A place for homework

It's been a while since I rearranged furniture! Today, I moved the Expedit shelves and black dresser to make room for a desk for the boys. Now I have to find a desk that works. I temporarily used the two long sides of a bookshelf on top of two Lack side tables. I like it but it's too low. I might keep the planks and find a couple of filing cabinets to go underneath.  I have a yellow and a white stokke chair to put with it.

ps yes I walked into those floating paper-mache balloons at least 1,000 times

Art wall

It took a while to complete the art wall, because, you see that giant truck painting in the middle, at the bottom, blue truck? Well, I lost it. Yes - missing! I looked where I thought it should be, then I looked in a million places it might be, looked where it should be at least ten more times (in case it suddenly appeared) and then looked in a ton of places it couldn't possibly fit, but at that point I was going crazy. How could a large framed picture go missing?  Finally, I gave up, thinking it would appear, and a few weeks went by before it did. Where? Behind the large mirror in my living room - the mirror that leans against the wall. Oh, I am sooo organized! Ha!

Anyways, I love this group of prints and pictures! It took me a while to get a layout I liked.

My dear Natalie has asked me to do a post about art stuff, here's what I know:

Q. Where do you get your art?
A. Most of our stuff is from second hand shops (Goodwill, rummage sales, Craigslist, Kijiji, ebay, consignment store). A few pieces on the main floor are from galleries and two are directly from the artist. I also frame homemade art.

Q. How do you find art?
A. If I am at a thrift store, and my heart starts beating a little faster, I find myself a little paranoid - giving other shoppers the side eye if they come too close: that's when I know I love it! Or it is super cheap...whatever! Same rules apply online. I get this overwhelming urge to own something...then I weigh the price (including framing costs!) and think about space. 

Q. Any advice?  
A. Everyone has their own taste in art. Figure out what you are in love with and listen to you! Sky is the limit in terms of spending money on pictures. You will love something that is $5,000 but I guarantee there are things under $50 that you will equally cherish. Stay firm to your budget, always bargain. Don't rush it.

Q. How do you make sure you don't pay too much?
A. If I am at a thrift store, the price is usually under $20, no sweat! Craigslist and Kijiji sellers are willing to negotiate, and I do. Before I contact them, I look for similar items by the same artist online. I ask the seller when and where they bought it. I ask them how much they paid. I ask them why they are pricing it for $$. I am not shy. I am always willing to walk away if it is over my budget (arbitrary number - my budget doesn't relate to the art's value)  because there will be another picture. I don't care how perfect you think it is for your house, trust me when I say there will be another picture that fits your budget! Also, if the print is in a beautiful frame, that is 'saving' you $100 (approx) so keep that in mind when you are talking yourself into something!!
 


Here are the stories:

 1. I won this water colour in a giveaway on Designwali. I had it framed at a local framer.
 2. This print came framed, from Goodwill. The frame was blue and I painted it white. It used to hang in the boys nursery, on their bookshelves.
3. This paper collage was part of several pieces of art I bought from a collector I met through Craigslist. It was thrown in as a sweetener to the deal.
4. I brought this print home from London, UK. I found it at a thrift store. It fit in a ribba frame.
5. My oldest son painted this at a birthday party.
6. This print was going around the blogs in 2009 or 2010 when I first started paying attention to blogs. Early on I was swept up in the whole, "I want everything they have!" feeling. I still love this NYC poster. It used to hang in the boys nursery.
7. A small painting, my older son's first (I think), framed at a local framer.
8. I sent my parents out to St. Catherine's to pick up this print. I found it on Kijiji. It came framed.  It was from an older gentleman. It was a wedding present.
9. A small bunny bum (bunny jumping into the bushes) in a professional frame. I bought it as is, from Goodwill.
10. Naked Chickens!! This is a pencil crayon drawing I made in highschool. Still makes me so happy! Professionally framed.
11. Dinos...came as is, from Goodwill.
12. Someone's highschool art project, picked up at a church rummage sale.
13. Flashy, chunky painting. From 400 market in Barrie
14. My older son painted this a year or so ago.
15. City scene, from Goodwill. Off the shelf frame.
16. A page from an abstract art book, in a ribba frame.
17. DIY, potato stamping. Back when forest friends where a thing. Twee!


