My Home in a Blog Parade of Homes

2010

(Why me?! Did my husband ask if I could participate because he knew if I were asked to show my home I would have to clean it! j/k)

“Poppies at Play” has put together a week long Parade of Homes and so far there have been some A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. rooms featured. Be sure to check out Poppies at Play for a complete list of the homes on the tour. The 13th home in line will be linked to the end of this post. My little old house is nothing in comparison to those already featured, but here goes nothing anyway!!!

Room #1: My Loft

I have had readers ask me where in my home it is that I teach preschool, so in preparation for this parade, I thought I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone (that is a sad analogy, just realized) and I’ll feature my loft for the tour and hopefully make the curious readers out there happy too!

At the top of my stairs is what we call the loft. Its a catch-all, multi-functional room that is probably the most used (and abused) room of the house! Its comfy and cozy and bright and airy, and ranks right up there as one of my favorite places to spend my time at home.

(The above picture was taken from the 3rd step from the top of the stairs)

As you can see, this room is pretty big and thank goodness because we use every stinkin’ corner of it!

Corner #1 is my craft desk.

Corner #2 is my husband’s desk… that I use more than him!

Corner #3 is my vinyl lettering shelf with all my vinyl supplies. There is also a walk-in closet that is way too cluttered to show. Its full of board games, craft and preschool stuff and whatever I need to stash away in a hurry!

Corner #4 is the timeout chair. (see it to the right?)

We also have a couch for reading that I LOVE relaxing on… but to be honest it tends to be the catch all for anything left downstairs that needs to be put away upstairs. Its right at the top of the stairs, so people (including me) find it easy to unload armloads of stuff on this poor couch! The small basket to the left is usually overflowing with stuff that belongs downstairs- usually cereal bowls and spoons of mine since I eat breakfast at the computer on my husbands desk!

In the center of the room is where the little preschool munchkins spend their time.

We have our calendar and weather station and all our art supplies in this shelving unit from Target ($45 total or $15 for 6 cubes). Each of the red cubbies have the students names on them and this is where they put their backpacks and finished projects until its time to go home. The blue and red bins are from IKEA. I got them when they were 99 cents each, but they have raised the prices on them in the last year or so. I also have a couple bins of books and puzzles that the kids love to play with while waiting for other classmates to finish their work.

This is the table space we use that I LOVE!!! I have tried a few types of tables in the 4 years of teaching from home and this is my favorite! I simply bought 6 Side Tables from IKEA (I got them for $6 each) and I pushed them together and made one large rectangle that seats 10. (I actually started with 4 tables and made a big square when my class had only 8 students in it, but now that my 2 year old thinks he is in the class, I had to add a spot for him and decided to make it an even rectangle.) The best part about these tables is that they stack easily so I can put them away on the weekends and vacuum really good. And they are so lightweight and easy to move so when we want to play a game or need a big area for class, the kids can help me push the tables to the side of the room and in seconds we have a big open area.

The chairs I have are from Walgreen’s, of all places, and I got them years ago on clearance and haven’t seen them since! Sorry!!!

Room #2: My Boy’s Room

When we bought this house, I only had Ethan and he was 2, but the biggest baseball fan EVER. (Just like his dad, not me.) I knew right away I wanted him to have a baseball room, but in looking online, the only “sports” rooms for boys were very bright and cartoon-ish, which wasn’t my style at all. I decided to do a nostalgic baseball room with simple bedding and black and white baseball pictures of some of the great players of the game- according to my husband, of course, I have no idea who these dudes are! (sorry if the word “dudes” just offended any baseball fans.) Now I have a 2 year old son that just moved into this room with my 7 year old son and he too is the biggest baseball fan.

Behind the beds is a framed print of Mickey Mantel that my husband LOVED. (I bought it at Prints Plus for $50.)

I bought the denim comforters for $20 at Target, the sheets are Ralph Lauren light green/grey gingham from Burlington ($10 set) and the baseball pillows were $3 each, also at Burlington.

I printed black and white pictures of Ethan playing baseball and I found some black and white photographs online of some great baseball players. All the pictures were matted and framed from the Target dollar bin and look great and simple hanging on the walls of the room.

