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Thursday, March 4, 2010

Enter My Brain If You Dare!!!

I did a post recently on Design Springboards, here.  I have a project that I am starting out slowly and I am not sure when I will be able to finish it, but I have made a little progress that has pointed me in the direction I need to go. My thought process started like this.............(You are now entering my brain).(insert The Twilight-Zone music here)
  1. I desired a change in the playroom (Kiddos are getting older, time for a change).
  2. Looked in my inspiration folder that I have been collecting pictures in for a couple of years.
  3. Noticed there was a consistent color theme (actually, this was a bit of a surprise, but when you randomly select pictures, a common thread will start appearing). I think this is the most important step in finding what you really like. Do it randomly and go with your heart.  If you like it save the picture.
  4. Once I had the color family I was going to use, then the fun part, shopping for my first element or Spring board.
  5. Next the shopping continued until I had enough items that a picture started to emerge.
  6. Since this is a playroom and also used as a guest room it has a bed in it. We need new furniture desperately but due to budget constraints this might have to wait for awhile.
  7. Now that I have the color pallete, I now know what color and design of furniture I am looking for.It needs to be crisp and white, fun with simple lines.  (I have found a bed I really want and will show it to you later.)
With all this in mind I am going to show you pictures of my inspiration file and then my Springboard. After that, I will show you the fabrics of the various elements I have pulled together so far. Here we go..........










Serena & Lily bedding

The funny thing about all of this, is I have talked for about 2-3 years about wanting a black and white color scheme in the play room. See how interesting it is when you put a collage of inspiration photos together. No black and white here, only blues and greens.

Next is my Spring Board..........

TA-DA! This is the quilt I am using. It is beyond perfect for what I have in mind. What makes this even better is I got it on clearance at TJMaxx for $10!!! I would have purchased it even at full price because it was that perfect for the room. They also had some sheets and pillows to go with it but you know me. I can not Smatch! (my word for matchy/matchy). I have to make it hard on myself and try to co-ordinate things.  The next step was to find some elements to go with this quilt. This room is also a guest room, so the bed is sometimes slept in by a boy and sometimes by a girl.  With that in mind I knew I needed two sets of elements to address each gender.
Next came this............

I had  seen this earlier and fell in love with the color and pattern, but at that point I did not have the quilt(Springboard). Once I had the quilt I could move forward, so I quickly went back to the pillows and grabbed two of these-one large and one small. I thought it might be too strong because it is so bright, but I loved it with the quilt.  In my minds eye it was starting to come together.

Next came the sheets for the boys bed. These sheets are a very tiny bright turqouise pin stripe. They appear brighter in person so now I had another puzzle piece to the bedding.

Next I needed some pillows to complete this look.............

I found this Nautica pillow sham on clearance for $5.00. Boy, I am on a roll. Now I have the boys bed complete.

 Onto the girls bedding...........

When I saw this round pillow I just knew it would look great with the quilt. I brought all my treasures home and started playing with the bed.  I went shopping in my house and found this lamp in my closet. (I told you I love lamps and they are hidden in closets through out my home).............

It just happens to be the perfect in-between blue and I love the gourd shape, very Christopher Spitzmilleresque. ( I think I just made up another word)
In this room I have a small wicker table that I covered with a lime green tablecloth making it look like a table skirt. Here is a close up of the fabric. It is banquet size so I had plenty to work with.  I found this at GW last year for $5.00.........


The last two pieces I needed for the room were a pillow and sheets for the girl bed.  I forgot I already had the perfect sheets from Target that I had purchased about 4 years ago.........

I am in love with this pillow. The fabric is a linen and I am in love with all of the colors. The large flower is more of a shocking pink with red under-tones in person.  I got this on clearance for $10 and I would have paid full price. Too me this made the bed and once I put it in there, I smiled!! Remember that is my very technical design test.
Here are the sheets that I already had and it completed the picture............

Pretty cute and they go so well with the quilt it looks as if they were almost a set.

Boy Bed Elements.........




Girls Bed Elements.............
















Now you see the evoulution of how my mind worked on this project I will show you the bed all made up in a future post, I promise it won't be too long before I post it. In that post I will also show you some other pictures of some elements I might like to use. I need to do a little virtual shopping. I hope you had some fun tagging along in my brain. Next choice to make is Paint!


"Enjoy the Process" Of: Finding your own inspirations and design Springboard.

Kathysue

27 comments:

Allie and Pattie said...

They both look fun and fresh and very "you" Great job!
xoxo Pattie

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Kathysue, I love all those bright colors. I can't wait to see it all pull together.

Room Service ~ Decorating 101 said...

It is going to be great. I love blue only when used with green, but together, pure magic. I can't wait to see it.

Cashon&Co said...

