Sophie's room revisited...

I wish someone had told me that little girls come with so many accessories. If I had known the full story, I would have given her the master bedroom!!! Honestly, our little girl is a collector of anything and everything. A magpie of sorts, she likes all things shiny, sparkly, and glittery, and scoops them up to feather her little nest. She has more treasures than drawers to put them in, and things finally came to a disorganized head following Christmas.

This treasure was hand-picked by me at Pottery Barn Kids...had to have it!!!

While Sophie has the largest bedroom of our children, it still is not large by any measure, especially since it has to double as her playroom. However, it should be plenty big to house one little girl and her toys...the problem is, Sophie is drawn to so much. She is a true girl through and through (as am I) and she loves baby dolls, Barbies, Polly pockets, Littlest Pet Shop, Strawberry Shortcake...you name it!! Every doll is like her child and she has attached a sentimental value to each one: there is "sleeping baby", Baby Alive, Amazing Amanda, Canadian Girls (our version of American Girls), "Fat baby" (don't ask...), and even tiny babies that she remembers tucking into her car seat as a little toddler.


I made it my New Year's mission to get things under control in her bedroom, and do so in a pretty way. I am tired of buying storage containers that simply add to the visual clutter in her room, despite containing all the little "pieces of her life". Sticking to my guns, we purged what she could bear to part with (and donated it all) and I decided on the perfect (affordable) storage solution: (from Ikea)

...except I got it in white...with pink and white bins:



Here is a close-up: Sophie and I made labels using pretty scrapbook punch-outs and now she knows where everything should go...we'll see how that goes...







The proof is in the pudding:


Sophie (age 2 and 1/2)on her potty...expecting showers, no less..with some of her "treasures" scattered around her and Sophie (age two) "nursing" her baby (stuffed animal in this case).

Think Pink

I am drawn to pink. I think it is because I am very much a "girly-girl". Whenever I go shopping for clothes for my daughter, I gravitate to the pink dresses, pink sweaters, etc. I have to make a conscious effort to buy the yellows and blues that are equally as pretty and certainly less predictable. I love pink, so it is was with more than a little surprise that I noticed that apart from Sophie's room, there is no pink in my house. Weird...

I think I have fallen prey to the notion that pink is for little girls or those who are bound to the Victorian style of decorating. Maybe I am just afraid that if I decorate with pink I will not achieve a "grown-up" look in my home. Or maybe I was frightened away from pink after the dusty rose craze of the Eighties (I had dusty rose carpet in my bedroom as a teen and LOVED it). Whatever the reason I am "bringing pink back" into my decor!

Pink can be soothing or stimulating (depending on its intensity), but is always happy. When I think of my favorite shade of pink, I think of a pale pink peony. I love the subtleness of soft pink and I am determined to come out of my comfort zone and incorporate it more throughout my house. Pink is said to reveal your softer side and encourages conversation. In its bolder shades, it can sometimes be garish, so the key is to temper it with colours that bring out its best. Soft pinks obviously look great with the pastel hues, but also are fantastic with shades of taupe, brown, silver, and even black (in small doses). The bolder shades look great with darker browns, lime greens, and orange. Pink is a colour to have fun with: incorporate it gently. Instead of painting a whole room, introduce pink through the use of pillows, artwork, candles, a chair or even fresh flowers. Bring in enough pink to enjoy; but like anything sweet, don't over-indulge!

Pink is for Sophie

Sophie has loved the color pink since she was able to voice her opinion. On her third birthday she requested a pink party and so it was. When we built this house, we asked her if she wanted to change the colour, and she said yes, BLUE, with lots of PINK!! She has a sleigh bed her Daddy made her that is painted a pale yellow, and a pretty vanity dresser we inherited from a previous flip. I re-upholstered its bench in yellow and pink toile. She has a pink and white gingham chair just the right size for our goldilocks and a pink crystal chandelier. I am actually getting tired of pink and am looking forward to the day she decides she wants to change some of it! The bottom half of her wall is painted in blue as she requested, and I didn't know how I was going to separate the two colours. I absolutely love pompom fringe so one day I decided I would try it as a border. A few hundred (or at least it seemed) pushpins later and I was done. I love the effect and I satisfied my desire for pompoms. It was cheaper than chair rail, and I think, more creative. I will only regret it when she actually does want to change her room and I have lots of little nail holes to fill! Hopefully, that won't happen too soon!!!