Boys Room: With two energetic boys, the biggest problem I have with the boys' room is CLUTTER. I try to maintain the clutter by assuring each toy has its own home, also known as a bin or container. While we couldn't afford a wardrobe to act as a closet, we tried to utilize under-the-bed storage as well as shelves.
Red Bookshelf: 39 Euro - IKEA
Red toy shelves (on wheels): 15 Euro each - Ikea (they are stacked and screwed together and Thomas added the wheels to make it a mobile piece)
TV: We did some price comparison and opted for this no-brand TV for the boys room. It has a built-in Universal DVD player and was a fraction of the cost. Hint: Ask an employee what he thinks of said brand. In this case, the only reason this brand cost less is because it isn't popular. Also, although the TV placement may look a little strange, we placed it behind the toy shelf so that it would not get run into. We also placed it at eye level for a child so that the boys could sit on their bed and watch it or play the Wii.
Wii: Thomas mounted the Wii so that it is permanent (in the case that our boys are a little too rowdy and run into it).
Bed: 199 - IKEA
Road Rug: 14 Euro - IKEA
Small black table: 5 Euro - IKEA We have two of these black tables and they travel all over our home for various pertinent needs. Right now, our three year-old is really into coloring, so it made its way into the boys room to act as a kids table. Other times it is outside as a play-doh table or a side table for food when we have parties.
Green stools: 5.99 Euro - IKEA
Star Wars X-Wing Fighter Kite: $20 - Target (although I saw it on clearance for $6.99 right before we moved and wanted to scream! While they don't really have sales in Italy, in the States I always recommend waiting for things to go on sale. I had to re-learn this lesson with this kite!)
Desk: 35 Euro - IKEA We chose this one because, for the money, it had the most amount of "storage" both with the pull out keyboard area and underneath it.
Red Shelves: 4.99 Euro - IKEA
1-2-3 Bins: 2.99 Euro for a pack of three. I think the rule with 8 year-olds is to give them a space of their own. Our son isn't quite at an age that he can organize all of his "trinkets" on his own, so any help (like these bins) is always good. In this case, I had him help me place the items in each bin, so that he would know where to put things on his own. For example, one #2 bin is a "SPY GEAR" bin. Another bin holds memorable items, like pictures of family in the US and important gifts he has received.
Star Wars Pictures: $6 from the good ole American Post Office. They were on clearance and Thomas grabbed all the ones they had left. They are matted and ready to (one day) be framed and placed on the walls.
Dresser: 69 Euro - IKEA (Each of the boys has only two drawers for their clothes-One for shirts and the other for pants and pajamas-- This forces me to downsize, although I would like another dresser so that clothes aren't always spilling out!)
Black storage bins: 2 Euro in as-is section -IKEA
Behind the door coat rack/hooks: 6.99 Euro - IKEA (I love HOOKS and because of the many jackets we have floating around the house I almost always opt to put such coat racks behind doors, so that they are out of sight! And a hint: When buying a coat rack, go for hooks and NOT pegs. I made the mistake of putting pegs behind Keziah's door, and everything subsequently falls down because there is nothing to secure the item).
The 30 Euro Girls Room Makeover
Somewhere between five and six, our daughter decided that princesses were a thing of the past, associated only with "little girls," not big ones like herself. This would have been fine if we hadn't decorated her entire room around a princess theme the previous year. She decided polka dots would suffice when changing her room into a "teenage room" and thus I painted some dots, added some hot pink curtains, re-located our green run, and took down all things princess-y!
Curtains: 6.99 Euro/2 - IKEA
White Table: 5 Euro - IKEA
Acrylic paint for polka dots: 10 Euro
Overhead Paper Light: 6.99 Euro - IKEA
Living. Room.
It's called a living room for a reason. This is certainly where we do a majority of our living, and especially our entertaining. For me, this is the most important room in the house. I take great care that the ambiance is just right and that someone who walks into this room would feel at home. Unlike every other place we have lived, we went with a very light color on the walls this time. It's a pale blue and during the day it matches the sky. In this way, I feel like the outdoors are simply an extension of our living space. It in essence opens the room up and takes advantage of all the natural light that pours in all day long. I always think it's important to accentuate a room's strength, and this color does just that for me.