ps. Wouldn't the Barker Fairley print (previous post) fit into this room?
pps. I would like to add a cozy spot to curl up reading. Floor cushions, or a love seat, or comfy chair...
ppps. If I've done a similar post before, please forgive me. I know I have thought about writing something similar many times! My memory is pretty much wiped out. I started sprinkling lavender on my linens to maybe get to that deeper sleep.

Toy Room

Here is one big ugly dinged up blank wall!

The 3M poster tape that was holding the truck photos worked fine on my plaster walls, but tore up the drywall. We have, like, one drywall wall in the house, and of course...

So what to do here? My first thought was to hang the fun art*! 

Then, I thought, since I have to paint the wall anyways, why not base coat it with magnetic paint? One giant magnet wall!**  That way, we have yet another display space for the bins full of artwork that is produced by my children! Plus, no wall damage!

Oh man, another idea just flashed through my head...a wall of skinny bookshelves to put books facing out on. Like book rails. You know?

Or wait a second!!!! I have more art around the house, a floor to ceiling gallery wall - THAT COULD WORK...that's the easiest of all the options (in a way) because it only requires more holes, and I don't have to buy anything new! Super excited now!  Where is my hammer????

*I think art needs to have something below it.
**I have no idea how much that would cost, so I might have to revise this plan into reality

ps. Time to take down the clothesline! I loved that thing!


UPDATE: Gallery walls are evil tricks you play on yourself. Next time I say I am going to hang art floor to ceiling, no biggies, shake me and talk me out of it. I am leaving it like this and I will come back to look at it after the trip:

TOO BOXY!

 Just one more...

Toys live here

We have a lot of toys (and books and puzzles). We have a very generous family + I can't stop buying them = lethal. We give away a load every year, sometimes twice a year, so I don't feel that guilty...still, it's a lot of stuff.


This morning I cleaned up the closets and the toy room (or the "Toys Room" as my little one calls it). I am feeling pretty darn good right now! So much accomplished!


Next: Move truck photos and pretty up the office.

Clothes line in the boys room

A while back I put up a clothes line in the boys room to create a tent for my older son.  Eventually he grew tired of the tent, but I never took down the line.

I started using the clothes line to air the blankets in the morning. Now I want a clothes line in every bedroom. Is this a thing? It should be a thing. Can you imagine if I strung one up in my new master? Hmmm...probably not a sophisticated look.

ps. the brown leather chair was moved in here while we renovate. Oh, and sleeping side by side is their thing now...

Free souvenirs (A truck update, or truck-date)

We took some truck photos while we were away - trucks and buses and cabs and trains...
The walls are filling up!


ps. The quilts are Nautica Chatham quilts from Bed Bath and Beyond. I've washed them a million times and they are holding up well - so far. The sheets are Pottery Barn Kids. The Triangle afghan is from Etsy.
pps. Do you decorate your kids room? Or just pick the bedding and give them the space to do their thing?
ppps. SCOTCH POSTER TAPE rocks

We did it for the trucks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"whatcha doing mum?"
"taking pictures of your bedroom."
"to show gramma and grampa?"
"yup."
"to show everybody in the WHOLE WORLD?"
"yup." 

We had a pile of at least 40 new truck photos (including Toronto Zoo trucks!), and we needed to make space...so we reorganized the furniture. 

ps. before.
Before works better with this carpet, since the carpet is rather narrow.  Notice the room doesn't have a closet (we stole it to make a master bedroom walk in closet.)  If we were to build a new closet, it would go where the dressers are now (Where the bed used to be.)  There is enough space for a queen size bed centred under the felt board, even if we took floor space away....We aren't going to do a closet until we have teenagers, so... no rush.  This fall, I am going to turn the nursery into a joint bedroom for the boys, probably around November, when my little one turns two. Then the bed comes out of this room, and the toys move back in! 

