A Craft Room Makeover!

Hi friends! I have been hard at work on a secret project for the past couple of weeks. I decided after Georgia went back to school after Christmas break to do a little painting project in the playroom/craft room. As you may recall, we moved my sewing machine and cutting table to the playroom last January (2022). It's now a hybrid craft room/playroom! Since then it has been a little crowded, a little messy and I realized, a little dark for my creative needs. I wanted to repaint the chalkboard and the formerly gray walls to something lighter and brighter.  Here's what it looked like:

We all loved the chalkboard but it was time for a change! So after a little ruminating, I decided to paint the walls off-white and do a decorative design of birds and clouds like this wallpaper that I have long admired. It's called Daydream by Hygge & West. So lovely. So pricey. ;) Fortunately, I have lots of free time so I figured I could paint something similar without the hassle of installing wallpaper.

I began by priming the chalkboard wall and painting. I used "Dove White" by Valspar. Georgia helped me, she's a very neat roller and we're working on her cutting in skills.

It took three coats to cover that gray.  I should have primed the whole room to start! After the walls were ready, I was extremely eager to start the birds and clouds design. I decided to paint the design on only two walls because I knew it was going to be quite the endeavor. I enlarged and printed out a sample and made a stencil to transfer the design to the wall. I used a colored pencil for the markings. 

Of course, I was most excited to paint the birds.  I used some leftover paint from the bookcase project for the birds. 

It only took a few sessions to paint the birds and then I switched over to clouds. I used the blue gray paint from our bedroom for the clouds. They took a lot longer...  In between clouds, I did some outlining on the birds. I did the outlines with a black paint pen, that was nice and fun!

Before long all the outlining was done and I had to settle in and paint clouds. Over and over again... for about 11 days straight. I did take one day off in the middle there. haha!

I let Georgia practice on one of the clouds. 

After many long hours of painting while standing on a ladder, on a stepstool, kneeling or sitting on the floor, I finally finished! Whew! The hardest part was the bottom next to the baseboard. It was hard to get down there and paint with any accuracy but I did the best I could. And I think it turned out pretty awesome!

I finally got all the furniture moved back in and my dad came and resized my tabletop so it would be slightly smaller for this small room. We hung up the macrame swing again and voila! So beautiful!

I did leave a few of Georgia's toys in her room instead of putting them back in here so it feels a little cleaner and less cluttered.  We'll see how long before the mess returns! haha!

Here's a closeup of the design.

If I ever get brave enough, I might hang some more art on the walls in here, but for now I can't bring myself to cover up the birds or put any holes in the wall knowing what a difficulty it will be to patch them in the future!!

Of course it wouldn't be right to leave without a before and after comparison! 

Before:

After:

What do you think? I hope to see you all around here again soon.  When I recover from this project! 

A Playroom for Georgia

Hi  readers! It's time for my quarterly blog post. Hahahaha!  I have not totally given up blogging, I just can't seem to find time for it lately! :)  I promised you back in May that I would update you on the new playroom for Georgia.  Here I am to keep my promise.

Michael and I decided earlier this year to move our office to the den so that we would have a space farther from Georgia's bedroom where we could hang out after she went to bed.  It was so hard creeping around upstairs in the office when she was sleeping right next door!  Michael also wanted a bigger area for his VR gaming setup.  So after much discussion, we finally decided to move the office to the interior wall of the den.  We had to rearrange a little bit and I lost half of my sewing room, but gained a "roommate" downstairs!  We have been loving the new arrangement.  It's great to have us both in one space for his gaming and my projects.  Plus, we have the den side with the couches and TV so we can watch Netflix at night without worrying about how loud the volume is!  We call it "our studio apartment" like it's our adult hang out space.

Meanwhile, we converted the old office into a playroom for Georgia.  Hopefully in the not-to-distant future we can get rid of some of the toys and make the room into a guest room/reading room with the addition of a daybed.  But for now, it's host to Georgia's wonderland of toys.  Here's a look at the new space.

The back wall of the room features a chalkboard wall that I painted.  Everyone has such fun drawing when they come to visit.  Georgia enjoys the freedom to scribble and draw big circles (with supervision).  Michael and I doodle occasionally, too!

Under the window is Georgia's little kitchen.  You may recognize it from way back when Papa and I designed it for my niece, Abby.  Six years later, it's still a big hit!  The addition of a kid-size table and chairs from Pottery Barn Kids (the pink one was on clearance right after Christmas and I got a great deal!!) allows Georgia and friends to sample their culinary creations.  It also serves as baby doll doctor's office and art center, periodically. :)

And hark!  The return of the denim chair!  We needed an adult-sized place to sit in here and since the gray velvet chair had gone to live with my mom already, I asked for the denim chair back!  It's perfect for the playroom.  And the little cloud pillow came from Hobby Lobby.

Next to the kitchen is a toy organizer filled with all the kitchen essentials, plus random playsets and puzzles.  The wall art is from a chalkboard calendar that I had been saving for years.  Finally, the perfect spot to display!

On the short wall is Georgia's dollhouse.  This was built by my mom for me and my sister when we were kids.  It has been well-loved and has held up astonishingly well.  I just hope it survives the abuse of a toddler!  Georgia and I have had lots of fun playing with my old Barbie dolls.  I've been working on redecorating the dollhouse for this decade with spray paint, new furniture and accessories.  I can't wait to share all the updates with you once I'm finished.  (You know-- next quarter!)

Next to the closet of requirement (currently filled with office paraphernalia, board games, and miscellaneous extra toys) is the bookcase which is hosting toys and books of every genre.  And in the middle shelf, a supermarket! haha! 

As you can see, Georgia loves her new playroom.  We do, too, since we can just shut the door and all the toys magically disappear!  :)

Check back for more updates from the Horvath House.  I still have the big den/sewing room/office reveal.  Plus holiday season is approaching so hopefully I'll have time to share some seasonal updates with you,too! 

Happy Almost Fall Y'all!