Alex's Room

So my mind hasn't really been on blogging lately. Noah had the laptop for two weeks on a business trip which really stunted my writing, but on top of that, the holidays just equal craziness in my life (craziness that I don't necessarily mind).

During my blogging break, I painted Alex's room (I'm doing a skateboard theme, yeah I know he's only two but this kid loves skateboards), so I'm going to share some of my inspiration, though I won't post the actual room until I'm satisfied.

The main inspiration came from the magazine Domino, which I subscribe to and the room included which is pictured above. The walls are painted with Benjamin Moore Calypso orange and Providence Olive. I even purchased the lantern (which really makes the room) at Ikea for a mere $7. When I finished painting, Noah was a little worried about how vibrant Alex's room was (it is very bright, especially for such a small room but when I'm finished, I think it will be really cute).

Currently Alex still sleeps in his crib, but we'll be moving him up to a bed before too long (Ikea has a simple white bed similar to the one above with drawers for $179 that I've got my eye on)
As far as bedding goes, I love the camo duvet cover above (available at PB Teen) that will really bring out the khaki color on his wall, and lessen the orange.
Another thing I'm going to be doing to tame down the walls a bit (and make them a little more geared towards Alex) is paint skateboarder silhouettes, like the one pictured above, on one wall (I'll be painting 3 silhouettes, with the center one just slightly bigger than the other two, it being directly above Alex's future bed). To do this, I'll be enlarging the pictures with a projector (courtesy of Santa), outlining them with a pencil and then carefully painting them in white.
I love these skateboard shelves (available at PB Teen, though I'll probably just be making them myself and save roughly $45 each)
I'd love to put this bed-side table in the room (available in orange, also at PB Teen), but alas at $250, something truly dramatic would have to happen with our budget in order for us to spend that kind of money.
To top the room off, I'm going to have a couple pictures of Alex (on a skateboard) put on a canvas (you can send pictures into Pottery Barn Kids, however I'm sure I can find a less expensive alternative--I'll keep you posted).

Utah Parade of Homes

Last month I went around to the Parade of Homes in Utah Valley. These pictures are some of the highlights (I'm finally getting around to blogging about it).
I love the glass in the door frame (and the blue was nice--might try that color in my bedroom, it's Jet stream from Shirwin Williams)

My 5-year-old, Gabby just about flipped when she saw this pink bed, super cute! And I now know what I'm getting her for her birth day in July--on the bedside table is a little fairy tree-house from Toy's R Us for $59, or at Amazon for $47.24 (I think I'll go with Amazon).
Love, love, love this room! The green is "Pansy green" from Shirwin Williams. Also love the shelf with the decorative china, and the cute bedding (Pottery Barn?). Maybe Gabby will get sick of pink and I can do something like this with her room.

This light was so cool--I've never seen anything quite like it. It's available at Z gallery for a mere $150 (yikes). If you haven't checked out Z gallery, it's a great site, especially if you're rolling in money.
What's sweeter than a nursery in a turret with clouds painted on the ceiling and a chandelier hanging over the crib. Note to self: get a turret.
I thought this was an innovative idea--make a bunk bed into a club-house with a trap door (probably not up to fire code, but safety should come second to creativity right?)

Hanging the sheer fabric in this way really makes this room look bigger than it is, cute!
Also loved this bench with the upholstered picture holder above it. Great way to fill an empty wall!
This was probably my favorite idea from this year's Parade of Homes--check out the towel rack above the toilet--yup it's two skateboards. You can bet I'll be using that in Alex's room (who knows if he'll ever have his own personal bathroom). Plus, I just love those colors for a boy.

My Almost-Finished Kitchen

I wish I had pictures of the "before," but Noah recently dumped our computer and I don't know where the back-up disk is but here's a summary of what we had prior to taking these pictures: where the island is, a wall once was (no cabinets on it, just a totally non-functional wall that made the kitchen and living room look small), the cabinets were a 1980's oak that were falling apart and the walls were papered in a country/ fruit & flower theme (not my favorite--that was the first thing to go). By the way, what do you think about the green walls? Noah still needs to get used to them.

The cabinets are in knotty alder, which I love but didn't think we could afford. Home Depot originally quoted us at $6000 for oak and maple. We ended up going through a Utah-based company for $2000 less with the Alder. Thanks Jeff!

We still need to get the stainless hood vent for above our stove (see picture below). Noah's thinking he can make it and save us a few hundred dollars, I however am a bit skeptical.

this is a more updated picture, only now we've put the crown molding up on the cabinets. As you can see, it's not quite finished.
This is a view from the living room. We'll be paining the entry high-gloss white some day (we're a little burned out right now).