ROOM TOUR: ARI'S MODERN BIG BOY ROOM

You know when your kid gets to an age where all of a sudden they have super strong opinions on what their room should look like? Ari is 5 now and wanted rainbows and gold painted all over the walls with Harry Potter posters. This was not going to fly. BUT I think I pulled off a combination of rainbows, Harry Potter, and my love of black and white modern style. Now we're both happy!! Scroll down for all sources and a free printable of the modern rainbow poster. 

Besides decoration ideas, the BIG problem to tackle was organization and storage. This is where Land of Nod came in big time! Jenni and I both fell in love with the acrylic bookcase! It's just so clean and pretty and perfect for treasures. The Home Edit came over and styled with special books and toys to look like... you guessed it... a rainbow!

Land of Nod also came in clutch with these soft bins perfect for the abnormal amount of stuffed animals my son collects. I absolutely LOVE that they are soft. One or two actually live on my son's bed so that he can sleep with all of his stuffed buddies without them constantly falling off the bed. 

I designed this abstract rainbow poster and have it for you as a FREE download! Yippee! I sent the file into Kinkos/FedEx and had them print it in an 18x24" frame ready size. Scroll down for the link to download.

This might seem crazy, but I really wanted to make an art installation out of books. Ari loves books (and so do I!) but his old book shelf cubbies were getting a little crazy looking. I saw blogger, Freckles Chick's book shelves she used for her daughter's room and knew that was the solution. I bought the 3.5" deep shelves and installed them in rows. 6 of the 36" and 3 of the 24" shelves. Each row had one long, one short, one long to make three 96" shelves. Then of course The Home Edit styled it for Ari so it looked like yet another rainbow!!

Our family is a BIT Harry Potter obsessed. Okay a lot obsessed. Luckily, we've passed our obsession to Ari. We came up with a "magic spell" to put him to sleep... and it really works! Dixie & Twine graciously made this "FALLIO ASLEEPO" sparkly banner for above his bed!  

SOURCES:

The Home Edit - bookshelf styling and organization

Acrylic Book Case - Land of Nod

Tall blue bin - Land of Nod 

Small colorful bins - Land of Nod

Fallio Asleepo Banner - Dixie and Twine

Modern Rainbow Poster - FREE DOWNLOAD :)

Bedding - Target Pillow Fort

Long book shelves - Clear Solutions Displays

Dresser - Joss & Main by Dwell Studio

Bed frame - Pottery Barn Kids

Bedside table - Pottery Barn Kids

Lightening Bolt Marquee - Hapa

Rainbow stacker - Arcade Nashville by Grimms

"A" wall letter - Ebay

"a" red letter - vintage

Gumball machine - vintage (my husband's!)

Matchbox car holder - vintage printers box

Black paint - Behr Broadway

White paint - Behr pure white

FALLIO ASLEEPO!

-L

NURSERY REVEAL: WILDLIFE UNDER THE STARS

Is that really a theme? Wildlife under the stars?? Haha! I am not a super fan of nursery "themes". I prefer to just create a room that is full of pieces I can't live without... hoping that in the end, it all comes together and looks cohesive. To be honest, life was chaotic during my entire pregnancy. We were doing so much to our house because we thought we would be putting it on the market (and moving) before Remy got here. YEAH. FREAKING. RIGHT!! So glad that didn't happen! Although it nearly killed me, I am glad we made so much headway ( painting the inside of our entire house) because there were things that should have been done to our home a long time ago just for US to live in and enjoy.

After working on our home so much and gratefully enduring the busiest season yet for Love & Lion's Etsy shop, I looked up and realized about 4 weeks out that we had a tiny bit of paint on the wall and that was it! I immediately just started online shopping madness, and just hoped that everything would come together and look like what I was envisioning. I truly work best under "pressure". We kept the walls neutral with Behr's Chocolate Froth, which is also the color we have chosen for our entire house. I. LOVE. IT! I wanted a bold navy color somewhere in the room! We chose Behr's Rush Hour

for the ceiling to create a "night sky" for the room. I truly love how it all came together! I think I even had more fun doing Remy's nursery over Amara's ( our first) simply because I didn't think about it too much. My husband picked up a Petit Collage print on one of his work trips, and brought it home. I loved that he was already thinking of this baby before we even knew the gender! It meant so much to me that I immediately decided to build the nursery around the colors in that print!

