Playroom Fabric Choices

Which fabric should I use in my playroom as a table skirt and a shower curtain?

I declared that it was time to bump up our play room from 'room I'd like to avoid' to comfortable living area. Sometimes we refer to it as our romper room. We don't keep toys in the play room, it's more of an area for the kids to run around, wrestle and watch the occasional movie.
Here's a BEFORE shot:

I dismantled the jungle gym and am putting it back outside. The kids don't play on it enough to take up half the room. I brought in an old white kitchen table that has been outside over the winter and actually gained a little character. I'm planning on adding a skirt around the base of the table to create a fun fort. I'd like to add curtains to the window, and a curtain to the shower room in the attached bathroom. My husband is also working on creating a loft in the walk in closet. (I think we're living out our own childhood dreams with this one).

This room can be seen from our family room.   The curtains I choose will need to be solid print as the family room curtains are pretty funky.

I'm thinking a fun aqua blue and perhaps I'll attach tabs at the top with the same fabric I choose for the bathroom shower curtain and table skirt.

The only art I have in this room was made for my room by my mother.  I might update them with a fresh coat of glossy paint on their frames.

Here's the question:

Do I go with a fun gender neutral blue and green tree and bird print?  I love this print and I love blue and green.  I could even hand paint a giant tree on the wall that matches the print.

or......  Perhaps I should have something with more color.  Do you think this floral print is too girly in a house with two boys and one girl?  I could still paint the fun tree from the other print.  (Definitely wouldn't paint flowers all over the walls but that would be cute for all girls wouldn't it?)

Please take the poll and I'd appreciate any comments you have for me.

Current Home Project - Train Shelf

For Christmas two years ago, Santa brought my son a Polar Express O gage Lionel Train. This year for Christmas, my husband bought him a box of about forty feet worth of track with the grand plan of installing a train track shelf going around the top of his room. Deciding that would be too easy, he punched holes into the wall so the train will go from the bedroom into the closet, then from the closet into the office, and then back into the bedroom. The plan was to have this project completed during the Christmas break week, in hopes of sharing it with our New Years guests. January 22 and counting the project is about half done. Now in all honesty there were many legitimate excuses and if my husband hadn't gotten vertigo and then the flu I'm sure he would have it about 80% complete like he does all his other projects. (But who am I to talk.) Anyhow, it's going to be the talk of all the first graders when it's done.

Quick Fix for Changing Table/Furniture Conversion

Needing a changing station in my bedroom, I decided to use an older dresser with some fun character. The depth and width worked out perfect, but it was a bit too short. Simply adding four bed raising cones has brought it up to a more desirable height for myself and my 6'1" husband. They're not the most attractive design addition but are hardly noticeable. I'm sure an ugly babies are us changing table would have shouted ugly much louder. I plan on using this dresser as a nightstand once the crib is no longer needed as a co-sleeper in my room.

Cloud Shelf

Here's a simple project for a high shelf in a child's room. You need laminate shelf boards, white support L brackets, scrap wood and white foam boards (office supply store or craft store). The boards were cut to the length of the room and installed about 18 inches from the ceiling using white L brackets. Clouds were drawn on one side of the foam boards and then cut using an exacto blade. Using scraps of lumbar, cut various block sizes and glue to the back side of the clouds. Rest the blocks with attached clouds on shelf in a three dimensional pattern. Stick some clouds close to the shelf and overlap them with others that stick out further. Step back and check out how your clouds look before glueing the blocks to the shelf. This is a great spot to place stuffed animals.

Rolling Hills Mural

Four Wall Rolling Hills Mural For Nursery

The top half of this wall and ceiling were roller painted light blue; the bottom half green; and the middle left white....(by my husband). I then painted clouds using white acrylic paint and a natural foam sponge. Some of the whites I watered down, others were true to the bottle. Some whites were mixed with a tiny bit of yellow, some with a tiny bit of grey. The ceiling clouds were hard for me. I was 7 months pregnant and at the top of a ladder.....not a pretty sight. I used more of a brush in the ceiling clouds in order for me to reach and I like how the sponged paint looks much better. Next I took a pencil and drew arches all over the wall, like hills. I painted every other one or every other two hills in the back with the darker green. The other hills I painted with the green that was rolled on the wall on the bottom half. I then defined the hills with yellow highlights and darker green low lights (paint on drier side). The trees I painted in groups of mostly odd numbers with shadows all in the same direction. The sheep were little puffy sheep bodies with darker grey heads and feet. There were a couple black ones. The sheep had little shadows as well that were basically real short around one side of the sheep. This helped to make the white sheep pop. I got my inspiration from a handful of children's books including Time For Bed by Jane Dyer It took me like six straight days of somewhere between two and four hours a day. I mean, don't get me wrong it's definitely a "put your life on hold, order pizza, and do a project" project. The sad part is that we moved six months later.

The stars in the night sky form my son's astrological sign Cancer

Dress Up Your Lamp Shade!

Home Depot lamp shade, Home Goods lamp, and POM POM FRINGE! Using a hot glue gun I adhered pink pom pom fringe to my home depot lamp shade. It's a fun pop of color in my daughter's room and she loves it!