Love the colours. What fun to see the whole process of how you started and what inspired you and the pieces you picked out! great one!

Sue said...

I love these colors! Would you believe I ordered a pair of shoes yesterday...comfy Privos...in pear and blue. My feet will match your room perfectly:)

I actually do redos in a similiar way, I just never thought about it in these terms. I can't wait to see the finished room!

Tricia said...

I'm with you all the way Kathysue. Great colors and I love hearing how you processed/pulled it all together. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Kathysue, this is so pretty for both the boys and the girls. I love all of the colors and fabrics. I can't wait to see it all put together. What a fun post. I love being in your brain. Love ya. Hugs, Marty

Screaming Meme said...

I love the inspiration! Simply beautiful...I'm Meme from Screaming Meme...It is so nice to meet you! If you get a chance, stop in and say Hello! Meme

Blondie's Journal said...

Kathysue~~~

I love seeing how you are pulling together this room. I never heard of the term 'Springboard' and it makes such good sense. I normally do a bedroom around the colors of the comforter. I am having a problem in my master bedroom because I have a beautiful old rosy/mauve rug and although I am not matchy/matchy, I can't exactly put black or lime green in there, so I feel stuck.

Love all the colors and patterns you picked. I am dying to see it all come together!! Great tutorial and inspirational post. Thanks! :-)

xoxo
Janie

Holly said...

Love them all but especially the 2nd pic with the twin beds. How adorable. Loved visiting your site, come see me if you get a chance!

Sally said...

Hi Kathysue,
I do think we are twins separated at birth! Love your plans, love the colors, love how you think (like me!). I appreciate your comments on my blog so much, and I look forward to getting to know you better.

A Perfect Gray said...

wow some great room looks there and good finds. can't wait to see. .

Averill said...

I can't wait to see the final results! I love the color palette you've gone with and the prints are just too fun, especially that quatrefoil...wherever did you find it?!

Kathysue said...

Hi Averill, thank you for asking, HOMEGOOD!! Always a treasure hunt there, sometimes I come up empty handed but when it is working I find amazing treasures. In fact all the pillows were from Homegoods, some on clearance. Funny how that works out sometimes.

xinex said...

Love all the fun colors, KathySue. I can't wait to see the whole room put together....Christine

Acanthus and Acorn said...

I am seriously concerned I may have been in your brain today...I purchased several things in these colors today...but not for my house...hopefully they will all be a go!

A Gift Wrapped Life said...

Such wonderfully fresh and soothing colours......maybe you just inspired me to gift wrap something in these colours and get off my pink roll, which would be good for everyone -lol! Will be watching to see your finished room. I do think these mood boards work and I am starting one in my Chic Room for wrapping inspiration. Have the best weekend. XO

La Dolfina said...

It's fun being in your head!!
I love your process and your killer bargains and how when you're focused,things come together so beautifully. I think we are all anxious to see the reveal!! Don't make us wait too long :)
(Thanks for all your support via telephone & my blog)
I love you,
Terri

koralee said...

I adore those colours...my home is filled with soft blue and white...can't get enough of it. Please show us when you are done. Thanks for your lovely comment you left me!!!

Melissa Miller said...

Very pretty and happy colors to work with Kathysue! I can't wait to see the paint in the room. What a deal on the quilt. ~Fabulous!

The Tablescaper said...

Looks like you're on a roll. Looking forward to the outcome.

- The Tablescaper

Anonymous said...

Love seeing the process! Those bright colors are so fun and would make any kid happy. Can't wait to see the end result!!
xoRH

Kellie Collis said...

Such pretty colours. Sounds like a fabulous plan xx

Tracy Watier said...

Love seeing your process here. And good for you for staying away from "matchy" and working it out on your own. So much more fun (and challenging!)
I don't think I've been here before and it looks like I've missed a lot! I'll take a look around now... and I will definitely be back.
Happy Friday to you!

Sally said...

Love your process, Kathysue. You made it look really easy, but I'm sure you had some angst in the decision-making process....after all, you're a Libra!! I can't wait to see it all pulled together! I absolutely LOVE those green arched floor lamps....very graphic and cool.

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

KS, I just scrolled through all of these wonderful posts that I have missed, and I've had so much fun! These inspiration pix are so pretty. I have always wanted a "bunk" room with the beds lined up and with curtains like the one you've pictured, but it's so impractical unless you have a long narrow room. Love that pillow you got! Those dog collars are hysterical! That bottle you got from Terri is gorgeous! Oh, I can just see those cobalt blue bottles lined up down the center of a table with a flower in each one! I love the bedding you selected for the children's room. So cheerful! I can't wait to see the entire room put together. Have a great weekend! laurie

Unknown said...

I can't wait to see how it all comes together. I just bought the two pillows you have pictured with the white and green flower-looking print from HomeGoods.