Before and After........ Gabriella's Room

Well, it's finally complete.  The project we started many weeks ago (but who's counting???) is finally finished and she l o v e s it. This project involved more work for me since I made the cushion and pillows but I love the way it turned out too.  Let me give you the breakdown of what we have.  The Roman Shade for the window works well here because it's clean looking and looks good rolled up which is how it is most of the time.  I've decided I'm going to add a colorful bad to the shade but I haven't decided if that's going to be ribbon or fabric.  As for the cushion and pillows, I deconstructed and used an Anthropologie quilt I bought at a resale shop for $30. I separated the layers and took out the cotton middle (saved it for another use), lined the fabric with muslin for added strength and then made the pillows and cushion cover.  I used snap tape for a closure so everything can be removed and washed.  The patterns are different on the other side of the pillows and cushion so there's a whole other look if she gets tired of it.  The mirrors I've had in the attic (they are vintage) and I like the way it looks against the bookcase.  It's one nail hole so if Gabriella gets tired of it, off they go.  The little ikat bowl is from Anthropologie, and the blue numbers are gas station numbers that I bought from a local dealer.  That blue color is really pretty and looks great with the touches of red, orange and yellow. The vintage set of Children's Encyclopedias have beautiful gold detailing that go well with the Mum knobs I found in the clearance bin at Anthropologie.  The pictures above her bed are postcards that I put in Ikea frames that I've had for a long time. The hand painted bird dishes in the cool plate holders came from a thrift store.  The bed, night stands, french desk and chair are all resale finds that I've gotten over time very inexpensively.  I tell Gabriella that her desk is probably one of the nicest pieces of furniture in our house. It's a solid, well made and beautiful piece of furniture.   The little metal tulip looking tables I think are from Ikea but I got them at a thrift store.  They are easy to move and they make a great footrest when you're sitting on the window seat.  The lamps by her bed are from Marshall's Homegoods and the desk lamp is from Target.   That should about cover it.  Thanks again to my fabulous HH for all of his hard work and dedication to making our home beautiful.  We both agree that our children should have a beautiful and comfortable space to call their own.  A place just like we have where they can retreat, get a goods night's sleep, do homework or hang out with friends. We feel that children appreciate a nice space just like any older person and with that nice space comes the responsibility of respecting their "house" by keeping it neat and clean.  This is something that our girls understand and honor not because we tell them to (OK sometimes we do...) but because they want their space to stay nice.  Of course, it's the creative process, the search for items and making it all come together that drives me.  The finished rooms are a story of happenstance, hard work, attention to detail and a thoughtfulness that hopefully translates into a comfortable and creative space.  So, let's see what we came up with.  Here's the space before.....

And here it is now........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what do you think?  I still think we need some additional pieces for her bookcase but the fun will be in finding them.  Of course one day I would love to get rid of this wood floor and replace it with something nicer.  Hopefully that will come sooner than later. For the rest of this year, we are going to do some small things around the house and I am going to finish the office.  We are hoping to start demo in the Master Bathroom in January.  I'll keep you posted as always.

What kinds of projects are you working on?  Is there any one project you'd like to finish before the holidays?  I'd love to hear about them.