new year, new room

Ellie's last gift on Christmas morning was a card from her dad and me. Inside it said simply, "Go look in the guest room. Merry Christmas! Love Mom and Dad".

This is what she saw:

The view from the door. Those of you who've stayed here as guests will remember how much of the room that double sized bed took. I'm amazed at the space in here with just a twin. Since Carol convinced me that lowered expectations were the key to a happy holiday, I abandoned the idea of sewing a quilt in time for Christmas and bought bedding from the Shabby Chic line at Target. Carol is a wise woman.

The bed was handed down to us from a quilting friend (I posted it a few months ago). It was actually two headboards. I painted them pink and raised the one used as a headboard slightly more than the footboard.

The bookcase is one of two that Chris' grandfather made for him and his brother. The maple vanity and dresser also belonged to those grandparents and date to the early 40's. The vanity was Basia's when she was Ellie's age. The chair is from IKEA, was white and used to be in my room. It's pink to match the bed and got a new covered seat from an extra set of sheets that coordinate with the bedding.

This is the best picture I could get of the valance. I made it out of the same set of sheets from the bedding. Not happy with it at all. I might try adding another layer of white below it - sort of a valance petticoat - to see if that helps. If not, I'll be working on an alternate idea over the next few months. There's a scalloped hem at the edge to mimic the shape of the bedside lampshade.

The cedar chest was given to us by Basia's cousin. It holds the sofa slipcovers. Since there's nowhere else in the house it will fit, Ellie gets to live with them.

The beads hanging in the middle of the photos are attached to a fan pull. They don't look so odd when you're in the room, but they seem to take center stage in these photos.

Ellie's view of the parasols before she turns out her light at bedtime.

More detail shots below.