So here are all the deets...

I really focused on keeping the room simple and clean! It isn't a super large room, so filling it with clutter is senseless to me. I didn't want things hanging on the wall or sitting on shelves just because! It is so much easier for baby no. 2, in my opinion, because you know what you actually put to use and what you don't. 

I thoroughly enjoy walking down my hallway and peeking into this little gem in the corner of our home. Making a space for this little guy in a room that literally served as a storage room just solidifies his presence in our home and our family. It makes me happy to see my home lived in! When we bought our home 6 years ago, we thought 5 bedrooms sounded ridiculous for just the two of us. However, we envisioned filling these rooms with babies and having room to host friends and family. I could have never imagined that two of these rooms would be filled with two of the most perfect little humans on the planet! ;)

Sources:

Rocker / local baby store (purchased and used for Amara's nursery)

Throw pillow / Dwell Studio

Accent table / Target (clearance)

Lamp / Land of Nod

Rug / Land of Nod

Ottoman / Land of Nod

Curtain Rod & Finials / Land of Nod)

Curtains / DIY ( don't look too closely at my sewing skills) Fabric was a Nate Berkus print!

White Honeycomb shelf / Land of Nod

Crib Skirt / Land of Nod

White Dresser / Babyletto at Target

Changing Pad cover / Aden + Anais (also got this print)

Crib Sheet / Aiden + Anais (also got this print)

Triangle garland / DIY

Giraffe head / White Faux Taxidermy

Wonder Print / Petit Collage

Mobile / Petit Collage 

Gold Bear Print / Sycamore Street Press

Star decals (ceiling) / Fairy Dust Decals

Pendant / DIY 

Elephant blanket / Orla Kiely (Target)

Crib / Babies R Us

Elephant Toy Chest & Lion Hamper / 3 Sprouts

Book shelf / Ikea - can't find online.

Collage wall / DIY - I used old frames and some new ones from Target. All prints (except ones sourced above) were free printable prints offline. Gold mirror was a thrift find. 

Hanging Letters / Michael's find

Have a great week!!

XO!!

FEATURED: SWEET BIRDIE BIRTHDAY PARTY

We adore DIY parties- that's our fav for our own kids, so we're always on the lookout for new creative yet achievable ideas. That's why we're so thrilled to feature this Sweet Birdie Dessert Birthday Party by Shauna Younge! You'll love her pastel and wood grain color palette, pretty dessert table, and simple touches that made this party memorable!

 

SHAUNA:

After I designed the hexagon and faux bois invites and found a great cake recipe, I planned a bash that was full of bright, spring-y colors offset by lots of white and gold accents. I created DIY faux bois color block placemats to bring color and warmth to my white desk for the girls to dine in style. 

Along with sliders, powdered donuts, and popcorn, the girls devoured vanilla ice cream and my strawberry cake. I customized labels with each girl's name to decorate the paper ice cream cups from Sweet Party Shop. I also designed faux bois labels for the milk bottles to add a natural element to the all-white room. Land of Nod's birdie garland and cupcake kit added a bit of whimsy to the dessert table that really kicked up the color a notch. 

CREDITS
Party concept, styling, and dessert table: Shauna Younge
Images: Sydnee Bickett
Birdie garland and cupcake kit: Land of Nod
Ice cream cups: Sweet Party Shop
DIY projects: DIY starburst birthday crown and DIY faux bois color block placemats

Check out more of Shauna's ideas on her blog, Sweet Tooth, and contributor to Momtastic. Also do NOT miss her dessert table portfolio HERE!