Ruby's Room and Banner

Ever since we moved into our new house in 2010, I've been on a quest to learn to be a better decorator (as well as a better housekeeper - but let's set that aside for now, shall we?).  I started with our living room.  It's not totally complete yet.  It will likely be a work in progress for many years to come.  But someday, when the kid crap is all put away, and my knitting isn't exploding all over the coffee table or end table, I'll share pictures of that room.

From there, I moved on to my craft room.  That is also a work in progress, and now that I'm not teaching classes any more, it is also continually evolving in look and function (and going from messy to clean to messy on a weekly basis).  So once again - not really something I'm ready to share at this point.

Moving on, I decided that our kids deserved to have spaces that reflected their personalities, and were enjoyable to be in, but also functional with regards to usable space and the ability to keep them clean.  That my friends, was where I hit the decorating jackpot!  This was finally an area where I felt comfortable, and I can truly say that the rooms are "done".

I shared Samantha's room a few weeks back.  If you missed it, you can check out this post here.

Last week I finally put the finishing touches on Ruby's room!  Here are the pictures...

The color is so much more vibrant in person.  It's a rich, turquoisey, tiffany blue.  I wish it transfered better in the photos.  This bookcase is from Target, and it used to be in Samantha's room (with bins).  But I found the bins were actually a hindrance to keeping her room clean, so for Ru the bins went away.  I love the she can easily see what she wants to play with, and easily put things away.

I bought pretty turquoise blue knobs for the dresser, but those of course will probably not go on for at least another year or two, so decided not to wait for that to post pictures.  ;)  

I found this little shelf at an antique show last fall.  I had read an article about how children read more books when they can see the covers, and had planned to do rain gutter book shelves (google it, it's cool), but when I saw this shelf, I knew it would do the job just as well.  Ruby loves it too - and she's reading more now than ever before.  I try to switch out the books every week or so.

She's not quite ready for a big girl bed, but I have a pretty, white iron child bed (from ikea) that will go there once she is ready.  And grandma is making her a quilt in the same fabric as her name banner, so it will be perfect! 

This little table was built by my grandpa when I was just 1 year old.  (He built the rocking chair in the photo above as well).  I recently painted the table so it would match Ruby's room better.  It is so sweet to see her play at this table, and remember all the time I spent playing at it when I was young!  I need to paint the matching chairs too, but that will happen at a later date.  (The chairs in the picture go with a different table).  

Here are some better photos of Ruby's banner.  I've had so much fun making these!  I just wish they were easier to photograph.  :)  I do sell these if you are looking for a custom name baner!  You can message me or check out my etsy shop.  I'm working on getting lots of new fabric styles in soon for custom banners.