Giveaway! Karyn Burns ABCs

last year when we were on nantucket, we saw THE cutest abc placemats and i bought a set for the boys. fast forward to a few weeks ago when i got an email asking if i've ever heard of karyn burns and her placemats - yes!! we've been using them for almost a year and truly love them and i was so happy when they agreed to do a giveaway of a set of placemats!

the placemats come in a bunch of states, cities, and places - we have nantucket and boston and they're both so cute. the winner will receive a set of four placemats of his/her choosing. please head to my instagram to comment/follow to enter. you can also enter by leaving a comment here with your name and email! giveaway ends at 5pm EST 5/9.

i don't know about the kids you know, but mine won't eat with a regular placemat. no lie. and yes, we always eat grapes and oranges with forks 😜 my models thought this whole thing was pretty funny! you can find their booster seats here.

Kids Brand: State

hi there! we had a very fun and also a slightly stressful weekend in boston for my brother-in-law's wedding. stressful only because c&f were in the wedding and having little kids out late multiple nights with tons of people around them that they don't really know is kind of exhausting. also getting them ready and getting myself ready is always interesting! but thankfully my parents were there to help. the boys did an awesome job walking down the aisle (with me ;) but we are all happy to get back into our routine now.

my little party animals!

so speaking of kids, i recently came across this brand called state that i can't get out of my mind. i saw it in a local kids shop called fritz and gigi (boston locals - it's a must visit - they are under new ownership and they have so many cute new things). anyway, the best part is that for every backpack purchased, state gives away a bag packed with essentials to under privileged kids in the US. win win.

whether you have kids or not, these would make great gifts for the little people in your life! and oh yeah, happy halloween!! i can't wait to see pics of everyone's little monsters all dressed up today :) 

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Toddler Tips

happy monday friends! is this summer flying by or is it me? also it didn't feel like summer for the second half of the weekend around here so maybe that has something to do with it. it's not supposed to be in the 60s in july!

off topic post today so if you're looking for design stuff, check back tomorrow, there's a good one coming! but for moms and dads or parents-to-be, today's post might be helpful. there are three things that i've found in my 4 years (or 4 and a half as my littles would remind me!) as a mama that have been life savers. and if you ask my mom friends, i think they would all agree! so i'll share because at least for #1 & 2 below, i certainly didn't think of this stuff on my own.

1. pool noodles. this might be my most favorite trick - do not buy bed rails once you're ready for a big bed! all you need are pool noodles to stick under the fitted sheet. for real, it works. these ones are my favorite because they're thicker and sturdier than the flimsy ones you find at the grocery store or wherever. we pack them in the car if we're traveling locally!

2. built in potty seats. this is the most genius invention ever. not exaggerating. throw those gross potty rings out - you do not need them. this is a regular toilet seat with a little mini seat built in that's held in place with a magnet. so when you pull up the seat you might not even notice it and guests don't have to see anything yucky. your little ones can pull the seat down and put it back up themselves. oprah-voice ahhhh!! we have three in our house and every mom who comes over asks about it!

3. blankets and quilts not duvets. potty trained or not, accidents or diaper leaks happen. duvets soak up wetness - gross - and are hard to wash. but a blanket or quilt can always go right in the washer and dryer. so until my kids are accident free at night for like a year, my pick will be quilts and blankets. plus kids are like little heaters so i haven't found they need the warmth of a big duvet even living here in new england. some of my faves:

classic from serena & lily on the left. and on the right, this one has the sweetest little flowers embroidered on it.

rh baby & child has great options too.

Project Update: Basement Play/Hangout Room

hey hey! we're back from vacation and i have to say it was so nice to be away. thank you to all of the grandparents for making our trip so great! and we made it out of february which in the northeast is a big deal!! i was all set to post our family room when we came back but change of plans - here's the basement coming at you!

a friend of mine jokes that i should call it the "lower level" because it doesn't really feel basement-y. he's totally right - we have full size windows and a glass door down there so it really feels like another room. and if we didn't have this space i think i'd go crazy. it's been such a saving grace for the boys. i wanted to step it up a notch though and make it somewhere that adults want to be too. so we added it to the project list last fall and designed some awesome built ins. i also had the whole space painted white, put up wallpaper on one wall, and added roman shades. it feels fresh and fun now!

