I know! I’ll put a bird on it!

it's so pretty!

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

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

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.Olefin IS typically pretty stain resistant, so that is a plus. Still, I tend to be more of a natural fibers kind of gal. Hmmmm….

This one is interesting too:
http://www.contemporaryrug.com/crugs/control/prod/~pid=102CCL110-203/~color=8240

And crazy as the pattern is, I think I may also like this one: http://www.selectrugs.com/rugdetails.aspx?id=12179&name=pink_flower_power_rug.html

Guess it’s back to the drawing board for me (by which, of course, I mean Photoshop!)

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…

view from outside chloe's room

Chloe turned six earlier this month, and while it may be sort of an odd fixation for a six year old to have, she is nonetheless obsessed with Paris. Santa must have heard about her francophile tendencies, because he left some brand new Parisian-themed bedding under the tree on Christmas morning.

Nicole Miller’s Fifi bedding features dozens of Vespa riding French poodles tooling through the streets of Paris while taking in familiar sights including sidewalk bistros, Hector Guimard’s famous Art Nouveau Abbesses Metro station, and – of course – the Eiffel Tower.

In keeping with the Parisian theme, we framed several posters including one of the above-mentioned Metro station and one of the Eiffel Tower. (Chloe is especially excited about the Eiffel Tower poster because it’s a photo of the tower in the snow, and Chloe loves snow almost as much as she loves the tower itself.)

Her room is far from finished – it’s still lacking sconces and closet doors, and we have a few more items we may want to hang on the walls. That said, the biggest obstacle to finishing her room is my inability to carve out time for sewing.

The Roman shades currently hanging in Chloe’s room are fairly trashed (luckily I bought them on sale!) I had been planning to repair them, but Chloe’s new comforter isn’t white (as advertised) – it’s actually more of a cream color — which looks horrible with the old shades.

The replacement curtains I have in mind might have fit in well at the Moulin Rouge of a century ago – ruffles and stripes and pompoms – oh my! If they turn out the way I hope, I’ll be sure to post photos. In the meantime, here is a photo of Chloe’s room in it’s current incaration.  A bientot!

Chloe's room circa early 2009

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.

Many of you brought up good arguments for and against certain choices. For example, a popular concern seemed to be that lint and dog hair would be a nightmare to keep off a mostly black rug. Duly noted. (Although truthfully, I am not all that concerned about pet hair since the pugs aren’t allowed in the playroom. They have a hard time differentiating between dog toys and kid toys, so we’ve found it’s best to just keep them – and their pointy little teeth – away from the playroom completely.)

I am definitely not a vacuuming freak – in fact I seriously hate vacuuming – so I know that lint might be an issue with a black rug. That said, the pink and green circle rug so many of you are fond of is primarily white, and to tell you the truth, I’m a little more scared of Playdoh, magic marker and dirt than I am of lint – enough so that I have pretty much now ruled out that rug.  (I know, I know – I’m sorry!)

That leaves the white and black damask rug:

White and Black Damask

and the black rug with the pink and white dots:

Pink and White Dots

So, here’s the funny thing.  Right before the holidays I’d pretty much decided on the black rug with the pink and white dots. But then a friend suggested that the combination of the dots on the valances, accent pillows AND the rug might be too many dots to squeeze into one space. I really did not want to hear that, having spent over a year trying to decide whether or not to buy that rug, and FINALLY HAVING MADE  A DECISION!

Well, me being me, I completely panicked and started the rug search all over again. I looked at dozens and dozens of rugs. I narrowed it down to a few favorites, then added several more I could live with, and opened it up to a vote.  Strangely, or maybe not strangely at all, before the voting began, my two favorites were the the above mentioned black with pink and white dots and – you guessed it – the white and black damask (I never would have thought I would want damask for that room, but it’s really a great rug.  I especially love the wide black border – it provides such a nice bit of punch.)

So now, I am once again torn.  I thought I might leave the decision up to Chloe but her (completely unaffordable) solution is to buy both rugs AND the circle rug and “have them all!” Yeah. Not going to happen.

The dot rug will show more lint. The damask rug will show more dirt. I worry about the white areas of the damask rug getting really dirty or stained, but truthfully, the white and pink areas on the dotted rug are just as vulnerable to dirt and stains.

I’m so conflicted about this. Could you tell? Maybe the fact that I’m having such a hard time deciding means that I need to keep looking???

Sigh!

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.