The photo wall keeps growing!

The wall of truck photos in my son's bedroom has exploded now that my 4 year old is the one taking the pictures. He uses my iphone. It makes going to fetch some groceries or the walk to Starbucks more interesting for him. It also prevents me from zoning out, checking my emails or texting as I push them around in the stroller. 

I just printed another 33 pictures for him the other night. THIRTY THREE!  And all of them are his favorites!  We have a bit of space left for more...

Apple - Tree...substitute pyrex (or books, or milk glass) for trucks, and what do you have?

120 trucks on the wall

We stuck 40 additional truck photos to our collage above my son's bed. He is LOVING this project!  Good thing too, since I am a little obsessed*

We have 120 photos - no duplicates. I want to add two more rows of 12 along the top - and turn it into a square.  I mean, two rows...that's only 24 more - no biggie!

When do I stop?

If you are thought, "Keep going until the wall is full!" or even, "Keep going as long as you are having fun!", then you are my people!


*On my walk today, I saw a ton of great trucks but I couldn't get my iphone out fast enough: Woah - what was that? Was that a Canadian Tire van with cartoon vehicles painted on the side? Where's my phone...patting my coat pockets...Ok, shoot - gloves...bite one off - tap, come on...tap, red light, red light...tap...Ahhh it's on video....are you kidding me? I should just walk around with my phone in my hand...but it's freezing out! My giant hood is blocking me. I can't see them coming. Ok, this is crazy, let's just get to my appointment and worry about trucks later...I put my phone back into my pocket...  Woah...what was that?

Wouldn't it be great if...

...toys put themselves away?

Under the bed storage bins

When this room was a guest room, we used these bins from Walmart under the queen bed. I never thought they would fit under a twin bed.  I didn't bother to try it out...until now!

Extra toy storage!!!

I may or may not have done a happy dance*...

*free! and these bins have been in my way for months!

80 Truck photos on the wall

We added 32 new truck photos to my son's wall. My son placed all of the photos himself!   When it came to lining them up in a grid, he was a mini perfectionist - already!

Over the last three years I've learned a ton about our camera and composing a photo. I am satisfied with my photos most of the time. The frustration I felt when I was learning has subsided. All I photograph is my house and kids, so I still have quite a bit of room for growth...

Now I need to learn how to process and develop photos.  I have only the faintest idea of what is wrong, and how to correct it.  I just know I don't like what I see.  However, developing prints is a more expensive hobby than taking photos.  Plus, I am not sure I've learned anything printing 80 photos.  Time to hit the books (or the nets)
 

Anyways, here is the cost breakdown for this little fun!
- 4x6 photos developed at Black's Photography.  About $20
- using double sided poster tape from Staples.  Two rolls, About $7 each   (I only used the new roll of tape for two photos, so I might have squeezed them out of one roll)

A colour explosion

 

 

 

 

 

My son's room
Storage, yes! Cozy, yes! Toys, yes! Books, yes! Space to play, yes!

Is it done? No!

We will add more photos to the wall to make wallpaper (48 truck photos so far)...the toys change, the books change, the felt board changes...always more art for display. This room is constantly in motion!

Colour!!  KA-POW!   
(Before shots)


Sources:
- Same wall colour as the rest of the house, para paint silver fox P2238-4
- Grey curtains were originally bought for the guest room, Silk Grommet Window Panel, West Elm
- Circle garland made for his first birthday party
- Carpet was previously in the master bedroom, Dash and Albert, Tattersall Navy/Beige
- Ikea Malm 4-drawer chest and Ikea Expedit Shelving unit
- Duvet from Goodwill (new in package)
- Bed frame from Craigslist
- Front facing bookshelves made by Kerry's dad 
- Tulip Chair from Craigslist
- Plaid throw from Iberia airlines 1990-something (on tulip chair)
- Blue Throw made by mom
- Car tins from Paris
- Red Stripe Pillows