*photos by kate renyi of KER Photography*

and from another angle...

as you can tell we have wall to wall carpeting down here which is great for playing but not so great for making defined spaces. i used a couple of area rugs to create different areas in the space and visually it splits up the space perfectly.

the built in design was heavily influenced by a snap i saw on instagram (have i professed my love for IG lately?!). the only real change we made was to add doors to the lower section - the original was all drawers which looks awesome but wasn't as practical in real life. i chose kendall charcoal by benjamin moore for the built ins and love the way the dark color pops. we moved our old tv from the family room down here and it works well in the new space. definitely feels more integrated!

we added the soffit above the right hand section since the ceiling is a little funky and has that step down/up in the middle. the soffit looks like it's always been there.

on the wall to the left of the built ins (where the zebra is in photo above and below) i made a grid of oversized clothespins that are hung with command strips - quite possibly my favorite product ever - to show off the boys artwork. it's fun (and easy) to rotate all of their masterpieces and they love that their work is on display!

on the opposite side of the built ins is a play table for the boys and their friends with a ton of ikea storage. thank goodness for ikea right? also i used the same pattern for the roman shades as for the wallpaper. i think it helps unify the space.

we're a truck family, can you tell? :) above this wall of bookcases is a blown up picture of the boys running around that we took last summer on nantucket. in black and white it's a pretty good photo! you can just see the bottom corner but i need to snap a pic of it. the wallpaper was another great way to define this space as separate. i don't know what this space will morph into in the future - i could foresee a ping pong table (ah!).

when you first come down the stairs and before you get into this whole space there is a little spot that i've carved out for my samples. it's cute - it could be better. one thing i love is that art from pencil and paper co.

just to the left of this spot above is a full bath which was on the list for redo but fell off when the budget got tight. it's yellow and ugly but one day it will be cute. i have many ideas for it. also not pictured is the boys kitchen which again - thank the lord for that kitchen - but not photo-worthy!  anyway that's all for today!

some resources:

wall color: simply white, benjamin moore
built in color: kendall charcoal, benjamin moore
built in hardware: pottery barn boulevard collection (i think sadly it's sold out)
sectional: old pottery barn
wallpaper and roman shade fabric: serena & lily
zebra: dwell studio
sofa pillows: see my IG post here - all sources are tagged and all of them are shops i found through instagram :)
oversize clothespins: see my post here and you will also get a peek at the "before"

Girlie Room

i would design kids bedrooms all day if i could!! and if i was four years old, i think i could be very happy in this room. plus that rug - is there anything cuter?!

part of designing a kids room is making sure that the big investment pieces can grow along with your kiddo. i think a 14 year old would still like this bed and the nightstands. the dresser knobs could be changed out (hard to see but they are pink) and with different art, you could have a fun teenage room!

p.s. the pendant and acrylic chair are for a little built in desk area - seems random if you don't know about that piece!

Lucky Me!

monday, monday you snuck up on me! people, when it rains it pours. i was fortunate enough to have four new clients reach out over a three day period last week which makes for a lot of projects and a lot of busy. it's so great and i'm both proud and very grateful. but when i look at the next few weeks coming up i'm already like whoa!! if i look back to a year ago, this is exactly what i wished would happen. :)

also if anyone read last monday's post then you must have been like what the what??? i should really read what i write in my drafts before i publish them live. i wrote like one sentence and then jumped to something else. please tell me next time lol!

so one of my new clients is someone who already has an amazing house with amazing design. then what i am doing you wonder? i'm helping them (her - it's always the wife ;) finish off the last details. and also the kids rooms could use a little jazzing up so we're focusing there as well. i am personally so excited because i rarely get to work on a little girl's room and there is going to be an adorable one in this project! here are a few rooms i've pinned for inspiration.

amber interiors

studio mcgee

(the former) owens and davis

house of jade interiors

amber interiors

Playroom Inspo

hi y'all! not sure how much blogging is going to happen this week but at least this one post :) as per usual i've been doing a lot of dreaming and scheming - this time about changes to our basement playroom. i've mentioned before that our basement isn't a typical basement - it's bright and light with full size windows and a french door to the patio. so it truly feels like another room in our house.

oh and the bedroom that i posted on instagram this past weekend is down there too! anyway, the sectional is working out great down there, we love it. but i've been looking at those same pillows for about 8 years now - seriously they've been in all three of our homes - and they're looking terrible. all stained from formula and the turquoise and brown isn't really a hot combo. we've been using them because it's what we had but i started to think it's time for a refresh.

one thing always, always, always leads to another and i began thinking about what else i'd like to do down there to brighten and freshen the space. here is my inspiration image (design by studio mcgee):

gah those built ins! dreamy. here's what i came up with...

