Big Girl Design: The Beginning

If you know me at all, you know that I'm slightly obsessed with a few things: sci-fi television, Harry Potter, and interior design. I'll let you guess what this blog is about.

Tim and I finally came to an agreement on the big girl beds for Lillie and Dani. Check them out here. For me, the plan is to begin with the beds and leave the rest of the room (mostly) as is. Over the next year or so, I will transform (pardon me for imagining the word "transform" being said in some big booming voice with an echo effect) the baby/toddler room into a big girl room that will hopefully stay that way through their tween years.

The only solid plan is the wall color. It's currently a nice neutral (Vanilla Brandy from Olympic), so I plan to keep them that color. Bright accents with a neutral background are far more appealing than bright walls that could be outgrown faster.

Most of the other design elements are just ideas I have brewing, so I thought I would start sharing because there are soooo many. I also happen to have two little girls who are a bit opinionated when it comes to their room decor, so I'm allowing them to put in their two cents (four cents?) as well.

Already bought the bedding (green for D and purple for L).

I love these blankets and plan to do something similar in coordinating colors for each of them.

Both Dani and Lillie fell in love with this cat pattern fabric. I'm thinking pillow cases or throw pillows for their beds. It's cute, but I couldn't take it in large doses. :D

Fabric or Paint? A Question of DIY

To upholster or not is really the question I'm asking here. A few months back, Tim & I took apart the girls cribs-turned-toddler beds because Dani had taken to sleeping on the floor. They've been sleeping on their mattresses on the floors with success (save the occasional room destruction that results in overturned mattresses).

Since the transition from bed to floor, I've been thinking about their big girl beds. Bunks beds were a big consideration, and then my mind turned to loft beds because they could both have a top bunk and room to play underneath. Then my brain started churning again, and I decided that loft beds weren't something that would last. Around 10 or 11, they would want something a little more grown up, and there I am rethinking beds again. Finally, my brain settled on upholstering beds for the girls. I pinned an awesome tutorial from a blog called All Things Campbell. I priced out the project and even have a swatch of the chosen fabric pinned (literally, not digitally) to my bulletin board.

And then my brain started up again. (Can someone make it stop doing that all the time?)

Do I really want to upholster beds for the girls? It's a large project that needs quite a bit of space. It's rather involved and something with which they can't help very much. I also feel that I don't have the extra time to make it as great as I want. Then, of course, Pinterest reared its massively addictive head again, and I once again fell in love with beds like this bright happy yellow one (which is actually from a 2 year-old's bedroom):

source: Project Nursery

And this lovely navy one:

source: Ethan Allen

And this bright red one (I think Tim's love of WKU would make this one a hit.):

source: Jessica Helgerson via Design Sponge 

Of course, the upholstered look is something that could still happen. I still love the look of twin beds with cushy fabric. Here are a couple so it doesn't seem like I'm completely one-sided. 

source: Little Green Notebook

source: Domino Magazine

source: Bear Hill Interiors via Cococozy

So... What do you think? Paint or fabric? Weigh in!

My Sleepy Secret

I want to take a moment to sing the praises of Zarbee's products. If you haven't tried them, I very much recommend them. A friend of mine introduced me to their cough syrup, which I love. The girls don't hate the flavor and it helped suppress nasty allergy cough that made them aggravated. I got the nighttime cough for nights, and it helps them get to sleep.

Recently I discovered their sleep aid which is awesome.  When I don't need a cough syrup but the girls are still extremely restless, this is what I go for. You can call me lazy if you want, but I call it my helping hand.

Some nights, the girls are so overly tired they just bounce of walls, their beds, and each other. If I give them a sleep tablet, read a couple of stories, and sing some songs, they are usually settled enough to fall asleep within 30 minutes. This week, Lillie got eaten up by mosquitos and couldn't get to sleep because she was itching so much. I rubbed anti-itch cream on her legs, still nothing. Finally, I covered her in shea butter, gave her a tablet, and cuddled until she fell asleep. Again, it only took about half an hour. Plus she slept through the night which has been so rare lately.

So, if you're like me, and you have some nights where you just can't figure out anything else to do, try this stuff. It's wonderful. The cough syrups are great too, especially since there are very few cough remedies for children under six on the market any longer.