We have quite the conundrum going on in my apartment right now. We are at a weird turing point and its hard to know what to do with my boys room, specifically their beds. I have two kids, 4.5 and 2.5 years old. The four year old is in a toddler bed, and my two year old is in a crib. The truth of the matter is we went with the toddler bed instead of a twin bed because of the size of their room... it has a weird layout which makes it seems small. But my four year old is getting too big for his bed. Like, he lyes down on his pillow and his feet are touching the end! My two year old is content in his crib, but I feel like its time to get him out of there and he's at a stage where he'd be happy switching over (he occasionally asks to take naps in his brothers bed and sleeps in a toddler bed when we visit grandma).
So what to do? I might bite the bullet and get two twin size beds for these growing boys. Which means I'd have to do some major rearranging in their room, and probably sell a couple furniture pieces... which isn't always a bad thing. I wish I felt comfortable with bunk beds... but I know a bone is going to end up broken with my thrill seeking two year old. And I wish I liked the idea of a trundle bed more... they just seem like a pain to me.
I really love upholstered beds. So thats primarily what I'm going for here, but definitely keeping an open mind if there is a cool wood option too. I don't want something childish... if I'm going to spend a decent amount of money on a bed I want it to last for a long time!
So here are a few options I've found so far -
What advice can you give me about beds for children? Bunk vs. trundle? Upholstered vs. wood vs. metal? Buying vs. DIY? Bed vs. headboard? I know I'd prefer a bed, but I'm surprised with how hard it is to find a great twin size bed option for boys that are reasonably priced (girls are easy-peasy. There are so many cute feminine beds out there). Boys bedding is also a sore point for me too.
Stay tuned for next Monday's post. I've found some FANTASTIC bed options for adults, and all are very inexpensive! Get excited... cause I definitely am!
-Megan
Restoration Hardware Baby and Child Catalog
I find this space incredibly inspiring. I love the neutral palette that is made interesting by lots of textures and white washed wood. I love the shiplap ceiling, I love the mobile that actually makes sense for a baby (dark and light contrast is the only thing that newborns can see), and the twinkly lights would be nice touch for a Christmas baby. Why is this space so intriguing to me? Because I'm expecting my fourth and probably last baby (tear) this Christmas season. I am dreaming of warm things to wrap my New England winter baby in, and cuddly places to rock with him, Having a new baby is magical, but having a nice place to be with him is icing on the cake. -Andrea
I wanted to share an image today that I think is fresh, balanced, and tailored; all things I love in good design. This image is of a house in Megan's neck of the woods, specifically Venice, CA. Anything goes in Venice, and this house is bold in all the right ways. There are so many things to love about this room. I love the balance between the very linear sectional and the curved wings of the blue velvet chair. I love the campaign style sideboard, and in emerald green no less! There is just enough black to really ground the room and keep the eye from resting too much on the black box of a TV. I like the contrast between the bright, glossy, pink backed storage piece and the lacquered carpentry. I appreciate the clean white wall space that helps keep the room feeling fresh and organized. I like the shape and combination of the ottoman and pouf, and don't forget the gold edged side tables that carry just the right amount of visual weight. I think the wood detail along the ceiling as well as the door add a much needed organic element that keeps the room from feeling too modern. I would say what makes the room though is that rug! The rug is not only the color palette for the whole room, but adds so much movement and interest. Well done to the designers from Turquoise who created this beautiful home.
I have to throw a picture of the master bedroom up here as well, because it is SO fantastic.
Can you believe how skillfully these patterns are layered? Wallpaper, drapery, headboard, euro shams, blanket, not to mention the art. I am really glad they went with a subtle chevron, I feel like that will give the headboard a much longer life.
What do you think? Would you move right in? I think Megan should!
