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?

And the Winner Is . . .

No, I'm not announcing the winner of some super giveaway because, well, my blog's just not that popular yet (however, see below if you're interested in a giveaway). 

I'm actually announcing something much more exciting (well, to me anyway) - the paint color that will go in most of my house. Okay, so it was never really a competition, but it kind of felt that way. 

So, without further ado . . . the color will be: 


Wheeling Neutral by Benjamin Moore.

Sorry, this photo is not great. I tried to download a swatch off the Benjamin Moore website but it didn't work. So, this is the sample I painted on poster board. 

Special thanks to Marianne of Haven and Home for suggesting the color!

Honestly, after a while all the paint started to look alike . . .

And, after 11 samples, I was a bit bleary-eyed . . .

But, after all was said and done (and painted), Wheeling Neutral emerged as the favorite for its lack of pink or yellow undertones. If anything, it might have a hint of green but overall it's a clean, crisp neutral that I believe I can live with for years to come.

Armando (my favorite painter) is booked for Monday, and I can't wait. Don't you just love saying "Armando"? It makes me think of some hunky guy from a Telemundo soap opera. Trust me, he's not.

In other news (that I hinted at above), there are a couple of great giveaways I've run across on other blogs in the past couple of days.

Julie over at Monkey Grass Hill is offering a fabulous jewelry giveaway. The best part - she makes this jewelry herself, and it is beautiful! Very vintage-inspired and unique. I love it. 

Plus, while you're over there, check out her blog as she shares before and afters from her home and muses over whether or not she has too much zebra stuff (something we all can relate to). She's very unpretentious and down-to-earth - my kind of girl.

And the second giveaway is a great Gold Sunburst Mirror (who wouldn't love one of these?) from From the Right Bank.

Ally of From the Right Bank has clocked some serious travel time (she seems to be almost as well-traveled as my father), and has recently hosted a spate of guest bloggers as she has been in India - poor dear. Her blog is very entertaining, check it out here.

That's all for now. I'll keep you updated on how Armando's doing next week!