On the other wall, I have an organized shelving unit from IKEA, and a small chair in the corner that has some sentimental value of which I don’t have time to post about.

The top shelf is Ethan’s own little “Hall of Fame”- pictures of his baseball seasons and some of his trophies. When Ryan is old enough to play, we will have to find a bigger spot for trophies!

Room #3: Leah’s Ladybug Room

When I had my little girl, I couldn’t wait to decorate a girly room, but I soon discovered that while I like cute and girly, I didn’t like pink and frilly. I found this ladybug bedding on ebay from a company that auctions brand new designer bedding. I ended up winning 2 auctions for a bed-in-a-bag set for 30-something dollars each!!! A quilt, sham, dust ruffle and window valance in awesome quality and cute design for $30 bucks?! Are you kidding me?!?

I took the 2 valances and made a long pillow for the window seat and added some vinyl of my daughter’s favorite primary song over the window.

The shelving unit was from our old house and I painted it white, as well as the little bench I bought at Savers for $3 that used to be bubblegum pink.

I made the signs above her beds from scrap wood, scrapbook paper, mod podge and ribbon.

This silhouette is one of my favorite wall hangings in my entire house!

This side table was $10 at IKEA and perfect for the space!

And just to lighten this post a bit (afterall, its me we are talking about!) I thought I would show you the uncensored part of my home that is definitely the biggest eye sore of all time! Ladies and gentlemen, please meet my laundry pile…

This is the part of my home that ALWAYS needs tending to. Laundry is never done! I will wash every last sock and have everything put away, only to be greeted by 2 more dirty socks in the laundry basket as soon as my husband gets home from work! I hate laundry. These clothes are all clean. I can wash it just fine, its just folding it and putting it away that I hate more than anything. This is me. This is the real me. Laundry is my biggest enemy.

So what was your favorite room of my house? The multi-functional loft, the nostalgic boys baseball room, the sweet and simple ladybug room, or the real, uncensored laundry room? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts!

So I got to thinking about my home and I really do feel so blessed to live in such a great place! My home is very simple, but I love it! Its not my dream home, but it is the home of my dreams- my dreams of raising a family with kids that love me and make life fun. My dreams of having an awesome husband who is supportive and caring and who loves me more than anything in the world. I am living the dream, really. I am living the dream…

Home number 13 is found at Room to Inspire- click on the number 13 below and it will take you to her site.
Have fun on the rest of the parade!

Comments

1

jenjen says:

April 28, 2010 at 5:21 am

Your home is just beautiful! I love your work space!

And I love that you kept it real with your laundry!

XOOX
Jen

2

Love Stitched says:

April 28, 2010 at 5:36 am

What a great room your loft is! Multi function rooms are the best!!! And I love your boys baseball room! My boys are huge baseball fans too! You have a great home!

3

Amy says:

April 28, 2010 at 9:57 am

Love these photos of your beautiful home. I especially like your loft, and all the ways you've used vinyl.
TFS!

4

Lynn from For Love or Funny says:

April 28, 2010 at 9:57 am

WAIT a SECOND! You teach preschool, too? I am completely impressed at all the things you do so well! You go, girl!!

5

slommler says:

April 28, 2010 at 11:03 am

Beautiful home!!! Loved the tour! I loved the light you have in your house….so bright and cheery. And the ladybug room is adorable!
Thanks
Hugs
SueAnn

6

Sharon says:

April 28, 2010 at 11:35 am

love all the organization! especially the craft area

7

Kristin says:

April 28, 2010 at 11:48 am

Lovely, lovely, lovely! Your organizational ideas are great…and I've always dreamed of having a loft! You're a lucky lady

8

Miss Mustard Seed says:

April 28, 2010 at 12:10 pm

Ha! I love the last shot of the laundry room. So funny. We all have areas like that in our house and I'm glad you shared yours. I can't believe you run a preschool in addition to everything else you do. Busy girl!

