Cameron's New Room!!

Finally!! We've been in our new home for a little over four months now and despite the fact that the kids' rooms were complete almost before anything else, it's taken me this long to get the photos pulled together. And their rooms are not entirely even "done," because I left room for them to add to things as they grow. But this is probably the closest and most picked up they'll be for a while (having them home in the summer is like letting animals run rampant in the house. If I have to pick up one more wet bathing suit off of the hardwood floors, I'm going to lose it).

But, I digress. Back to the fun stuff. Our home is a very open design, so before we even moved in, we made the decision to paint every single wall the same light grey color. It's a great neutral that really allows the design of rooms to come from elsewhere. So, my starting point for Cam's room was The Land of Nod's aptly named Ahmaze Quilt, designed by Ampersand Design Studio. I got a glimpse of it at the Nod spring preview in New York and knew I had to make it happen. Fortunately for us, our friends at Nod really helped us pull together the kids' rooms -- thank you, thank you, thank you!! It was high time that Cam had a real "big girl bed," and I fell in love with Nod's black Jenny Lind bed -- it's a classic design, but I think the black makes it so modern and bold. I paired those with the Gold Dot Sheet Set, the pattern on which also ties in Cameron's favorite quilt made by by mom. My mother makes a quilt for every grandchild and, with each successive one, incorporates pieces of our own childhood quilts and the previous grandchildrens' quilts.

My mom started such an amazing tradition and I love how it repeats the quilting effect, so I knew I had to make that another starting point for her room. Thus came the hot pink. Everything else flowed once I had graphic black + white paired up with hot pink + metallics. I had had my eye on that fabulous gold pouf for a while as well, so that was a given. And I paired it with a faux sheepskin to bring in a little warmth and texture. Cam likes to pull both up to her side table (which used to be my bedside table at our old home as well as my bedside lamp) and pretend she's using a "desk" to write in her "diary." I reused previous party decor over her bed, including two Nod garlands and the gold pig from Cami's fourth birthday party (I never throw out party decorations!!).

I reused our previous family room's graphic black + white striped carpet to lay out the main play area in her room. She has a great reading corner, featuring Nod's hot pink Domino Lounge Chair paired with another sheepskin (this one's real since it's off the floor) and a striped pillow friend. I put her books nearby on a bookcase and featured her most favorites on Nod's Gold Standard Shelving (along with a few of her sentimental collections and the hot pink "C" from her second birthday party). Nod's awesome metallic Mod Storage bins hold all her toys and keep them looking pretty (seriously, these hold SO much stuff). The gold lamp gives the perfect amount of reading light and she loves to curl up here and look at her books in front of a fire (which she honestly rearranges pretty much every day).

And if she's not in that chair reading or serenading her stuffed animals with her pink ukelele, you're likely find her in the ridiculously fabulous gold striped teepee!! When we first got this, she tried to sleep in it every night and demanded a comfortable cushion in there. So I wrapped a floor cushion in Nod's Neon Dash Blanket and she moved in. However, after several middle-of-the-night wakings, I'm happy to report that she's back in her comfy bed and using the teepee just for playing.

We also started a gallery wall here for her, including Cam's hieroglyphic name her dad brought her from Egypt, two sweet paintings of ballerinas and doggies (from my mother's childhood room and then my own -- still in the same framing!), and a great weaving by Nod's Creative Director, Danielle (other artwork here and here). The commitment of hanging artwork with nails in kid's rooms gives me anxiety, so the gallery wall and its movability works perfectly. I can't wait to see what Cam adds over the years.

Last but not least, I fixed a little dramatic play corner for her using Nod's metallic bin and brightly-colored fruit hooks. Cameron still loves playing dress up and has a TON of it, but the metallic bin easily holds all of it. I'm proud that the light saber gets just as much play as the princess shoes.

That pretty much covers it! I think I succeeded in pulling together a room that is as bright, bold, and fun as Cami, but that is also organized, easy for her to keep picked up, and that will grow with her. Thanks again to The Land of Nod and my interior design friend, Suzanne, who helped me with the layout of the kids' rooms. Kane's room will be up next week!