Little JCrew's Room

The boys are currently sharing Little JCrew's bedroom as both of theirs. At the townhouse, all four of us shared one bedroom. And when we moved, we all slept in the master bedroom for a while as the boys got use to the new house. They started napping in the rooms upstairs and eventually moved upstairs for nighttime as well.

At the old house, Little JCrew had twin beds.

I sold the twin bed setup, as I knew I could build another one, but I ended up changing the set up. I found these iron beds that I loved.

The small desk is one from my childhood. I think it was my sister's. I am using it as a nightstand for both beds.

The chair is one my mom found antiquing. It had some black leather in poor shape on the seat, and she replaced it last summer with a ticking fabric. I really like the back of it and the color of the wood. I didn't want to change that part at all.

And I recreated my lampshades and gave each boy a lamp on the desk. The boys love it and use them as they read.

The original lamp with shade is in the bathroom.

Little JCrew's room stayed with the nautical theme. There are all things boat related.

And I threw in the turtle shell. It's a sea turtle!

My dollhouse is currently in their room. The boys just have it on display as I really don't have a space for it yet, but I find superheros using the house all the time.


The curtains in the room came from JC Penney. I wasn't sure what kind of treatments I wanted, but once I tried these in there, I got them for all the bedrooms upstairs. They darken the room and go well with any decor. I did have to sew panels together to make them wide enough for the windows. This being the only window covering, I needed them to be wide enough.

And I continued my theme of no door to the bathroom upstairs! I wanted to make the bathroom a fun extension of the bedroom you could see without a door being in the way. I really love the green cabinets!

The room started out with the one painting  until I came across something that would work over their beds.

I thought of doing two different things, but yet make them the same, but when I came across these whale cutouts, having two of the same thing was okay.

The only thing I have tossed around is the idea to add a rug. Sounds silly to add a rug onto carpet, but I think it would tie the two beds together. Thinking of a blue rug like the one I am eyeing for the Dining Room.

I think I can say this space is finally done. It is our hangout room at night as we read our books and give hugs and kisses.

A Little Less Clutter

When I repainted Little JCrew's room, I had the opportunity to patch some holes and paint over them. I wish I would have, but I didn't see a need at the time. I put everything back on the wall in its original place.

The room originally had very little on the walls.

Over time, I added small things.

I had/have a  problem with blank space. I have the urge to fill it.

I took down a lot of things on the wall, patches the holes and painted over it. You won't believe the difference it makes.

The walls feel taller.

The walls feel wider.

The room just feels as large are it really is.

I am now learning to appreciate blank space. It lets your mind wonder.

It makes me love the new color even more.

Things have been a little busier than normal around here, so I slowed down "talking" to all of you. I'm very excited about this week. I've been keeping a secret will not be a secret after today. I hope you have a very wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to count your blessings. It's easy to find something to complain about, but remember what gives you joy. I could not spend a day without my family. They are all I have ever wanted.

Give Thanks!

An Old Crib Bumper

When I’ve put together the nursery for both of my boys, I never picked out nursery sets. I knew I wouldn’t use the quilt that comes with it and I liked the idea of mixing and matching.

With Little JCrew’s room, I bought the crib bumper to match the comforters on the twin beds. That way they all tied together. I fell in love with that bumper.

When he started getting mobile, Mr. JCrew walked in on the babe sleeping and his face smooshed into the bumper. This scared Mr. JCrew so we removed the bumper. We then switched to a breathable bumper after Little JCrew got his foot stuck.

That has since come down because it was such a pain during sheet changes.

We tried selling the crib bumper in two consignment sales with no luck. I had it priced really cheap, too. I guess most people are going to the breathable bumpers now.

Instead of wasting the bumper, my mom gave herself something to do. She made pillows out of the bumper!

She even tacked on the label.

Sorry, Pottery Barn doesn’t make these custom matching pillows!

I think they go great with the beds. Mom used the stuffing from the bumper to fill the pillows.  

Actually, these pillows are pillows she had on hand, but mom made more pillows from another bumper and used the bumper stuffing to full those pillows.

This bumper is also Pottery Barn and we bought it at a consignment sale. 

It came in a set and we wanted the quilt out of the set (go figure!) The quilt was for the toddler bed at Mimi and Poppi’s house.

Now it has a matching pillow. The other pillow is at my house.

Little JCrew immediately saw the balls and said, “Ball.”

Thanks, Mom! I love my custom pillows!

Little JCrew's New Hue

Little JCrew’s room was painted a month after we moved into the house.

It was Ralph Lauren’s ‘Raffia’ and was a soft yellow color. I thought it was a good neutral for a girl or boy bedroom.

The color was prettiest in natural light. So, 4PM was the only time of day it was prettiest.

It was such a hard room to photograph. When I wanted to capture Little JCrew moments, the room looked gold.

I don’t mind painting, but my mom and Mr. JCrew like to give me a hard time about it. I’m a picky color person, and his room just didn’t feel right. Breaking the news that I wanted to paint would cause the snickers to begin.

I went into research mode. I wanted a color that looked good with bad lighting. Little JCrew’s room only has one window on the West side of the house. Most of the time, the blackout curtain is pulled, so lightbulbs are the primary source of light.

I was leaning towards a gray. I found this picture of Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl.

In the picture, you could see it was dark outside, so you knew what the paint color looked like under fake lights. I thought it was fine.

I got the Gray Owl and painted his room.

Looked blue to me.

I skipped a step in the process. I never held up the swatch to my current trim color swatch. If I had, I would have realized this gray was too cool for my house.

I still like the color, but it was not my vision.

I was so mad at myself. Before I picked Gray Owl, I really contemplated using the same color from the guest bath.

Valspar's Bonsai

This gray has been a favorite, but I didn’t know how it would look to have two rooms right next to each other the same color. (Odd thought, I know.)

I was itching to put Little JCrew’s room back together. The poor kid wouldn’t sleep anywhere but in his room. We even tried putting his mattress on the floor in our room, but he picked up his pillows and went to his room. I felt so sorry for him.

I quickly decided I’d re-do his room pronto! I taped his room back up and painted it Valspar’s Bonsai.

Prepping is the longest part of the job. It takes me two hours for one room. I use these cool perforated drop cloths.

They’re the biggest bang for your buck and I found them at Walmart.

I got myself an airless spray paint gun to use for future projects and love it. It took me 38 minutes to paint Little JCrew’s room.

I had no problem sparing another 40 minutes to get his room the right color.

I was immediately happy with the new color.

Looked grey to me!

Putting the room back together was fun.

I’m so happy with the color. It's a warm grey.

I wish I would have stuck with this color all along. I knew I loved how it looked in the bathroom. I guess I wanted to be daring. Wish I would have trusted my gut!

Bottom line, I’m happy with this color and it is staying forever!!