-Andrea
For today's post I thought I'd continue on in our posts about beautifying our master bedrooms (even though all the ideas can be applied to other areas of your home). I started this casual series when I kept realizing over and over again how our bedrooms seem to be the forgotten room in our homes. And as understandable as that may be (since most of your time is spent sleeping instead of simply living in the room, and because visitors don't usually spend time in your bedroom, so it's not seen as often), its such a mistake! Honestly, my bedroom was the least of my worries for a long time, but I have definitely learned through experience that its worth putting in some effort to make you feel like you have a special place to retreat to. It might be a mental thing for me, but regardless, it really is needed for my sanity : ).
So the images below are of my bedroom. There are aspects I love about the room, such as, the bed, and the paintings of Paris that my husband and I bought while there about a year ago (though I'm not crazy about the black frames). It was quite the plunge to actually buy a bed. I can't believe how expensive they can be, but luckily we found one that we loved, I felt like the design was timeless, and that was on sale! However, there are plenty of things that aren't working for me in this space (bedside tables, lamps, lack of window treatment...) but I think thats the way I'll always feel with every room and I'm not sure I'll do anything about it till we move (and who knows when that will be!).
My budget friendly idea for today's post is about my DIY pillows. I found some really cute tea towels from Anthropology on sale, which was quite lucky since I don't usually enter that store because its sort of depressing to see so many beautiful things knowing you wont spend that much money on anything. But anyways, I took a chance that day and it was totally worth it. As you can see I bought two of the same colorful tea towels, and one more (the small pillow in the front) fun print. Here you can see the pillow from the side. Since my sister-in-law knew I have no sewing ability, she did this project for me by picking out that coordinating blue fabric and sewing it to the back to transform the tea towel into a pillow case. Unfortunately we seem to be a little rough on our belongings in my home so some of those cute pom-poms that were on the tea towel have come off... whoops! My sister-in-law knew I wanted this tea towel to be a smaller pillow, so instead of adding a back to it (like the bigger ones above), she simply got the right sized pillow, folded the towel in half and sewed around the edges. Simple enough, right? I love the bit of spark these add to my room. There are days when I make my bed using only the white pillows when I don't feel like color/pattern overload, but overall, I still love them. Like I talked about in this post, my favorite place to find inexpensive pillow options is on Etsy. Isn't it crazy how expensive pillows can be? How can pretty pillows cost $100..or more? Totally crazy... at least for me that is, so I think its great to come up with creative, inexpensive ways to get a good look for your home... like using tea towels to make pillows : ). To see other posts we did about how you can update your space, here are the previous posts done: Lamp Shade DIY and Ikea Rast Hacks for beside tables.
Dani has a bit of a dilemma. She has a room that is well used, well organized, and well stuffed. There is not a lot of negative space, except above the bed. This of course is kind of anti-climatic as you want the bed to be the focal point of the BEDroom. So how do we draw the eye towards the bed and help give it the visual weight that it deserves? We go UP!
To balance all the weight around the room, you really have to crown the head of the bed. I have a few suggestions for you.
First: I love this option because of the drama! The contrast is fierce, and the details would be really easy to scale to fit the space; totally customizable and mostly just paint.
Second: This option is sweet and serene, always nice descriptions of a restful bedroom. I think this option would work equally well with either paper or fabric.
Third: This headboard seems more masculine, but maybe that means you can get some really great feminine bedding to balance it all out. I love that it would hide wiring for a lamp or two. Lucky for Dani she has a very handy husband who I think could rig something similar.
Fourth: I love the height on this headboard. It would work well in Dani's space because the headboard ifself is narrow, and their wall is not very wide; I think the proportions could be just right.
Which one of these images is your favorite? Vote below to tell us. Happy weekend everybody :)
-Andrea *Every Friday we do a post called '2nd Opinion'. These posts are based on reader submissions on home dilemmas they would like a 2nd opinion on. Here at 2nd and Strand we will give our opinions, and invite readers to do the same in the comments or by a poll. To see past 2nd Opinion posts, look on the right hand sidebar at '2nd Opinion' under categories. If you would like to make a submission, follow the link on the left hand side of our homepage! We'd love to hear from you!
