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I almost talked myself out of posting photos of this bedroom.

Why? Because my mind told me it wasn’t “finished” enough…that the setup is less than ideal…that I should have some sort of vintage quilt on the bed…that the lighting wasn’t right…and maybe it’s not, but it’s our home and my kids enjoy it, so why shouldn’t I share?

In an age where so much of what you see on the internet is perfectly staged and all the details are “just so,” let’s love on real and practical homes: Homes that are lived in and not always “ideal” situations, but they are loved by the people inside those walls who have added their own special touches.

My kids – a boy and a girl – currently share a bedroom while the baby uses the nursery. While we felt bad about moving our girl out of her room, we tried to make the transition as smooth as possible and assured her it’s not forever. Once the baby is older the girls will share a room. (We have 3 bedrooms including the master.)

The past year has been a juggling act of keeping both kids feeling good about the room. It’s involved removing some things and adding others. It’s also resulted in a less-than-ideal bed setup at the moment, as our girl is still in a toddler bed (crib with the side removed). We’ll be getting her a big girl bed before long.

Our kids also share a closet, which we just recently reorganized. I am choosing not to share photos of the inside of their closet out of respect for their privacy, but here are some of the items we added to help us stay organized:

Both my kids love all things that go – airplanes, trains, trucks – you name it! I suppose this room has somewhat of a transportation theme, though I only just realized it as I was writing this post. It’s funny how things come together naturally bit by bit as you add what you like. I just adore these vintage wall decals we found on Amazon! They come in 3 different sizes and this was only the medium – there’s an even larger size! They were the perfect whimsical addition to this big open wall.

Just as in the rest of our home, items have been added bit by bit as we have found them at thrift stores and rummage sales (with the exception of the firetruck lamp from Target a few years back).

I think a home that’s been slowly collected is a beautiful thing. That means it’s a collection of only the most special finds and meaningful pieces. The Beatrix Potter artwork below was commissioned by my mom from a young aspiring artist our family knows. She gifted them to us at our baby shower when I was expecting our first child, our boy. The wooden toy box was handmade by my Father-In-Law for our son. The little white table was picked up off the side of the road by my aunt who knows I like flipping furniture. The little lamp on the table was used by my husband when he was a boy and by his dad before him.

We definitely wanted to bring in some whimsical touches that our daughter would love. These sweet fairy decals from Amazon were a fun and unexpected addition to the closet doors. I let our girl decide where the decals would go – and some were meant to go up the wall. It’s not where I would have placed them but it makes it more fun and special that she decided herself.

Her little rocking chair moved into this bedroom with her. You can see the little makeover I gave it several years back in this post. It’s really a fun mix – she simultaneously loves pink and fairies but also all the transportation themed stuff too.

We held back some of the dog decals from the vintage airplanes and put them over the curve of her toddler bed. Just a fun little touch.

Well there’s a little peak of our vintage kids’ bedroom!

Always remember to put things in your home that you love – a slowly collected home is better than a house full of stuff that you only kinda like!

We are all real people living in real houses – it doesn’t need to match a Pinterest photo to be beautiful and to serve you well.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

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While I’m hesitant to call it trash, this rocking chair I bought off Facebook Marketplace was in really rough shape. It was dirty, the wood was rough, the paint chipping, and nail heads were popping out in some places. But like any good project piece, it had one important thing: potential.

This was actually my first Marketplace purchase ever! I am sure I overpaid and drove entirely too far in rush hour traffic to get it, but it was a learning experience and of course I got this great little chair out of the deal.

Tip: Keep small bills around so that you have exact change for marketplace transactions. I had absolutely no change in the house, nor the time to get change, and ended up giving the seller $5 over her asking price. Ugh, thrifter fail.

And then it sat in our garage for a few months because, you know, life happened.

Then the other day during nap time, I ventured out into the sticky sauna we call August in the Midwest and decided to clean this baby up. First I gave the whole thing a good wipe down, then went at it with some course sandpaper to smooth out all the rough wood and get off any chipping paint. I followed that up with a fine grit sandpaper and lastly tapped in any nail heads that were sticking out. Don’t want any little fingers or legs catching on those! By now it was feeling nice and smooth.

I purchased this little chair to go in my daughter’s nursery, so I thought blush pink would be the perfect color to paint it! I had really considered trying out Fusion Mineral Paint’s “English Rose,” because it looks absolutely gorgeous, but cringed at the thought of the expense for such a small project, especially when I probably wouldn’t end up using the extra paint for anything. I decided to give Rustoleum’s “Chalked” series a try. I purchased a can of “Chalked” in Blush Pink. It was less than $8 and was eligible for Amazon Prime. Sweet deal!

It took the entire can (two coats) to complete this little chair, but it covered very well. There are no hints of that vibrant red popping through, in spite of not priming, and I love how it turned out!

It really is such a lovely color. Very feminine and vintage, which is totally what I was going for.

I stumbled upon this little pillow on clearance at Joann Fabric a few weeks before redoing this chair. Perfect fit and oh so sweet! (Rug is from Pier1, in case you were wondering.)

So if you’re looking for an inexpensive chalk paint, I’d recommend giving the Rustoleum “Chalked” series a try. I’ve only used the spray version, but I’m pleased with it, and it was certainly budget-friendly. Plus, being able to spray the chair instead of brush was a major time saver! Whew!

(Want to know a fun fact? That giant rabbit right there was mine – I got her for my first Easter. She’s been well loved over the years!)

The little rocking chair looks so sweet in the corner of the nursery, but you know who is getting the most enjoyment out of it? My little boy. He has a rocking chair of his own in his room – just his size – but why not use sister’s chair, too? So the sibling sharing fun begins. Haha.

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