arrangements, candle holders made from coffee beans and clear glasses like these. Mugs painted to match and hung on the wall with teacup hooks and used to hold jewelry, loose change, and odds and ends.

Ty and I both enjoy traveling and especially our annual vacation to the mountains. The photos above our bed are from our vacations.

They remind us of places that are very dear to us and also very relaxing as well.

But, what if it seems like the things you enjoy are polar opposites? Tie them together with color or materials. Perhaps he loves old cars and you love music. Take his love of cars and hit the salvage yard looking for pieces you can mount on your walls as decorations or hooks or shelves. Make “chrome” an accent color or add splashes of color here and there to “warm up” the chrome. Then take your love of music and tear your favorite hymn from a hymnal, brush on tea to age the page, add hints of silver with ribbon or a matte or the frame itself to tie it in with the chrome. Use an old instrument case as a jewelry box. Or better yet, take some trim pieces you found at the salvage yard and create a staff by screwing those pieces to the wall and then find a way to shape belts into musical notes and key signatures.

OK, I’m getting carried away now! But you get the idea…think outside the box. WAY outside the box!

If you have curtains, but they aren’t the right color, consider dying them. We have carted dozens of different curtains along with us on our moves simply because curtains are an easy thing to repurpose and reuse, even if it requires a bit of tweaking or hemming. If you sew at all, curtains are an easy project from sheets or clearance fabric.

The possibilities are endless! Really, all you need is a fresh perspective and a creative eye. If you don’t feel like you have these things, call a friend over to evaluate or brainstorm with you. Hey, maybe she’ll even let you dig around in her junk piles (those are the best kind of friends, aren’t they?!)

I could literally go on and on and on and I am by no means a decorator-type person, but I do enjoy creative thinking and I am passionate about having a beautiful place in your home that makes you smile and soothes the frazzled nerves of the day.

Ultimately, your bedroom is a place of REST. It should be RESTFUL. What is one thing you can do today to accomplish that? Let me know of any ideas you have or other thoughts on the matter!

And don’t forget TOMORROW is the day for the link up! The link up will appear on ALL the blogs below:

Sprucing Up the Laundry Room | Mama’s Laundry Talk
Sprucing Up the School Room | Homegrown Mom
Sprucing Up the Craft Room | Many Little Blessings
Sprucing Up the Bathroom | Feels Like Home
Sprucing Up the Playroom | …Life’s About a Dream
Sprucing Up the Garage/Storage Space | A Slob Comes Clean
Sprucing Up the Master Bedroom | Raising Arrows (that’s me!)
Sprucing Up Your Homeschool | Jimmie’s Collage
Sprucing Up the Kitchen | So Happy Together
Sprucing Up the Garden | An Oregon Cottage
Sprucing Up the Backyard | Successful Homeschooling

That way everyone gets to share in what we are doing to spruce up our spaces! I can’t wait to visit all of you and see what you are up!

March 22, 2011

Brainstorming Beauty in the Bedroom

Welcome back the the Spring Spruce Up! Today, we are going to brainstorm! However, this isn’t a sit down and brainstorm kind of session. This is going to require you to visit other areas of your home and possibly other areas of your world!

Ready?

Here we go!

1.) Go in your bedroom and stand at the door. Answer these questions:

-What is the first thing your eye is attracted to in this room?

-What is your favorite thing about this room?

-What is your least favorite thing about this room?

-What do you think of when you walk in the room?

-Does this room reflect you and/or your husband in any way?

2.) Go to your favorite room in the house. Answer these questions:

-What is the first thing your eye is attracted to in this room?

-What is your favorite thing about this room?

-How does this room make you feel and what is it about this room that makes you feel that way?

-Is there anything in this room that reflects you and/or your husband?

3.) Take a break, grab a paper and pen and do a quick bit of brainstorming based on these questions (and any others that come to mind):

-Your favorite color?

-Your husband’s favorite color?

-Things that make you and/or your husband feel relaxed? Seashore? Trees? Waterfalls? Butterflies? Sunflowers? etc…

-If money was unlimited, what would your bedroom look like? (and please don’t tell me you wouldn’t dare spend a dime on your bedroom because you’d rather spend the money on homeschool curriculum! If you have to, think of this as decorating the parent/teacher conference room. )

4.) “Shop” your house.

Take your list and your head full of ideas, and walk around your home looking for things that fit your vision of a beautiful bedroom space.

The fact that we moved recently helped out tremendously in this area because nothing had a set place and I had a chance to pull out decor I had stashed away because it didn’t quite fit our last home. Therefore, I had a wide array of things to choose from.

5.) Shop your world.