9

Andy Porter says:

April 28, 2010 at 12:45 pm

Such a beautiful home you have. I love the catch-all loft. I'm jealous of all of your vinyl color options:) I do like your storage area.

Your girls bedroom is so cute! I also like the idea of posing your son to match the baseball pics.

Thanks so much for being in the parade!

10

Beth@The Stories of A to Z says:

April 28, 2010 at 1:45 pm

This is my first visit to your blog! Absolutely love that you showed your "real" laundry room. I just have a laundry closet so typically my hallway looks similar . Your craft area is adorable and I think we're all drooling over your vinyl! Thanks for opening up your home to all of us.

11

The How-To Gal says:

April 28, 2010 at 1:49 pm

My husband said the same thing! But let's face it…my home stayed cleaned long enough to take pictures and that's it! Love all of the rooms in your home. I'm especially jealous of your craft space!!

12

Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia says:

April 28, 2010 at 2:12 pm

You have such a wonderful home! I'm with you on the laundry Love the ladybug room.
Take care
Kristin

13

Donene says:

April 28, 2010 at 2:40 pm

I loved your home and the lady bug room is simply adorable! I loved that you showed the real part of life, the laundry room!!!

14

Andrea says:

April 28, 2010 at 3:33 pm

Love the boys room. My good friend had her boys room done just the same!

15

Krystal says:

April 28, 2010 at 4:37 pm

Thanks for showing your home! You kid's rooms are great and I love your preschool space.

16

Scrappy Gifts says:

April 28, 2010 at 4:43 pm

Wow thanks for sharing! Love the ideas of storage especially. Your home looks wonderful.

17

SB says:

April 28, 2010 at 5:10 pm

Do you have a blog for your preschool?

18

Katie says:

April 28, 2010 at 6:43 pm

Your house is adorable. I love the ikea bins and your laundry room pics are my favorite! I am exactly the same way! I can NOT get laundry put away!

I'd like to see the inside of your drawers. Are they like mine? Everything just thrown in there?

19

Kelley says:

April 28, 2010 at 7:45 pm

What a great space! I love how organized it all is…. and just to know I dont think any of us ever catches up with the laundry!

20

MeenyMoe says:

April 28, 2010 at 9:43 pm

Ethan's room is my favorite. It is an exact copy of the theme in my son's room! I went with the nostalgic, vintage baseball theme too. I have the exact framed photo of the guy teaching the kids to bat hanging in MY son's room! LOL I also have old photos of Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth! -Karen

21

Becca @ Blue Cricket Design says:

April 28, 2010 at 9:57 pm

Dude!Love the laundry steph!

22

Patina Marie says:

April 28, 2010 at 10:47 pm

As a mom with NO girls, I LOVE the lady bug room!!!

…and I can relate to the laundry room!

23

Rory from Tools Are For Women Too! says:

April 28, 2010 at 11:30 pm

Hi There,
I would like to provide a link to your great party in my Link Party Directory at Tools Are For Women Too! I am glad to do this for followers of my blog if they will link up to my party as well called, Modern Craftswoman Monday . Please let me know if you are interested. I can be emailed at toolsr4women2@gmail.com if needed. Have a great day! Rory

24

Amanda says:

April 29, 2010 at 12:04 am

Love your loft! I've been trying to find a good way to organize all my vinyl stuff so thanks for the idea! Also, I must say it's nice to know there are other moms out there who wash and dry laundry just fine, but have a hard time putting it away. My pile looks just like yours!

25

Jamie says:

April 29, 2010 at 12:11 am

Your home is beautiful, and it looks like a very comfy place for a family!!

26

Sarah says:

April 29, 2010 at 1:23 am

Thanks for the tour. Your home is inviting and fabulous!
God's blessings,
Sarah

27

The Clines says:

April 29, 2010 at 3:56 am

I love the lady bug room! Beautiful!

28

Kim says:

May 14, 2010 at 1:24 am

Lovely home! Great find on the super cute ladybug bedding Those kind of deals make me want to do the happy dance.

29

Michael Reyes says:

June 19, 2010 at 11:44 pm

Nice home. It looks like a great place for kids. zebra bed in a bag full