Charlie's Bedroom Project ~ The Result of My "Pinter-Nesting" Pregnancy

There are many reasons why there isn't a "DIY" tab up there in the drop down menu. With a family of 6 boys, most of my DIY expertise lies in patching holes in walls and rearranging furniture into odd patterns in order to cover carpet stains, and I don't think you really want to read about those home repair 101 projects, am I right?

Every once in a while, however, I get really brave and decide to actually do something new with our abode.  This usually happens when I'm pregnant and the itty-bitty part of my brain that houses the reason function isn't functioning. Most of you know that I was a tad bit overdue with Joseph (if you're new here and need a little more drama in your life, here ya go.) Anyway, I was in a little bit of what I like to call a "Pinter-nesting" phase during the last couple months of pregnancy.

Pinter-nesting happens when you can't sleep at night so you browse Pinterest for approximately three hours and then try to conquer all of the organizing, baking, gardening, and painting tips that you pinned the next day on 4 hours of sleep and one single solitary cup of coffee. It's like nesting x1,000.  And, if it weren't for my contractions being 2 minutes apart, it may have been the reason why I almost asked my husband to hit the Starbucks drive-through on the way to the hospital.

For the most part, Pinter-nesting is dumb. Please don't do it.  If you are pregnant, stay away from Pinterest.  Everything I organized is now unorganized, everything I baked has been consumed, and the garden is currently buried somewhere beneath a canopy of weeds and webs of unidentifiable insects.

But, as for the painting? Well, that's the one and only fruit of my Pinter-nesting ambitions.

After browsing page after page of kids' room ideas, I "accidentally" discovered  a lil' inspiration on this website which motivated me to break out of the beige box and trick out some stripes on the walls of Charlie's and Joseph's room. Thanks to our sweet friend, Elena, who also happens to be a crafty sort of gal, and who also fell in love with Charlie this summer (who can resist that boy?), we made this happen:

I wish I had a before picture of Charlie's room, and some pics of the painting process, too.  Just imagine 4 light-light-light tan walls and the usual ruins of a toddler room.  Then, picture a very rotund moi, and a very fit Elena, doing step aerobics up and down the ladder taping and painting, taping and painting while the children sat quietly watching in awe *grin*.

Do you want to know how I chose the colors for the stripes? Well, I'm gonna tell ya.  It all started right here:

My younger brother, Scott's wife, Stephanie, sews the most amazing quilts.  Seriously, she should have an Etsy shop, because she is crazy talented.  I can sew on a button and that is where the glory of my handiwork ends, so to me, this quilt is a true masterpiece!  I love the colors so much, and thought that the brown, orange and blues would be the perfect palette to create a striped pattern for the walls.

After painting, it was time to accessorize....on the cheap.

After scanning Craigslist day after day for a rocking chair that I could re-paint or add a slip-cover to, I wasn't able to find anything that quite fit the bill.  So, I decided to give myself permission to step it up a notch and purchase something new, yet reasonably priced (feeding #6 at 2:00 a.m. makes you feel free like that).

I snagged this glider from Target during their online furniture sale last spring.  It's really comfortable and, with it's neutral color, will make a nice addition to any room after the baby-rockin' days are over (which could be never - just sayin').

Since I wanted to maintain the stripes as the focal point of the room, I kept the wall decor to a minimum. Elena and I dashed into Kirkland's one day and found this fun mirror on sale.  For $19 bucks and some change, it works perfectly over the crib!

With two beds, a rocker and a dresser already squeezed into this room, there was little space left for bookshelves.  And, for our family, books are a necessity in every room! In my search for a solution to the space issue, I discovered this genius idea (guess where) to use spice racks from Ikea to create a collage of bookshelves on the wall. 

The shelves were super-easy to assemble, paint, and mount to the wall.  And, at just $3.99 per shelf they were a great bargain (I used a coupon code from RetailMeNot.com and saved 20% off my order)!

Since Charlie loves Winnie the Pooh, I thought it would be sweet to incorporate his affection for the character somewhere in his room. This Etsy shop had several quotes with really cute fonts, and I thought this one was really sweet. Application to the wall was super-simple and I think it turned out super-cute!

Nothing makes a room feel more special than a piece of original artwork....or two!  A few summers ago, my sister's husband, Johannes, painted the clown pilot for the boys.  Then, he surprised us with a second clown painting (above the lamp) in honor of Joseph's baptism.

Both pieces a so joyful and work perfectly in the boys' room. They are such a special reminder of the gifts and generosity of family. You can view (and purchase!) more of Johannes' artwork here.

Charlie asks me every night when I tuck him in, "Mama, did you paint this room just for me?"

Sometimes I wonder if he'll look back on these photos and ask, "What in the world possessed you to paint those crazy stripes on my wall, Mom?"  Will it be a mauve and teal floral kind of moment, only in stripe form?? Oh, well, if it is, I can always point my finger at Pinterest.

Links to The Goods:

(Using coupon codes from RetailMeNot.com for most of the items listed helped me save a bundle!)

PAINT: Sherwin Williams

Loch Blue

Stream

Knockout Orange

Brevity Brown

(Opposite walls are Steam Beige from Valspar)

MIRROR: Kirklands

SHELVES: Spice Racks from Ikea

CHARLIE'S BEDDING: Macy's and Overstock.com

GLIDER CHAIR: Target.com

ARTWORK: Johannes Schumacher

WALLWORDS: Mulberry Creek on Etsy