Playroom

What a sad little outlet…

I know! I’ll put a bird on it!

it's so pretty!

Spruce it up! Make it pretty! This is Portland, after all.

Someone out there has a really good memory and sharp eyes!  A friend of a friend, who knows about our site only through our friend’s blog, spotted this post on Craigslist Philly:

The evidence

She recognized the photo on the left as being from our site and sent the Craigslist post to our mutual friend.  While we have had other cases of our content being “borrowed” without permission, this one crossed a line.

Not only is someone misrepresenting our room as being an example of where someone might be employed in another state,  given some of the stories out there of criminals luring victims in with craigslist, this immediately raised a red flag with me.  What legitimate reason would you have for posting a fake picture of your house?  I flagged it, emailed craigslist and sent an email to the poster.   If it’s still up, you can see the craigslist post here.

Our original picture can be seen here.  The irony is that that’s not even a real picture of our room.  The rug was photoshopped in by Stephanie and was never even purchased.

Sifting through past entries, I noticed we’ve never posted photos of the upstairs/playroom bathroom.

Our girls love lavender!

Originally, I was reluctant to photograph the space until the bathroom door and trim were finished. Since we are unlikely to get around to finishing the door anytime soon, I decided to take some photos for your viewing pleasure.

I quickly remembered the other reason we’ve never posted pictures.

This room is so incredibly tiny, it’s nearly impossible to photograph without perching on the toilet lid or on the lip of the sink – hence the weird viewing angles.

view from hallway outside Chloe's room

bathroom sink and mirror

alternate view from hallway

Looks like I spoke (wrote?) too soon – I just found the black and white damask rug on another website.

I can’t decide how I feel about olefin though. On the one hand, I don’t want to spend a fortune on a wool rug which might get trashed, and getting trashed is a distinct possibility in a playroom. Click to continue »

Sorry we’ve been so quiet lately - we’re suffering a blog-deadly combo of work-overload and renovation fatigue, leaving us without much to report here at the bungalow.

I should, however, admit that I really blew it with the playroom.  I took so long trying to make a decision on the playroom rug that the one I’d finally decided on – the black and white damask with the black border – has been discontinued.  Serves me right for being so wish-washy! 

The rug hunt continues…

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for taking time to to share your thoughts and opinions on our playroom rug situation.

If you’ve been following the commentary accompanying my original post, you know that lots of people have had lots of opinions on this topic. However, three clear favorites have emerged: the white and black damask, the pink and green circles, and the black with large pink and white dots. Click to continue »

As Julio will tell you, I’m not exactly decisive. I tend to agonize over the simplest decisions. Sadly, this is especially true when it comes to rehabbing the bungalow.

I can spend months researching something as simple as a kitchen faucet. But even if I do eventually place an order, I will drive myself crazy wondering if I’ve made the right decision. I’m always absolutely certain I could have found something better – the “perfect” whatever – if only I’d searched a little bit longer.

What does this any of this have to do with Photoshop, you ask? Well, we really need to find a rug for the girls’ playroom. As you’ve seen in recent photos, the floor up there is rather bare and uninviting.

playroom in its current state

I’d love for Chloe and Ginger to be able to sprawl out comfortably while they play or read books, but that isn’t really an option on the cold hard floor. Click to continue »

As regular visitors to our site know, our daughters’ playroom has been an ongoing project.  Prior to moving in to our house, we gutted the entire second story to the studs.  And then we ignored it for about two years.  Since then progress has been slow, but steady.  The second story is now home to Chloe’s room, Ginger’s room, a small half bathroom, and the above-mentioned playroom.

Over the past few weeks, the playroom has seen the addition of some new accessories (framed artwork, new lamps, new pillows) and some handy new storage benches.  It’s still not “finished, but it’s getting closer every day.

So, without further ado, here are some updated photos of the playroom:

Playroom Kitchen Area

Playroom facing Chloe's room

New lamps and storage benches

One of my favorite blogs is ikeahacker. It’s both entertaining and inspiring.  Sure, a few of the hacks are “whack,” but that’s half the fun!

Not being handy myself (Julio is power tool god in this house – I tend to avoid motorized tools at all costs. I’m actually quite accident prone – to the point that even electric can openers freak me out. “That’s right doctor. I severed my finger trying to open a can of soup.” But I digress.)  Where was I?  Oh yeah.  Not being handy myself, I especially enjoy “hackeas”: simple IKEA hacks you can do in 30 minutes or less. They are right up my alley!

In a previous post, we discussed our own hackea involving IKEA’s Deka curtain rod. Today I plan to wow you with my startling transformation of the Skimra lampshade. OK – maybe not so startling, but pretty cute, I think!

The Skimra lampshade before:

and my post-hack Skimra lampshade:

And its twin:

in Chloe and Ginger’s playroom:

Crafty, eh?

A year ago today marked my the end of my fifth week of “house arrest” (otherwise known as bed rest.)

Chloe, the older of our two daughters, was born prematurely and spent roughly six weeks in the hospital. So last May, when baby number two threatened to make an appearance two months ahead of schedule, I was advised to stay off my feet for SIX LONG WEEKS.

Being confined to bed rest in your third trimester is excruciating. Not in terms of physical discomfort (although there is a bit of that.) Rather, it’s the psychological distress that’s unbearable. Not only are you steeped in worry over your unborn child, but you’re locked in this perverse battle of wanting – or perhaps more accurately, NEEDING – to give in to the all-consuming “nesting instinct,” yet you know that your baby’s health depends on ignoring that desire/need. Ultimately, you end up glued to the couch for a month and a half, obsessing about everything that isn’t getting done. Click to continue »