Caroline’s Big Girl Rainbow Room

When we moved into this rental, our very first rental, I took seriously every word of The Nesting Place and made it home, ASAP. We knew we were only here temporarily, so I went crazy when we first moved in. Within two months, my house was DONE. I mean, nothing left to hang & no wall left to paint (so grateful for a landlord who said “go for it!” when I offered to repaint the whole thing…!). It was so weird. I had planned and planned and gathered all my supplies and decor to make this as seamless as possible. & since we knew this was just a short season in our lives, there was no need for tweaking & I was certainly not going to buy any furniture or much decor to make this place “just right.” What we had worked and worked pretty well. But I was DONE. I was usually never done. But here I was. There was nothing left to decorate.

& then I stopped creating in the way I am used to. It’s taken me a good year to realize how much of myself I lost during that dark year, but now that I am resurfacing, I can see how I redirected my energy. Reading Big Magic opened my eyes to just that. My creativity was never dormant. It was still alive. I had just used it all to create my Paleo-ish kitchen. Food got all my energy. & back then, that was ok. I had something new to learn about and focus on.

But as I started to get the hang of the whole Paleo thing & learn my shortcuts and favorites, I yearned for more.

& at the very time I was reading pg 37 in Big Magic, the part on saying yes or no to creative inspiration & what happens when you choose one or the other, I was presented with a big opportunity. A friend from school who had been to my home, and raved about it, asked me to help her decorate hers. Like, she wanted to hire me to do it.

Woah, woah, woah. This was all floating in my head and exactly what I envisioned when I ramped things back up again when we moved back to Texas, next Summer. But I hadn’t finalized my business plan or my process or built my spreadsheets and I have not yet wrapped up my stylebabyLOG business (psst! back in stock in a couple weeks!!) and…and…and…

…I said yes.

So here I sit, a couple weeks into the largest design project I have been a part of, on the largest budget I have ever been able to play with and it is SO MUCH FUN. I have learned so much along the way, but mostly, that this is exactly what I need to be doing right now. I LOVE making a house a home. I LOVE curating pretties for a room. & I LOVE making a highly functional space, that is easy on the eyes. Pretty & practical. Business and creativity. Everything I love all wrapped up into one job. That doesn’t feel like a job.

You guys. I think this is IT.

So I thought I would finally share Caroline’s room, to bring some decor back here. It’s been awhile. :) When we left her beautiful nursery, she asked me specifically for a Rainbow Room. As we narrowed down the specifics, and colors, she asked for one wall “the color of Elsa’s cape.” She’s since declared herself “totally over princesses” and purged her room of anything related to Frozen, but the wall is still there. Not the color I would have chosen (turquoise! coral!) but it is her room. & I wanted her to feel ownership over her space. So alas…welcome to Caroline’s Rainbow Room. This is quite possibly the cleanest it’s ever been. Don’t be fooled…this girl is a tornado and she can’t keep a room clean for more than five minutes. She is a maker and her hands are in projects all over the place. You can see them all over her colorful walls! Just the way she likes them. :)

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I think the biggest thing I learned about decorating a “rainbow room” is to keep the rainbow in the accessories. Everything major is neutral. All you need is little pops of color!

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I insist both my kiddos have my favorite DIY bookshelves for their books. I love that they can see all the titles. If you are not into DIY-ing them, you can always get a ledge from Ikea!

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Oh, this QUILT!! I saved up all of Caroline’s special favorite baby clothes and found the perfect keepsake. Each strip of fabric on this quilt came from an outfit, sleeper, blanket and even her beloved playmat that she used as a baby! It is so, so special to me.

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Have a daddy that works a lot? Yeah. We do too. Most days she doesn’t get to see him. So they write notes. This is just a frame with some scrapbook paper cut to fit behind it. Glass works awesome with dry erase markers. & pom poms make great erasers.

& below, that’s a thumb tack (decorative furniture nail, to be exact), a ribbon & some clothespins for the most recent art. Lifesaver.

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I learned the hard way that simple art supplies create the best work. One kind of marker. One kind of paper. The mess stays a bit more contained. You’re welcome.

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styleberry_decorating_8For her second birthday, I painted and scrapbook paper-wallpapered this gorgeous dollhouse. I found it on sale on one of those awesome GILT sales & it is still so well loved. We even expanded to the basement, recently. We LOVE it. & they have awesome customer service. We learned this when this was set on the opposite side of the dresser and she accidentally slammed the door shut on the open dollhouse and it was a catastrophe. Like, major breakdown. But we all survived. Thanks to PlanToys and their excellent replacement service!!!
styleberry_decorating_07& some of the specifics that I know you’ll ask about:

  • Duvet: Pottery Barn Teen
  • Bed: Pottery Barn Teen Outlet
  • Dream Colorfully: Pottery Barn Teen Outlet
  • Herringbone Quilt (it’s made out of her baby clothes!) & Custom Name Pillow: Anna Joy French
  • Flower LED Lights: Ikea
  • Wall Shelves: DIY
  • Victorian Dollhouse: PlanToys
  • Desk stool: Target

The rest of the fun treasures have come from years of collecting from all over. :)  & I cannot find the paint chips for her room. If you really want them, I will dig. But I am not sure I’ll ever use either of these colors again…so I tossed them! ;)

& Lastly, because books are everything (!!), the chapter book series on her dresser is her current favorite, Magic Treehouse. It’s a really great chapter book for young readers that covers a vast array of Non Fiction topics, but is a fictional series. We could not possibly love it more! She’s on book 46, and is so sad to be almost done. I highly recommend! We got a great deal on ours through Scholastic. We also love the thorough non fiction Fact Trackers that accompany the series, that provides a deeper look into some of the subject matter. Definitely her favorite books, so far!

 

Hi! Hello! I am Shawna, the founder of Styleberry Blog. This creative corner of the internet has become a learning haven for moms and creatives, offering a warm and encouraging nudge to those who wish to be better and do better, but often don't know where to start. From Decorating to DIY to Diapers and Paleo-ish Dishes, I strive to make the complicated simple and empower women to take action beyond their personal comfort zone. I subscribe to the Shine Theory & so strongly believe that we shine when the women around us shine and mutual support—lifting up instead of tearing down--will always be the culture here. Are you in? I hope so! Beyond the computer, I run Styleberry Creative where I work with clients to create low fuss, high function spaces that are pretty and practical in San Antonio, Texas and beyond. I LOVE making a house a home. My own studs out renovation is now complete and I am now back to working with clients. Please don't hesitate to drop me a line if you'd like to work together! I hope you’ll join me on this fun new adventure! Xo.

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