Freedom of Choice

I knew it would happen sooner rather than later as my daughter has always had strong opinions. The time has come . . . she has outgrown her pink room. I wouldn't go so far as to say she hates pink, but it's not a color she would EVER pick out now as a mature 8-and-a-half-year-old. I always thought pink and green was timeless. Guess I was wrong.

I realize this looks like a lot of pink, but it's very subtle really. The walls are a very pale shade called Confection by Martha Stewart (when she had paint at Sherwin Williams years ago). It's just too "girly-girl" according to Meg who has her finger on the pulse of all things cool and tween (although I hate that word).

Her duvets are white linen with ruffles down the center that I got on sale at Pottery Barn about 7 years ago. I still love the bedding - so simple. Meg said it's not "comfy" enough (it's not as soft as cotton) and it lacks pizazz. That random green ball looking-thing on the wall is garland she used to literally deck her wall. She also hung lollipop ornaments from her chandelier, and that's a little Santa with bottle brush trees on her bedside table.

Since Meg's favorite color is green (and not paired with pink), we decided we'll go with a green and aqua/pale turquoise color scheme. Our guest room down the hall is green, so she decided a very pale aqua blue for the walls would work for her.

I was inspired by the color palette of this living room by Ashley Whittaker in House Beautiful.

And while the blue in this bedroom from House Beautiful is not the shade we're going for, I love the overall blue/green theme and feel of the room. Of course, we're keeping her iron twin beds and just changing bedding, fabric, paint and accessories. I love upholstered headboards, but I have neither the budget nor the patience for changing her beds right now.

I was playing around on Olioboard last night and pulled some inspiration pieces. Since Meg doesn't like anything too "frou frou," I had a hard time finding simple bedding that would appeal to both of us. I think the Pottery Barn Teen Suite Organic duvet in Mint will work quite nicely. I haven't looked for a paint color yet, but that's next on my list. I pulled some pillows from Hable Construction, fabric from Premier, the Maskros pendant light from IKEA and some posters I found through Haven and Home on Etsy that add some whimsy.

Of course, this is just a jumping off point, but I think Meg is on board with these choices which is half the battle . . . okay, the total battle. Her new bedding is a big part of her Christmas present this year, so I've got to get it ordered ASAP.

So what do you think? Is this look "big girl" enough?

Pillow Talk

It all started with the living room of interior designer Melissa Warner's LA apartment featured on the May cover of House Beautiful . . . 

The room appeals to me on several levels. The colors, textures and patterns are all very pleasing. I'm not alone in my admiration. This room and apartment have been all over the blogosphere. However, some warn that you might be trendy if you like this room. I've been called worse. 

But you know what really caught my eye? It's something very simple and unassuming. 

I'll give you a hint - there are two of them in the photo. Shocking, I know, that I should like something in pairs.

Have you figured it out? Yes, it's the cream-colored wool felt applique "Layla" pillow from Crate & Barrel. I love the subtle color and texture. It would make a statement in any room.

I've been noticing a lot of wool felt lately. While perusing my PB Teen catalog yesterday, I ran across these examples:

Which reminded me of where I first fell in love with wool felt pillows in the first place: Hable Construction.

I rushed over to their website to grab some photos of the pillows I have long admired only to find a mere TWO examples. That's it. They used to have dozens of wool felt designs. What's going on? Had I missed something?

A little concerned, I sent an email to Hable's sales department inquiring about the lack of wool felt pillows on their site. Was this a temporary shortage? Are there sheep on strike somewhere in New Zealand?

I received a very quick and friendly response which read:

"We are no longer producing the wool felt products. The pricing has gotten higher over the years and the durability is not as strong as our prints. We just felt it was better to do the better priced collection with Garnet Hill and it has been successful. Thanks for your interest. What we have left is all she wrote!  - Kate"

Bummer. Am I the last to know this? However, the good news is Hable Construction still carries its line of cotton canvas and cotton linen pillows in their signature bead, checker and poppy designs:

As well as some very cool new designs:

And, since we're on the subject of pillows, my latest obsession is this crewel pillow from High Street Market's Etsy store:

I think my sofa needs another pillow. Gotta break up the symmetry of the pair I currently have.

Okay, so I have slight pillow obsession. Any favorites in the bunch?