Jordan sent us a request that many people face. How do you decorate a bedroom that is shared between a boy and a girl? This is a topic near and dear to my heart as I've recently done this in my own home! Jordan sent us a picture of her daughter's nursery that will need to used as a bedroom for her 19 month daughter AND four year old son.
Her nursery is adorable right? You can tell this is a nursery that was made with love, and I want to carry a lot of those same feelings into the next space. It's also important to note that Jordan has three sons total, and this is her only baby girl. I had to remind myself of this as the first room that I designed was all blue and green. But as I looked at the details of her existing space it became apparent that Jordan loved putting together a nursery for her first baby girl. So I am encouraging her to make a blanket out of the drapery to use on her daughter's new big girl bed, and I think the hair bow shelf should be repurposed in her closet. These sweet details should not be lost, but can't be front and center in a shared space either :) In my blog combing I came across a bedroom that I used as inspiration for this space:
 House of Turquoise I love this inspiration image because the color is so close to what Jordan already has, and I love that it looks both graphic and timeless. I also think the colors work really well for both a girl and a young boy. The room looks modern and clean because it has such a narrow color palette, and I want to do that in Jordan's space. She's going to have a lot going on in a small space, so it's important to not have a lot of extras to visually distract your eye! Bed - x2. Both beds will have their headboards against the farthest wall, each one in a separate corner. This bed is perfect as it will stand out against the blue wall and the white details, but it's best feature is that it works as either a toddler bed or twin. If your kids are small enough leave it as a toddler bed for extra play space! Storage - this tall piece will sit in between the two beds and will be painted Benjamin Moore Blooming Grove Wall Light - each child could have their own reading light, the white would contrast nicely with the storage piece, bed, and wall color - but go nicely with the white accents Valence - this would be a great DIY, just find some green grosgrain to go with the storage piece, the valence would replace the curtains, as a bed would now be under the window Rug - this rug would go between the two beds and in front of the storage piece, it's irregular shape would break up all the straight lines of the bed and storage Polka Dots - I like the pink and orange option because it is decidedly girly and would allow the current wreath to be placed above the new bed. I love buying bed linens from Garnet HIll because you can buy just what you need. Lots of kids don't use a flat sheet and they prefer their own special blanky as opposed to a duvet. Jordan I'm sure knows what her kids will use and will make a great choice! Rocket Ships - decidedly boy, has a bit of orange and blue to tie everything together
We're going to try something new and fantastic for today's 2nd Opinion. I'm hoping to open up the awesomeness that is 2nd Opinion to more readers. Some of you have told me that you don't have an entire problem room, but maybe just a problem wall, or a difficult product choice. Well 2nd Opinion can help you too! Today I'm submitting my own bedding dilemma and I'd like to hear what y'all think.
For my recent birthday (!) my Mom bought me new bedding. I can not tell you how happy I am to climb into bed every night. I've always loved my bed, but these flannel sheets have won my heart! I chose the Paintbrush Flannel Sheets in Pale Gold at Garnet Hill, and the ticking stripe duvet cover in gray, also in flannel, to compliment the yellow. I happened to have 2 existing gray euro shams that are quilted, and these go well with all the new pieces.
As you may be able to tell, this is a big bed and this leaves a lot of white in the ticking stripe. Probably too much. I think we need an additional blanket at the end of the bed, as well as a sham for the middle euro pillow. Here are the options I've come up with and I'd like to know what you think, I'm looking for a 2nd Opinion :)
All of these fabrics are from Lewis and Sheron Textiles. I like the idea of these prints or dots contrasting with the solid and stripes. I also like the idea of a little femininity added in a pillow and throw. And although I really love the mustard I need something to go with it and according to our color theory post, purple is an obvious choice!
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