GRACIE’S ROOM {inspired by Virginia Johnson for One Kings Lane}

before moving into our current apartment, we blogged about our lady’s first bedroom.  we were renting (and still are) so our design was very minimalistic.  we opted for a gender neutral palette and made sure to steer clear of anything pink. mainly because i was overwhelmed with the pressure of having pink EVERYTHING for little girls.  i tried to boycott the color as much as i could and i was pretty successful.  however, after some time, i realized that it was inevitable. we had to bring the color in somewhere, and thanks to a contest i entered last summer through Oh Joy’s blog and One King’s Lane, we did.  the two collaborated on a Pinterest Contest called The 10 Day Picnic.  the winning prize was a water color summer illustration by the talented Virginia Johnson.  i entered… and WON!! and as if winning wasn’t enough, they sent me my favorite illustration of the ten!!! it’s a picture of a colorful popsicle perfectly melting on a hot summer day.

at the time i did not have a place for the illustration.  we were getting ready to move out of our apartment and i wanted to make sure we found the perfect spot for the beautiful water color painting.  once we settled into our new place, i knew that the inspiration behind our little girl’s bedroom had to center around our one of a kind Virginia Johnson piece. it was perfect blend of colors that encouraged me to play with pinks and more vibrant hues allowing gracie to have more of the once dreaded color in her life, in a tasteful way of course.

thank you One King’s Lane, Oh Joy, Pinterest and Virginia Johnson for holding this contest and for the inspiration behind our little lady’s bedroom (2nd edition).

^^this teepee is a new addition to her bedroom. it was a random find at homegoods that we picked up on clearance for $50!!! we found the exact same one later that night at amazon and were thrilled when we realized how great the price was^^

^^the furniture in the room is the same as the one in her previous bedroom.  the banner over the tent was one we put together for her birthday and decided to keep around because it added height and played very nicely with the Virginia Johnson illustration.  she still looks at it and says “look momma, it’s my party!”^^

^^grace is learning how to “sit like a lady” it cracks me up how knows that ladies cross their legs when they sit!^^

^^i love this stage she’s in right now. she loves painting her nails and tries to blow on them to make sure they dry properly.  she’s also all about princess dresses… i have to force her to wear pants!^^

^^plants don’t really thrive in this home but these little ikea plants are managing to hang in there^^

^^this is sparky, her horse.  it’s a hand-me-down from grace’s cousin but i’m almost sure it was a cracker barrel purchase.  she used to be terrified of the horse and for a year and a half the poor guy lived in an attic. now i can’t get her off this thing.^^

^^the shelves are from ikea.  they are very sturdy and we’ve had them for ever! we had to make sure we positioned them high because grace is getting to a “climb everything” stage and knew she’d climb to the top of those shelves if she found a way to get close to them.  the baskets were another clearance buy from target a couple of seasons ago and the “canvas” on the top shelf is a repurposed easter cloth kitchen towel that target sold two years go!^^

^^the mobile on the wall is just about one of my favorite things in this room (except for the little lady in the picture of course!)  it was a DIY polka-dot garland project that i worked on for her first bedroom.  i wanted it to match with the water color motif, so i pulled off the dark blue circles and added light blue ones.  voila! that’s what i love so much about that garland… over time, you can tweak it as you need to^^

^^i know i say this often but this little girl is getting soooo big! she’s having all sorts of conversations  and is showcasing her personality.  so far, i think this room suits her well.  it’s girly and playful and isn’t covered in pink! she’ll also be in this crib until i see signs of her trying to climb out of it, and i am not rushing to get her into a big girl bed any time soon. ^^

i’m curious where do you find inspiration behind home design/style?  a painting? a trend? i’d love to hear all about it!