the first thing that is screaming at me is the current wall color. it's dingy. a coat of fresh white paint would be so perfect for this room. with the white paint, i thought the blue herringbone would be really crisp. it's available as both a fabric and wallpaper so i imagine using it for roman shades on the windows and then papering the wall where the stripes are (see pic above). and i think the animal  heads would look great against it! next, in that bay where the windows and door are, i'd love to hang two rattan chairs. not entirely practical at this stage of life with little ones but i can totally envision them! especially with a really pretty cushion like the striped one at the top right. ;)  then moving to the wall where i added the big clothespins for displaying artwork (this post), i recently swapped out a tall white ikea expedit bookcase for a shorter gloss gray one that we had in storage. the shorter size opens up room for a nice big piece of art above and those squares in navy, pink, and orange (bottom left above) would look great with the pillows. and speaking of the pillows, let's just be honest here - you know all of them are already sitting on my sofa lol!! all of the other furniture stays with the hope/wish/intent that one day we will be able to add some nice built-ins along the wall that i never photograph b/c it's so ugly! but basically where the sectional faces in the first picture above.

i think this could easily become my favorite space in the house! a little pink never hurt anyone right? not everything needs to be designed for boys only. at least not until they have opinions on these things!!

Reveal: Charlie's Big Boy Room

happy monday! how was your weekend? next up in the project reveal category - charlie's big boy room! i'm excited to show you all the full details of this room too (finn's room is here). it's pretty cute :) lots and lots of pattern in this space but i think it works for a little boy. photography once again courtesy of KER photography and all photos are copyrighted. you might remember the room before when it was a playroom and also when it had a crib. oh and here was the design board from way back!

the ceiling in this room is the same blue that's on finn's walls. it's amazing how different it looks when it's on the ceiling. if i did it over again, i would have chose a slightly bluer blue because this can end up looking pretty gray. also please ignore the nipple light (told ya this house is full of them!) - i haven't ever found something i like with enough wattage. putting the bed on the window really made the most sense especially since we went with a full size bed.

one day this reading nook might turn into a desk area but for now it's good for cuddling :)



some detail shots... one thing i'm annoyed at myself about is the placement of curious george by the lamp. i find it totally distracting but what's done is done. oh well!

thanks for coming along on this journey with me; i feel like it's been a long time coming. and charlie loves his room so much and always says his bed is "so comfy" which makes it all worth it! source list for this room...again feel free to ask any questions!

bed: pottery barn kids raleigh
duvet: border from serena & lily
euro pillow: toile from serena & lily
gingham pillowcases: serena & lily
navy chevron pillow: etsy (schumacher fabric)
zig zag pillow: etsy (quadrille fabric)
curtains: etsy with premier prints fabric
apple print: minted
red gingham floor cushions: etsy with premier prints fabric
toy basket: nate berkus for target (old)
bench at end of bed: ballard designs with diy upholstery
dresser: crate and barrel
mirror: serena & lily
red lamp: land of nod (old)
table next to chair: cb2
pouf: target
chevron rug: old calypso st. barths
roman shade: etsy from this post
white lamp: one kings lane
mod bookshelf and basket: land of nod which i shared on instagram

Reveal: Finn's Big Boy Room

hello! i had totally planned to blog yesterday but ended up falling asleep while putting my boys to bed. sometimes my busy life catches up with me! hope all the mothers out there had a fantastic momma's day! i got to shower and dry my hair which is a true luxury, especially on a sunday! thanks to my hubby for taking the boys out of the house! and as you may have seen on instagram, i have a bunch of projects going on with exterior and interior lights! it all looks so good i'm so excited! i'll try to post the outside lights this week too!

but first in honor of mother's day, i thought i would do a "reveal" of finn's completed big boy room. or mostly completed, things are always subject to change! ;) all photography by KER photography and are copyrighted. a big thanks to kate as always!! here is the link to the design boards i put together last summer (yikes! can't believe it took me that long!).

the big focal point in his room is obviously the ceiling. i really messed up and didn't look at the bedding until the morning we did the shoot so the duvet is all wrinkled. ugh! he doesn't sleep with it normally because it's a lot for a 3 year old.

a few detail shots.

i hope you like the room but one thing i know for sure is that my little boy loves it which is what it's all about. :) now for the sources...below are the big items but if you have any questions about specific items, feel free to ask!

bed: fillmore from serena & lily
duvet: color frame from serena & lily
euro pillows: tattersall from biscuit home
blue pillow: john robshaw
initial pillow: jonathan adler
chair pillow: john robshaw
rhino head: homegoods
toy crate: serena & lily
leather pouf: overstock
orange lamp: robert abbey from this post
gray bookcase: land of nod
blue and orange baskets: serena & lily
abc print: rh baby & child
black and brass lamp: west elm
dresser: west elm
roman shades: the shade store (same as the ones in this post)
panels: pottery barn kids from this post