The Playroom Refresh

Hi everyone! How are you? As mentioned in my last post, I have been busy rearranging our house, painting, and Spring cleaning. I have a couple projects in the works that I can’t wait to share once they are completed, and I am thrilled to be able to share one of those completed projects with you today. The playroom received a very sophisticated refresh(peek above) courtesy of the wonderful partnership with the team at Jonathan Louis. Scroll down to read all about how the transformation went down.

As many of you already know, this space is actually our formal dining room that we utilize as the playroom and it has changed numerous times to meet our needs especially after Cheyenne was born. However, one thing that remained constant throughout was the chalkboard’s existence. The chalkboard and its changing chalkboard murals courtesy of the hubs is now a thing so it definitely wasn’t going anywhere so it played an integral part in the decisions surrounding the refresh.

The Furniture Choices

Working with Jonathan Louis to choose the pieces was such a seamless process. This part was a fave because I was able to custom design the pieces and chose the configurations that would work best in the space. I chose the sofa configuration of the Leon collection and the child in me couldn’t resist the swivel feature in the Roundabout chair. I requested several fabric samples(some pictured above) and chose the yummy black and white Monolith Tuxedo for the chair and the Royale Evergreen for the sofa. 

While waiting on the furniture to be made, it was time to turn my attention to prepping the playroom. As I mentioned above, the chalkboard’s existence played a major role in the color choices, and since I was going with a black and white chair and green sofa, I decided to repaint the existing orange walls white. I simply moved everything to the middle of the room and repainted. Color is Sherwin Williams Origrami White. 

The Roundabout chair decked in the Monolith Tuxedo fabric came out exactly as I had imagined it in my mind. I decided to also cover the toss pillows in the same fabric and I am in love! It’s a conversation piece for sure! The chair is a curvaceous beauty and oh so comfortable, plus it swivels! The children have been taking turns spinning on it. And so have I:-).

And before we talk about this delicious sofa, shout out to the hubs for completing this latest chalk mural. It couldn’t be more apt. Now about this drool worthy Leon sofa, my oh my! Wrapped in the Royale Evergreen velvet fabric, it beckons for your touch/caress. It feels so good. I really love that it is not only family friendly since we could all fit on it with ease but its modern and low design is right at home with the rest of the modern aesthetic in our home. I added a pop of black and white on the sofa with the 2 throw pillows covered in the Scripps Kona fabric and the middle pillow mimics the colors in the chalk mural in its Kariout Heirloom fabric.

There is a T.V.(also a bookshelf with lots of Cheyenne’s toys) on that wall across from the sofa hence the very engrossed looks from Cheyenne and Ian. When they go to bed, this is where I curl up to unwind and watch something on Netflix. I am sure many naps will take place on that Leon sofa or even on the Roundabout chair. So, what do you think? To find a local Jonathan Louis dealer near you, click here for the dealer locator. Stay tuned for more project unveilings in the coming weeks. xx

How I Saved on Designing Our Playroom.

I was invited to be a guest speaker at a local library next week and I will be speaking about how to design on a budget and save some money! Well, if you're no stranger to this blog, you know this is my area of expertise! The playroom is one of our most complimented and used spaces in our home, so I thought it would be a great space to show examples of saving on design or designing on a budget. The graphic above is quite straight forward and showcases the thrifted pieces that I gave a bit of diy.

I actually had this bookcase built for my classroom when I used to teach and brought it home when I left the classroom. It has been repurposed in the boy's playroom.

what the space looked like before i painted the chalkboard wall and the rest of the space.  

a night time snap of the room during the process of "chalking/seasoning" the chalkboard wall after giving it a second coat.

What the space looks like after with the chairs and table painted and in place.  I saved lots of money by thrifting furniture pieces and giving them a bit of tlc, painting the room and completing the chalkboard wall myself. Repurposing the bookcase was the best idea too! Design doesn't have to be expensive to be beautiful. xx

How I Use Schedules and Social Stories as Aids.

Zion has always thrived on structure and schedules. As a result, we’ve always incorporated some sort of schedule, BUT, it was not always a visual one.  These days we have a visual schedule that he uses daily.


It has been noted that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder/ASD have greater difficulties coping with unstructured time than neurotypical people and benefit from increased structure in their lives. I have found that to be true in Zion’s case. Having a visual schedule in place at home enables Zion to be in control because he knows what to expect. In addition, it fosters independence and calm. On a side note, I forgot to place IPad time on the schedule and he was quick to point that out! I recently had to get a poster that would fit all of our activities. The one shown only displays some of what we do on a daily basis.

Social Stories and Back to School

 

I was first introduced to Social Stories by one of Zion’s teachers. A social story can be a written or visual guide describing various social interactions, behaviors, and situations. In Zion’s case, if he’s going to be introduced to a new situation, a social story is useful to help him anticipate and cope in that new situation. A great example is the simple and age specific one of the fire drill above. Fire drills can be overwhelming for Z because of his sensory issues so in addition to using headphones, having a visual and written social story reinforces what needs to be done and helps him to cope.

He starts Kindergarten this week and we are in the process of  putting the finishing touches on a social story that tells his new classroom number and teacher. He actually already knows his classroom number as I’ve been verbally preparing him. I cannot express in words how proud I am of him! I always get so emotional when I talk about all the remarkable things he has done.

Zion seems to be quite popular on the blog lately. However, I wanted you to get a peek at the behind the scenes at our home. I would love to hear from you. Are schedules a part of your routine? Maybe not social stories for everyone...Do tell. Have a lovely Sunday my friends. xx

 

Images by the lovely Tiffany Parsons

A Playroom fit for a Princess.

Once more another Instagram chance encounter led to the discovery of a talented diy-er and blogger, Jennifer Stagg.  Jennifer shares her insider secrets and videos of her latest projects on her blog, withheart.com. Today, we’re going to take a look at the amazing transformation of what was once their formal dining space into a space filled with lots of laughter, learning, and fun.


According to Jennifer:

I wanted to create a space just for my little girl— where she could make a mess, where her imagination could run wild.  A place all her own.  Most of what you see is DIY.  Even the rocking horse was a thrift store find, then a makeover.  I took a previously unused room in my home (an empty formal dining room) and made it into one of the most used rooms in our home.  We find ourselves hanging out in there daily and gather as a family to read stories in the teepee every night.  Our home is somewhere a child lives and plays, and I want my home to be child friendly and reflect who we are: parents.







Just beautiful isn’t it? You have to see their daughter’s reaction when she saw the room for the first time! Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsZV-7ZYFPU. Thank you so much Jennifer for sharing this lovely playroom with us today. Head on over to Jen’s blog for more inspiration. Blessings and happy
Thursday! xx