Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Mangia Mamma's Five Favorites, vol. 6 The Upstairs Edition



The upstairs of our 1912 farmhouse has been, for me in the last 10 or so years, a "no-mom's land". This is because it has been the domain of our four children and their stuff. Don't get me wrong, I've always been welcomed to the vast wilderness of kid-dom, but unless someone was ill or I needed to talk to one of my four youngsters, I pretty much steered clear of the upper floor. 
With the departure of #1 son to his last year at Thomas More and #2 son to Christendom Collegethis has all changed. As Mary is the last one at home, attending Chemeketa while figuring out what she wants to do with the gifts God has given her, we have been able to start making a long wished for craft/sewing room a reality. We've moved the boys both into David's room, making it dorm-style (except without the mini fridge). I think they'll like the changes when they come home for the Christmas Holidays!
I hope you enjoy looking at my five favorites this week are as they are all from the "Land of Upstairs". 

1. Ombré Dresser

                                        

I've seen a lot of ombré stuff on Pinterest, from nails to wall hangings to furniture. I decided to put my own twist on it and redo a dresser that had previously lived in David's room. It was super easy. I started by painting the base of the dresser white. I then found a fairly dark green that we had and painted one set of drawers. I added a bit of white and painted the next set then added a bit more and did the third and so on. The result is what you see here. It's going to hold fabric and patterns and craft goodies. I can't wait to get stuff out of the Rubbermaid storage totes and into the pretty ombré dresser!

2. Cheerful Butter-Yellow Paint

                                                

When Cari lived at home, she had picked out some yellow paint for her room. She then moved out before we had the chance to paint. I've thought about painting the hallway for a long time but never did it since I wasn't sure what color to paint it (plus, remember this was "no-moms land" for quite a while). Since I am now going to be traversing the stairs to the craft/sewing room, I decided to use up the paint we had. I must admit, I love it! Not only is it bright and cheerful, it makes the whole area seem more put together. That may sound silly, but it's true- now I am enjoying going upstairs!


3. Inexpensive and Beautiful Art


                         

Over the summer, the kids and I hit a few yard sales. One of them was at Willamette University. They had a bunch of different booths with a few interesting things, but the best booth was from their art department (or art archives, I don't remember exactly). Anyway, they were selling old prints and photos for hardly anything. Joshua ended up finding this and buying it for just a couple of dollars. I've been looking for a frame for it, and then it will end up hanging in the boys' room. Then when Joshua finishes seminary and gets placed in a parish, he'll have a beautiful piece of artwork ready to hang in his office.

4. The Kids' Artwork


                        

My kids are all pretty artistic. They definitely do not get it from me. I admit I am creative, but artistic is not something I have ever seen myself as being. I have lots of family members as does Brian, who have been or are artists. The girls have enjoyed using their artistic abilities in decorating Mary's room. The top photo has two pieces Mary put together while the bottom is a painting by Cari with the G. K. Chesterton quote done by Mary. I'm really excited because the other day when Mary and I were shopping at Target, she got some ideas of artwork to do for the hallway! I'll be sure to share when it's all done.

5. The Boys' Room


                                       

One would think moving two boys into one room- especially as one has been in college for 3 1/2 years- would not be that hard of a thing. Plus, the shared room is the bigger one. Well, this might work unless one of the boys has a massive library of books and the other is pretty much a pack rat. Hence, the creativity combining all of their stuff in a room that doesn't feel like a storage space with beds. One thing I did was to take a little bookshelf we had, paint it white and set it on top of the desk they will be sharing. I tried to place the books they will use the most along with a few special things on the desk and shelves to take away the "dorm room" feel and help them to enjoy their shared room!

Be sure to head over to Moxie Wife and check out everybody's five favs for this week!

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