The first is our little man's room - the one we bought him home to for the very first time. It never was totally finished, there was more than one artwork that never made it on the wall (you can't tell someone before they have kids what won't happen as easily after),
but it was cosy and fresh and we chose it (well most of it).
I needed a colour scheme that was gender neutral but that could be made to suit a boy or girl later. As I am never keen on beige or pastels I chose a favourite complementary colour scheme - red/orange and blue/green (OK then - red and aqua). I think these colours are great for a boy or girl and can be developed later by adding, for example, spots and florals for a girl or stripes for a boy.
I also wanted something a little more layered so made it a double complementary by adding a bit of true red and green
(it's subtle really).
This was ideal because throughout the pregnancy I became increasingly obsessed with and addicted to apples.
No I didn't do a Gwyneth, but almost, I looked at foreign translations so technically if I had a girl she would only have been considered a nice accompaniment to pork in Hungary. Needless to say I don't have a piece of fruit in the family nor did I add any florals - just a few stripes.
The walls were the starting point, because while I was desperate to get rid of the blue carpet we were renting so I had to cover it as best I could with a nice big neutral rug. A few sample pots of too green, too blue, too pale and I found a porridge, sorry paint, that was just right. Dulux's Sea Foam Half (Quarter was just too wishy washy for me).
As for the other pieces they sort of came together through what we already had and a few baby specific new purchases.
The deco mini wardrobe was Craig's and we had it in storage. His dad sanded back the veneer and oiled it for us which cleaned it up and it now looks great. We call this the granddad cupboard because it was also missing handles and by chance my Dad had found some bakelite and metal handles at a garage sale which he bought for me because of my love for all things Deco (he was unaware
that I actually needed them until after). They fit beautifully - so now we have the Granddad cupboard contributed to by both of them with love.
The grandma's got in on the act too. My mum knitted the rug on the red chair from the colours I chose. The child's cane chair was Craig's as a child (now home for the teddy's) and was generously handed to us by his Mum as well as a mobile she bought on a
trip to Portugal (not pictured).
The drawers were a plain pine set we had in storage. We painted them white and the handles red but when we finished it screamed at us and the rest of the room. My very creative and lovely man suggested we use the sample pots we had acquired and the mutlicoloured tonal fronts were born.
The red chair was a single stolen from our then couch, one of two retro couches we owned at the time - I love it because it's red but mostly because I have fed my baby in it every night since he came home.
The lamp came from our loungeroom, a small vintage bookcase (not pictured) from the side of the road.
I had collected the vintage suitcases over time and all the other little nic nacs as well. Including the green, red and white letters, somehow what I needed I had or found. The joy of being a collector I suppose (insert hoarder here if you choose).
While a lot of the art pieces I had chosen never made it up on the walls (gift cards and images from vintage children's books I wanted to frame) the apples did (of course). They are in fact wrapping paper from Kikki K in a frame I already had just that size.
Some curtains for softness and a round white paper pendant and we were done.
All in all I loved this room - it was a place just for our little boy that he shared with us as well.
His current room has some of these things but it is temporary (it will become the bathroom hopefully) so hasn't had the full treatment. Not to worry I am already thinking of his next - a woodlands theme to go with his love of nature and being outdoors - it will be great to do a room exactly for him now that I know him - I can't wait.
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