Couch: 399 Euro - IKEA This couch pulls out into a bed AND one side flips up so that you can store stuff underneath. By FAR, the best couch for the money...and here's the other thing, when working with small spaces, I highly recommend buying smaller furniture. This couch was much smaller than others like it and yet offered the same comfort and function. Because of its size, it doesn't overtake the room. The other furniture isn't disproportional.
Chair: 20 Euro - IKEA We found this on sale and liked its mid-century modern potential. We brought it home, bought a can of orange spray paint, and changed its entire look...and added a splash of color to our neutral living room.
Clock: 10 Euro - Little hardware store down the street. It's plastic, but you'd never know that.
TV stand: 65 Euro - IKEA Again, this piece is multi-functional. The bins underneath house whatever a standard family would throw in a closet or a drawer (ie. DVD's, remote controls, books, magazines, art supplies for kids, etc.)
Coffee Table: 19.95 Euro - IKEA I love this coffee table because it has a shelf underneath where I put magazines, books, and photo albums that we like to look at frequently.
Dining Table: 99 Euro - IKEA While once again, this wasn't the table I was in love with, for the money, it has been very good to us. We can get eight people around it if we are desperate, and it slides into a smaller table in the case that we ever wanted to use it for another space.
Dining Room Chairs: 15 Euro- IKEA They match. I'm not crazy about them. But they match. And they were affordable. :)
Pillows: We have several pillows on our couch and in the orange chair. I like the softness, brightness, and pattern that pillows bring to a room. Some of them are cotton and others (my favorites) are down. I don't think you can go too wrong with pillows. It's the one area where I might back down from my "less is more" mantra.
The Green Room (aka our bedroom)
For over a year, our bedroom took the brunt of clutter, as it was in essence a catch all when I wanted to do a fast cleaning before having guests over. It was neglected and barren. And the walls were an awful, depressing not-even-white non-color. I avoided our room, except to sleep, because the ugly walls and awful lighting made me feel like I was living in the Projects. What's sad is that our bedroom is full of natural light and is potentially the warmest room in the house, aesthetically speaking. Recently, I made an impulse purchase while at the store with a friend, helping her pick out paint for her new apartment. I stumbled upon the kind of green I wanted, or at least whatever a three inch square sample could sell me on, and I asked the man behind the counter to mix some 3760 for me.
The paint brought the warmth and relaxation that this room has been dying to offer for the past year. I love to light a candle and sit on my bed to read in the middle of the day. The walls offer a spa-like feel and the light is at its peak and I feel inspired.
Ironically, we do not have a desk in our bedroom...or anywhere in the house for that matter. It felt funny at first to not have an "office" space, and the reality is that the only place we could put it would be our bedroom. But the more I go without a desk, the more I realize how uninviting and full of clutter all of our office spaces in the past have been. I like going to bed without the endless amount of post-it to-do lists posted next to a desk. Besides, the couch and our bed are much easier on my back than is an office chair...at least one we could afford.
Bed: 129 Euro - IKEA We went with an inexpensive bed frame and mattress and invested more money into a memory foam mattress topper and down comforter.
Duvet Cover/Shams: $25 - Target (clearance, marked down from $100)
Side Tables: 22 Euro - IKEA (A little more than I wanted to spend, but my husband really liked them and I really think these add a touch of elegance to the room...and they serve a much-needed purpose, which is always a must in a small space. I love multi-functional, utilitarian furniture.
Chair: 5 Euro - IKEA (as-is)
Bookshelf: 35 Euro
Hanging Lamp: 10 Euro - IKEA (notice that little corner with the paintings? That is Thomas' art studio for now, hence the hanging light).
Plants: 1.99 Euro each - IKEA (Living green things make me happy. I just wish I didn't kill so many of them!)
Pots for plants: 3 Euro each - IKEA
We don't have a closet in our room, just one wardrobe and a dresser. We would like to get another wardrobe, but for now we are forced to utilize the space very carefully and to get rid of clothes that never get worn. Also, we have a coat rack/hooks behind our door, as well as a shoe stand. These are all hidden and out of the way when the door is open.
My husband saw something similar to this in a magazine and so we found the hooks at Ikea (they were a few Euro each) and he used his drill to screw them into the concrete. It's great, especially in the winter, to get the kids' bikes and scooters up off the ground and away from the brutal weather.
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