Living

Ainslea’s first birthday bash was full of whimsy with hints of Spring. We kept things simple by having a family get together, serving a buffet lunch, mimosas and of course, birthday cake! I made/collected all of the decorations myself and actually reused a lot of items that we had in our home already, or had used for other occasions (like our wedding!). Ainslea’s nursery is decorated with tones of peach and ivory, so we stuck with that theme for her party and added some flair with touches of gold.

This little nursery was created with the Montessori philosophy and a rainbow of color. This room features a floor bed, mirror balance beam which both take part in the Montessori theme.

I created this tassel garland with old brown paper bags and sales ads. My ornament tree is made from an old standing paper towel rack. My ornament tree is made from a reused apple cider bottle and  branches from my backyard. My blog post has the details and more photos: http://nitenitemommy.blogspot.com/2012/12/diy-holiday-mantle-reveal.html

We have always liked to come up with new and creative ways to decorate with wall decals that will give diy enthusiasts or anyone decorating on a budget affordable, yet still stylish and fresh design solutions. One project we had not yet tried was applying decals to the back of a shelf and on the surface of a shelf so we decided to give it a try. We chose the “Flora Stripes” removable, reusable decal design from Wallforalldecals.com b/c of its easy to apply and we wanted to brighten up this dark shelf and make the pattern create a fresh & bright new look!

Do you recall the chalkboard playroom walls from the other week? Well here’s a real family enjoying them! I recently exchanged emails with one of the fabulous “Material Girls Blog” Designers, Jill Seidner and she kindly shared a fun, chalkboard inspired playroom she designed for a Los Angeles family. When the Coleite Family hired me, they’d just purchased a new home in Los Feliz. Given the house had a large great room, they opted to convert the living room to a playroom. It was actually a good choice as the two main entrances to the room can be closed off by double doors. We painted, mixed in their existing furnishings, turned book cases into storage for toys, added the Flor carpet tiles, the chalkboard paint is always a fun touch, and voila: the formal living room became a great big playroom! It works for them & gets a ton of use – probably more usage then most people’s living rooms ever do! – Jill Seidner Client: Coleite Family Age: 2 girls, ages 4 & 1