J Cooper Photography

Going to go ahead and share Daniel’s room even though it isn’t really complete…because in all honesty…it probably won’t ever be complete.  I am constantly moving and re-arranging things in our house and his room is likely to be no exception!  The key piece of his room that I am still waiting on…the rug.  I just can’t seem to find what I want for a price I am willing to pay.  Kind of hoping that one will just magically appear in his room while we are in Africa.  That’d be cool wouldn’t it?  Unlikely.  But yes…very cool.  For right now I have Sam’s rug in the space until I decide what size and color I want.   So here is his little space…happy, cheerful, and a bit cheeky.  I have never decorated a room over such a long period of time.  Usually I start a project and wrap it up as quickly as humanly possible.  But it felt good to let this one linger.  And it took a few unexpected twists and turns along the way which I love as well! {for reference….the green walls photographed VERY lime…they are lime…but more of a muted tone.  Don’t know why I felt you needed to know that…but now you know!}

For all of you that love the decorating NITTY GRITTY you can read the fine print.  If this bores you…just take a gander through the images and imagine my cute baby boy snuggled in that bed

The crib:  Off-white sleigh bed used by ALL of my babies.  I know white is probably more of a girl furniture color…but honestly…I just don’t really care.  I love all things white.

The dresser:  Purchased from Jamie of High and Dry.  If you know me then you know that I have an obsession with Jamie’s shop.  Heaven, I tell ya!  I purchased the dresser this summer and added the crystal knobs.  Again…those may be a bit feminine but I love them for their vintage flair and this dresser is likely to find a home somewhere else in my house after Daniel’s bum no longer requires diapering.   I’ll keep the changing pad on top of the dresser until Daniel is potty trained or too squirmy (or big) to need it.  The locker basket will soon be filled with his diapers!

The chair:  Cast off rocking chair from my parent’s house.  Read about it HERE.  This chair is CRAZY comfortable.  I have slept MANY nights in it…and plan to sleep many more   I slipcovered it in denim for Sam’s room 3 years ago.  It isn’t perfect…it was my first foray into slipcovering by my lonesome.  Not a bad job…just don’t look too closely.  The cute little chippy stool should be a good landing spot for those late night bottles and burp rags.  It was a fun find at another favorite spot…Vintage Market.

The bookcase:  Purchased at Mission Road Antique Mall.  I bought this from a dealer for $75 many years ago.  It was backless and we added beadboard to the back.  It was originally painted yellow in the back…then pink for A’s room…and now it is sporting a denim-ish blue (leftover paint from Sam’s bed).  Daniel’s bookshelf is looking somewhat sad and pathetic in the decorating department.  But I am saving some space for some toys and other souvenirs from Africa.  Hopefully we’ll have enough to fill it up soon.  And I’m always on the look out for little metal cars…the hunt continues!  Most of the board books are well loved by my other little people.  A few have been gifts from sweet online friends.  The long wire basket was a $3 garage sale treasure.  The old quilt is from someone’s garage..can’t even remember when I picked that up.  The girls painted the little striped and polka dotted canvases.  They wanted to add their own touch to his room and this seemed like an easy (and inconspicuous) way to do that   Looking at the pictures I think the globes are a bit much on top of the bookcase…but you know my theory that every room needs a few globes

The shelves:  Handmade by my Papa as a young man.  I painted these off-white and had them hanging in A’s room until her sister moved in.  I hope to always find a special spot for them in my house.  The shelves are full of things that make me happy.  A giant paper mache “D”…metal cars…old Kansas license plates…a referral picture…a little stuffed lion sent to us by our agency upon accepting Daniel’s referral…and a special brown baby from another amazing friend.

The bedding:  The FANTASTICALLY DELICIOUS quilt was hand made by Amy Smart.  She wasn’t taking custom order but I gave her my sad saga and she caved   The quilt is perfection.  It has all sorts of vintage-boyish-car fabrics…and is backed with a darling IKEA print.  Amy’s BLOG is a very fun read if you love quilting (or even if you don’t!)  I made the fitted sheet and curtains to match using THIS IKEA print.  A sweet friend picked up the additional yardage for me and I already have the matching twin sized duvet cover for when Daniel is ready for his big boy bed.  Now if you want to be my VERY best friend…and live near an IKEA…I would LOVE a 2nd twin duvet cover (I’d be more than happy to pay the shipping to me…this item isn’t available to purchase online).  I think the boys will eventually be in the same quarters and I’d be thrilled to have the bedding stashed away!  I also made the little matching lumbar pillow out of some scraps from my stash.

The mobile:  Quite possibly one of my FAVORITE things in this room.  It is so happy and modern and happy (did I say happy twice??  it is SO HAPPY!)  I first ran across the idea while searching on Etsy when I saw THIS SHOP.  Then I realized that she was generous enough on HER BLOG to offer a tutorial on how to make the very mobile I had been lusting over.  She even has a beading tutorial as well!  I am most definitely NOT a beader so I commissioned her to do this part of the job for me…then I picked it up at the next step…cutting the circles and ribbon and attaching the streamers   Normally I would make The Librarian do the beading for me but she ditched me for Peru and was unavailable for my crafting emergencies…the audacity!  I can tell you that even this part of the project was more involved then I anticipated.  My “afternoon” project stretched on for a couple of weeks…but the effort was totally worth it.  Have I mentioned this mobile makes me SO VERY HAPPY?

The artwork:  Awesome 1960s World Atlas map of Africa found at Vintage Market North.  I used spray adhesive and attached it to foam board then mod podged the top with noticeable brush strokes.  It sounds like I knew what I was doing but I just followed Jamie’s instructions.  I bought the frame from her, popped the print in, and then showed up at her door looking pathetic and she helped me with the rest

The rest:  The big lion has a special story and came from one of my dearest friends.  The little red chair came from…guess who?  Ding, ding, ding…my pal Jamie.  The cute metal suitcase was a random purchase at an antique store in Grand Island, NE during one of my trips to the Big Pink Party House.

The rug:  yep.  still no rug.

The end.