Look online at decorating blogs and websites. Thumb through catalogs, looking at the decor the designers have matched up. Head out to thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, etc. But, STAY FOCUSED. You are creating a space that is cohesive and calming, not a junk shop with a bed in it.

~~~

Here’s how my brainstorming went and a few notes to go along with it…

We rent, so the room color was already chosen for us, but paint is relatively cheap for those of you who think a different color would make your bedroom a more beautiful space. However, I know how hard it is to paint with little ones in tow, so how about choosing a color scheme? Once I built our entire decor (in our entire house!) around our wedding colors–burgundy and forest green (can you say 90′s?). I’ve branched out a bit since then, but my bouquet is still a part of our bedroom decor.

Maybe you should go with a theme. Perhaps you like sunflowers and your husband’s favorite color is green. Take those two and mesh them together. Try not to be obnoxious about it, though. Overdoing a theme will not create a relaxing space. I’ve tried to keep a Teddy Roosevelt-ish theme to our new home. Roosevelt was an avid hunter as is my husband. He was passionate about conservation, as is our family. He had a passel of kids, as do we. When I think of Roosevelt, I think of earth tones and natural decor. I think of an incurable curiosity and a life filled to the brim with living. This translates to our bedroom in the bedding and the buffalo robe, the open windows and the foliage I have chosen to decorate with.

Consider textiles and building materials that appeal to your senses. Do you like wood or wrought iron? Smooth or textured? We are wood people. Natural, unpainted, unadulterated wood. In fact, my ideal bedroom would be in a tree house–think Swiss Family Robinson!

What season do you like most? Maybe it’s spring with it’s eyelet and pastels, or winter with it’s icy blues and glistening silvers. Ty and I are both fans of autumn with its rich earthiness…again, Roosevelt-ish.

You might take note of the fact that my husband is very much a part of the decor. In fact, the centerpiece of our bedroom is a buffalo robe on the bed.

Gals, your husband needs to like this room too! Do not, do not make this room all frills and lace and ignore the fact that your MAN has to sleep there too!

That brings me to the most important part of this brainstorming session:

Who are you?

Who is your husband?

Remember, I said our master bedroom is our world, refined and honed? If you stepped into our bedroom, you would see both Ty and Amy. You would not see a separation of us, as in, this is Amy’s side of the room and this Ty’s side of the room. You would see a mix, a melding, of two lives that are now one.

You would see a corner dedicated to the greatest heartache we have ever had to endure as a married couple.

You would see a lamp in the fashion of a water pump, reminding Ty of his grandfather who dug water wells for a living.

You would see books that speak to my heart and baskets that make me smile.

It is all there…our past, our present, and our future. Together.

So, tell me, who you and your husband are. How have those two lives been melded together? How can you translate this into your bedroom? I’d love to get to know you better, so leave a comment…tell me how you can take this post and make it yours. And if you have a blog, consider writing about your ideas. Remember, there will be a link up on Thursday for you to share what you’ve been doing to spruce up your spaces (and it doesn’t have to be your bedroom!) In fact, here are the links to the other blogs participating in the Spring Spruce Up, so head on over and see what they are up to!

~~~

…and if you need a break from all this sprucing up, check out my post at The Homeschool Classroom on homeschooling gifted children! I promise you CAN do it and do it well!

March 19, 2011

The Spring Spruce Up is Coming!

Mark your calendars! I’ve teamed up with a group of awesome mom-bloggers to bring you inspiration and rejuvenation in your home this Spring. Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

Can’t wait to see you there!

February 21, 2011

Laundry By the Room – New House, New System!

Once upon a time, my laundry room was in my kitchen. I hated it. That is, until I moved and my laundry room was in my basement. I had a terrible time keeping up with the laundry because out of sight-out of mind truly does exist!

This house has the laundry tucked away behind doors in the hallway. Something I always thought would drive me crazy…after all, where in the world would I pile all my loads of laundry???

I knew I would need to totally revamp my old laundry system in order to accommodate my new laundry “room.” Here’s what I came up with:

*Each room has a laundry basket. There is a small one in the girls’ room, a medium one in the boys’ room, and a large one in mommy and daddy’s room. Three total. All placed where I can quickly walk by the room and tell, at a glance, if that room needs laundry done up.

*Laundry is washed by room “as needed.” Originally, I thought I would have a schedule that went something like this:

Monday = Mom & Dad
Tuesday = Boys
Wednesday = Girls
Thursday = Sheets/Towels
Friday = Any extras

However, I quickly realized there was no way this was going to work. It worked much better to do the laundry “as needed.” I also love this system because I know I only have to do the amount of laundry in that particular basket. It is NEVER over 3 loads. I cannot even remember the last time I ONLY had to do 3 loads (confession: even though I had more than 3 loads to do, I rarely got more than 2 loads done in a single day…again, out of sight, out of mind)

*The same laundry basket is used for dirty and for clean. Yes, I know I just grossed a few of you out, but here’s why I can get by with this…I keep anti-bacterial spray and paper towels on the laundry room shelf! Once I’ve sorted the laundry out of the basket and onto the hallway floor, I give the basket a quick spray and wipe it out. It’s ready to go once the first load comes out of the dryer!

*The dryer buzzer is my friend. When the laundry was in the basement, I could not hear the dryer buzzer. Now I can! What a difference that makes! Clothes are taken out immediately, folded (or hung up because all the closets are nearby), and put into the basket and into the right room.

*The children put away their own clothes. Blake (age 12) is in charge of the boys’ clothes and Megan (age 10) is in charge of the girls’. The younger siblings help, but ultimately the putting away of the laundry is their responsibility. Micah (age 2) has his hanging clothes in my walk-in closet, and Garin (age 5 months) has all his clothes in my closet. Blake is responsible for putting these away as well.

And the process starts all over again…

This is very different from my shelf and basket system, but the more we settle into this house, the more acutely aware I am of how very different homes can be and how you must adjust accordingly. And honestly, it has been kind of fun to revamp our lives!

{And since we are talking laundry, let me point you in the direction of an awesome blog for all things laundry from a dear friend of mine…Lauren at Mama’s Laundry Talk. She has a post on different methods of sorting laundry, and also WHY you should organize your laundry room – just in case you needed some motivation! I know I’ve mentioned Mama’s Laundry Talk before, but it deserved being mentioned again because the laundry and the laundry room itself are often difficult for us moms, and Lauren’s posts are just the kind of energy shot we need to stay on top of Mount Washmore! }