{blogging moms @ home: Erin}

Our last stop on this week's Bloggin Moms @ Home series is the home of a friend I hold near and dear to my heart...Miss Erin from Rare and Beautiful Treasures. I've had the pleasure of being not only an internet friend with Erin but also meeting a few times in real life, and she is the real deal friends. So happy to have you Erin!

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Hi everyone! My name is Erin and I live with my husband of 10 years and two little boys in a big ol' fixer-upper on a few rolling acres in rural North Carolina.

 

I keep a blog called Rare & Beautiful Treasures where I write about motherhood, decorating and life abundant. Here I am with my little lambs.

I have a passion for designing children's spaces. My design taste leans toward vintage and whimsical in any case but translates so well to rooms for little ones! When Mandy asked me to share a room in our home where I spend time with my babes, I knew it would be fun to share our nursery/playroom. This room functions as both a nursery for my 8 month old son and a play area for my 3 year-old little boy.

   

This is James' crib with bedding I designed. The skirt is made out of a vintage table runner.

   

Lowercase kraft letters via Etsy.

When we bought our house, the hardwood floors were covered with very old carpet and the wood was in desperate need of refinishing. I painted the floors in this room with a high-gloss oil-based porch and floor paint. I love the look of painted hardwood floors in a child's room and it is an extremely cost-effective solution for old floors. I painted the wood floors in our beach cottage nursery as well, you can see that room here!

The waterfall chandelier in this room was a vintage find via Ebay. It came from an estate sale in California.
 
 

Every children's space needs a chalkboard wall! A nice contrast to a fancy-pants chandelier. I love contrast!

 

 The boys' grandmother knitted this little lamb piece, which is a sweet and unique bit of art.

 

This dresser belonged to my boy's Great Grandmother. We inherited it and I switched out the knobs for crystal ones I found at Lowes.

 

The play side of the room! A little table for art projects and books.

 

"My Whole Heart" piece by Between You & Me Designs, Etsy.

 

Sweet Heavenly Molasses print, also via Etsy.

 

A baby grand piano because my 3 year-old loves music.



 Old style doorknobs ( which are actually brand new) from Lowes!

 

Vintage book pages decoupaged onto wooden triangles make for a one of a kind bunting. Again, via Etsy.

 

Pages from a 1950s storybook hung by clothes pins onto twine.



Gallery wall with baby clothes, art & photos.

 

This is just a fun, fun space where my boys and I enjoy spending time. Thanks, everyone, for stopping by!

 

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Thanks so much for this beautiful tour Erin! I love the chalkboard wall and all of the vintage, whimsical touches! And those boys of yours...heartbreakers. :)

Thanks everyone for playing along this week! I will definitely be doing another series like this!

{blogging moms @ home: Freckles Chick}

Next up in the Blogging Moms @ Home series is my sweet friend Freckles Chick! I'm so honored that she agreed to be a part of this series. We go way back to our days of pre-children interior decorating and it is fun to see how she's adapted her style to fit the addition of her daughter Quinn. 
********************************************** Hello This Girl's Life readers!   Freckles Chick here (not my real name ).  I'm so thrilled to be a part of this awesome guest blogger series.  I've "known" Mandy for years now & though we have yet to meet in person, I know this much: I adore her.  I especially will never forget the pearls of wisdom, virtual hugs of compassion, & rays of optimism she gave me during one of our email exchanges, back in my early days of motherhood (Mandy, my friend: somewhere between delirium & finally washing my hair, I hope I thanked you profusely!!)  
I'm a work-at-home-mom to a wild sassy spirited 18-month old girl, Quinn.  Much like you busy mamas, our days are full around here (library storytime, toddler ballet, playdates, me squeezing in work during her sleeping hours), so it's always a pleasure to unwind at home in our favorite space: Quinn's room.

It might sound like the easy answer to "what space is special to you & your child", but my girl's room is truly the space we gravitate to when it comes to sharing special moments. Little moments that feel big.



