Little E's Room

I have had many projects brewing and in between them all I have been chipping away at Little E's bedroom.  My latest accomplishment-a desk.

As you saw in this post, my girl just turned five and she is learning to write and read, and is constantly drawing, sketching and doodling, so this called for a desk.  Her room is already full as it is, she has a tall dresser chest, a day bed, a dollhouse atop rolling toy storage and a bookshelf.  We really only had room for a "surface" to serve as a desk, however, didn't mean it had to be basic or lacking character.  I don't always immediately go to IKEA for solutions, in fact I try to avoid it, but in the case of a good hack job, I am all in. I didn't find anything desk-like and narrow, until I found the MALM dressing table.  This table has only been hacked 100,000 times, I know, but I usually see it being used as a make-up or like the title says, a dressing table.  Here, I had plans to use it as a desk. It's very stable with its large end legs and it had a glass top which is fantastic for wiping any kind of mess, I was also ecstatic it had a drawer, but most importantly, it fit perfectly in front of her window.

I was happy to be the MALM Dressing table hack No.  100,001.    Once I picked up the table, my first stop was of course with Donna Stoddard of Fretworks Designs!  I have used Donna's overlay products twice before, once in my Powder Bath remodel and again my Hall Bath Remodel.   Fretworks Designs has some beautiful designs and lucky for me had the perfect one from her Millwork Series as found here.  Fretwork Design's Millwork Series has designs that can be customized at any size (2 inch minimum) and can even increase in size to fit a wainscoting scale.  I didn't have to cut a thing, I ordered my custom size and once I received it, I just lightly sanded the fibers away, primed and painted it to match my table.  Take a look at Fretwork's Gallery page for ideas and inspiration, you can cover mirrors, inlay inside of window moulding to add interest, or reface a dated old cabinet like I did in my bathrooms.  The hardest part will be deciding on a design.  

Eden's room is close to being finished (we're so close!), but know that even though I am sharing photos now, there are a few odds and ends on the radar.   I want to make a duvet cover (the same out of her dotted pink pillow and lampshade), repaint the antique bamboo chair I picked up at a vintage shop a year ago (a major win at $75 and the seat is made out of deerskin in the perfect pear green-I mean, what luck!).   It's looking pretty shabby with all the chips, but I am at the mercy of painting weather which is coming up.

I also added some art, a Michel Smith watercolor print that lived in my room as a girl, which was a special addition thanks to my parents who hauled it out a few years ago. I wall papered the back of the bookshelf it sits on for some added depth.

Her night table was also an inexpensive flea item, I think I paid $15 for this spindle legged table and gave it a good sanding and an aqua lacquered coat of paint.  I added a little Target sourced cotton basket for her stuffed friends to reside.  I made a kitschy garland out of packaging string and miscellanous fabrics;  I just ripped them, tied them on the string and then strung in front of her framed silouette which is in a crisp pear green. I took a profile photo of her when she was three and removed the background with a basic word computer editing tool and literally used it as a pattern and cut it out with a scissors and then smoothed the card stock edges with a nail file.  Yes, I sanded the cardstock with a nail file and it worked.  It made is all smooth!  The rug was grandfathered in from her baby room, I still love it, it is from Dwell Studio and since it is wool it is soft and brilliantly resists soiling.   The wall color is called Noble Blush by Valspar, it is a barely there white pink and it is the most beautiful color.  It's airy and soft and not an annoying pink....nothing shocking about it.

I designed her pillows myself and had my seamstress (Heather of Handcrafted Happiness) whip them up.  We love a good pom pom, so there's a reoccurrance of those in the room.  

The stool I reupholstered myself in a chevron pattern from Premier Prints and painted the feet with Martha Stewart's brass liquid gilding paint (Have you used this stuff? it's incredible!) to appear as though it had capped brass feet.  An entire blog entry could be dedicated to this product, I have used it everywhere (gold, antique brass, silver, bronze and copper) no messy leafing required and dries instantly! You can change hinge colors, (check) change nailhead finish (check) frames (check) spruce up coroded finishes on light fixtures (check) change little knobs finish on my jewelry box (check) change the frame to antique gold (check), heck why not change a starfish from white to brass (Yep, did that too).   I have done it all!  

What would an IKEA hack be without a little added character?  I had been looking for an excuse to buy these adorable knobs from Anthropologie and they add just enough charm (they are now available in a chartreuse which is new and fun).  The window treatment (way back from this post) earned some curtains.  The desk paired with the curtains errs on the side of traditional, so UO's gumball lamp was in order to offset that vibe. It's mod, it's reflective therefore it contrasts and grabs your attention. It works!  If you are in love with this lamp as much as we are, I hate to tell you it is sold out, but have hope, it returns in stock often so be to sure to check back!

The little print beside the bed was a free printable via this blog-I thought it was adorable and loved the message since I was a horrible worrier when I was little.  Oh and did I mention it is free?!!

I hope you liked the post today; if you have any questions, feel free to ask and if you would like help creating a room for your "little" by all means contact me here!

XO

Kari

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