As for what I’m looking for in a rug, I suppose I do have some ideas. For example I’m fairly certain I want some sort of pattern or print. I’m also pretty sure I’d prefer a rectangular rug to a round or oval-shaped rug, as that would provide the girls with more sprawl space.

The playroom has PLENTY of green in it already, so I think something black, white and/or pink would make more of an impact than something predominantly green.

The rug should be soft and comfy but also shouldn’t be so babyish that the girls will outgrow it in a year or two. Size-wise, I think 5′ x 8′ would be about perfect.

Did I mention that I don’t want to spend a bundle?

A pretty long list, I know. You’d think such a long list would narrow the field a bit, but honestly, it doesn’t. Basically, I’m now considering hundreds of rugs vs. the thousands I was considering prior to creating this list. So that’s where YOU can help. I’m thinking I should take a poll.

Maybe it’s inauguration fever, but I thought I would “rock the vote” and ask if any of the rugs below strike your fancy. Or do you think I should run straight back to the drawing board? (And by “drawing board,” I mean Google image search and Photoshop!)

So, what do you think?

Do any of these scream “Pick me!  I’m perfect!” or do they all leave you wanting to demand a recall?

White and Black Damask

Black and White Damask

Black with White Dots

Black and White Floral

Zebra Stripe

Large Pink and White Dots

Black and White Swirl (Whoa!)

solid round rug

Pink and Green Circles

When Kim later shared proofs from our photo session, I found myself drawn to one image in particular – a photo of our girls, side by side, in the backyard grass. The picture’s vibrant pink, green and black tones seemed like a perfect fit for the playroom, and I knew instantly it would make a wonderful addition to our home.

Flash forward to Christmas break…

In keeping with my resolution to get organized (making our house a more comfortable and enjoyable place), we finally hung the new photos in the playroom — transforming the space from a cute but somewhat generic-looking room, into one that our daughters can truly call their own.

images of the girls personalize their play space

Now if only I could find a rug to tie everything together…

Suggestions anyone?

One of my resolutions this year is to get our house more organized. The scattered toys and endless clutter are making me positively crazy (as is renovation burnout, but that’s another topic for another post.)

Lately I’ve been thinking that if our house felt less chaotic, I might be able to enjoy it a bit more. So, to that end, I’ve been trying to establish a workable storage system upstairs in the playroom and in the girls’ bedrooms.

toy basket from Chloe's room

We started over Christmas break by cleaning the playroom and finding homes for Chloe’s many toys. Next, we labeled each new “home” in hopes that labels might actually encourage our messy little kindergartener to put things away from time to time (as opposed to strewing everything across the floor, which is her usual M.O.)

I found these adorable chalkboard labels at the post-holiday sale at Pottery Barn Kids (a two pack for just $5.99!) and couldn’t resist them. I’ve attached them to the baskets underneath Chloe’s bed, and so far, so good. It’s been a couple of weeks and I can still see her bedroom floor – I take that as a very good sign.

So far the contents of the baskets still match the labels...

Currently, they are labeled with your basic run-of-the-mill chalkboard chalk. (Frankly, I’m somewhat shocked that it hasn’t worn off yet.) But I just received a fancy-schmancy liquid chalk pen in the mail from the Chalkydoodles shop on Etsy. (They have all sorts of great chalkboard products, hand-made from heavy duty oilcloth. Cute, cute, cute!) I can’t wait to give it a try! Supposedly, it has the look of chalk but the durability of marker. And it washes off with soap and water. I’ll be sure to let you know how it works.

If you’re curious about Chloe’s bedding, I promise to post photos soon. I’ve been feeling guilty ever since Ginger was born that Chloe’s bedroom was never completed. Santa must have sensed my guilt, because Chloe found a brand new comforter and pillow sham set from Nicole Miller under the tree on Christmas morning.

Catalog shot of Nicole Miller's Fifi Bedding

Miller’s Fifi collection features three of Chloe’s favorite things – dogs, Vespas and the Eiffel Tower. It also features black pom-pom trim, which ties in quite nicely with the black pom-poms in the playroom, so naturally, I.. er, I mean SANTA… couldn’t resist.

As soon as I’ve finished sewing Chloe’s new curtains, I promise to post new photos of her room in all of its canine/scooter/Parisian glory!

Chloe's bed

The room is still bare as we’ve let other projects get in the way of finishing it, but the bed itself is functional, and Chloe loves it!