Quite honestly, Quinn loves being outside.....weather permitting & non-permitting.  It's where her havoc-wreaking knows no boundaries.  But when we're in her room, a calm washes over her (albeit brief, but I'll take it).  There are no distractions like a computer or TV (yes, my kid does watch TV).  Though she has a separate playroom in the lower level of our house, we still spend quite a bit of time hanging out in her room everyday.  
This chair has seen countless books read, snuggle sessions, & climbing attempts.   
IKEA might be happy/appalled to hear that their popular chair also doubles as a jungle gym for a rambunctious toddler.  

Lately, we find ourselves simply lolling about in this chair & having conversations that would be complete gibberish to others........but to us, we're making perfect sense, of course.
If we're not lounging, then we're having dance-off/pants-off parties in the middle of the room to the tunes of Railroad Earth (hey, bluegrass is totally danceable to) or whatever pops up on our Pandora stations.  Pants optional, sorry no pics   Or we're playing a game of pretend-sleeping amidst piles of clean laundry punctuated by tickle fights. (I might actually be asleep with my eyes open here........)

Mostly, we just let our imaginations wander..........

I've been meaning to move Quinn's art table that we tweaked downstairs to her playroom, but she loves it here.  She'll sometimes lead me by the hand to her room, plunk herself down in a chair, & insist I sit in the other one.  We color the crazy out of this thing. Not sure how much longer that tiny chair will last though (one of my buttocks is always hanging on for dear life).

These clear acrylic book ledges are my favorite detail by far.
They're still holding strong after 2 years.

DIY fabric scraps art {details here}

I'm sure as Quinn grows & her interests evolve, a different space in our home will become our favorite.  
But until then, let the wild rumpus start!

Thanks so much for having me, Mandy!! xoxo
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SUCH a fun tour girl! And I love the Where The Wild Things Are quote...so perfect. 
Thanks for giving us a peek into your lovely life with Quinn!

{blogging moms @ home: Erin}

You all I'm SO excited about today's contributor to Blogging Moms @ Home. My sweet friend Erin from Design for Mankind is here to give us a glimpse into her ridiculously amazing home and how she shares it with her daughter Bee. So happy to have you Erin!

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Hi, ladies! I'm Erin Loechner, a writer/stylist/designer living in the Midwest (you can find me here and here online). Fun fact: My older sister and Mandy were good friends in high school and I used to be so jealous when Mandy would come over for sleepovers and I couldn't hang out in the room to gossip about boys. (Mandy had the best hair cut, btw.) Anyway, I have a nine-month-old baby and am just entering the thick of the baby-proofing stage, so my decor is pretty reflective of the season we're in!

    

 I like to keep an inspiration board handy and have found that washi tape and a few cork boards are the perfect combo for me. Perfectly temporary, perfectly out-of-reach for baby Bee.

  

I'm a firm believer that grown-up objects can make great toys, and toys can make great grown-up objects! I often scatter a few of Bee's toys on our office credenza (you can see her favorite rattle in the background on the right), and one of my favorite decorative items are some vintage marbles for Bee to play with when  she's older.

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Cable-knit poufs are the best babyproofing tool ever, right? (Say hi to our soft-coated wheaten terrier, George!)

  

I stash most of Bee's toys in this toy chest above (it has the cutest chalkboard lid!), but to be honest, I leave most of them out during the day. They're just so playful to look at, and isn't cleaning up after a nine-month old kind of like shoveling your driveway during a snowstorm?

   

Also, I swear by FLOR tiles in my house. With two dogs and a baby, the ability to lift up a corner of the carpet and throw it in the laundry is a serious luxury.

   

 My office and the living room are combined, so Bee's often sneaking over to my corner workspace and playing with wrapping paper, the vent or tracing her hands over the confetti decals on the wall.

   

 One of my favorite things to decorate with are books. And yes, I always read them first!

   

Thanks so much for having me, Mandy! I'm off to chase that sweet terror above. ;)

Image Credits: My dear Husband

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Thanks so much for sharing your space Erin...it is SO inspiring!