Blouse to Baby Romper

Last summer I saw a blouse on a clearance rack - size XL... much too big for me but XL so.... lots of pretty fabric. I bought it, brought it home and showed Merin. She loved the fabric and we planned to use the lovely cotton voile to make something fun for her after Ysa was born. As is often the case, I had more ideas than time and so the blouse got bundled up and put in the closet in the sewing room. 

A better idea was born last week when Eden asked me to make a few summer things for Ysa. I thought of that pretty fabric and pulled out the blouse. I had already cut off one of the sleeves and used the fabric in a quilt top. My initial thought was to just use the fabric as yardage but when I got started there was such pretty pleating at the neckline, and sweet little buttons, and the self-fabric belt....well, the wheels started turning. It was so much fun to make this little outfit and even more fun to see how absolutely adorable a cute round baby makes it look.

It looks even cuter when the elastic at the bottom is pulled up around her chubby little legs - kind of like a soft, sweet bubble. Super delicious!

The Nursery at Merin's House - Before and After

Before (obviously during demolition - the previous glory of the room was, sadly, not recorded)

Before there was a pregnancy this room was "the baby's room".  Every choice, from paint to pictures, was made with joy and anticipation. It was a huge pleasure and privilege to help Merin prepare this space for  her very much desired baby. Before Ysa's birth, we were not aware of  her gender. That meant all the choices were made so that either "color" of baby - pink or blue - would be comfortable here; we would just tweak things by adding vintage metal trucks or tutus and bows after the big reveal.  Merin wanted a room that would be a reflection of not only her taste and style but also comfort and love. The budget was tiny but that just makes the challenge a lot more fun. 

When the house was purchased there was clean but worn broadloom covering the oak flooring. We stripped off two layers of wallpaper and found evidence of two previous paint colors under that! There was an unattractive home-made* looking desk mounted (most unfortunately) very securely to the wall. This room was ever so tired and dark. So off with the wallpaper, out with the carpeting, and on with the fun.

We chose a very soft, warm grey for the walls. The floors were refinished a dark nutmeg color (as throughout the house) and Jonathon contributed the sheepskin rug that I had pieced together for him (by hand! ) from individual sheepskins several years ago. On a trip to the flea market we found the super-fantastic vintage rocking horse and knew it was meant for this baby's room - the original blue paint was perfect. I had made the linen drapes for our apartment in Tokyo and when they were spiffed up by adding a wide band of striped yellow, grey and black fabric to the bottom they were perfect here as well. 

The pictures are actually vintage children's books from the 1950's. The format is the same as a comic book and the illustrations were so delightful that we wanted to use them as art. Off to Ikea for Ribba frames, down to my stash for some great textured paper from Korea (the paper looks like matelasse - with a lovely 3D texture - perfect again!), a little measuring and cutting and our masterpieces were done. 

Merin's teddy bear collection was retrieved from the wooden box of her childhood treasures - saved for this very time. (The flowered bear in the crate was made from a curtain that hung in Merin's great-grandmother's home and wears a collar made of a hand-crocheted doily that the same grandmother made, the little white bear on the shelf was made by her Aunt Shan.) Jonathon was recruited to do the design for the vinyl lettering on the roller blind and the wall above the dressers. A little more primping and....Ta da! Finito!

A lovely little room to welcome a sweet baby in this happy home. Not long used but Merin loved it and loved every moment of preparing it for Ysa. Happily, Ysa still sleeps in the same crib, with the same quilts her momma made, surrounded by the same nursery rhyme quotes, framed books and teddy bears. Just in a different house. But still a happy home - filled and overflowing with love. Sweet, lucky baby.

photos courtesy of eden lang pictures with the exception of the 4th (obviously iPhone pic) Thanks once again Eden!

* I am not opposed in any way to DIY - I just prefer things to look hand-crafted rather than home-made! Big difference.

Kitchen 'Rehab' at Merin's

With lots of assets (great curb-appeal, location, space and potential) this little house had a few less desirables. The most obvious of which was the kitchen.

It was, to not put too fine a point on it, a disaster.  Totally unworkable from a current perspective. And that isn't even getting into that it was just ugly. The cabinets were too small and too few.The layout impractical. The counter space was almost non-existent. And  ugly! How about the faux brick combined with the dark faux wood paneling? As we 'excavated' we discovered three different layers of laminate on the counter, two layers of vinyl flooring over top of the original linoleum tile and yes, two layers of wallpaper along with evidence of 3 separate color schemes in paint that was revealed as we worked. Wow! The original owners really liked to redecorate. (and who am I to knock that?!)

For the better part of the year that Mike and Merin owned the house the kitchen looked like it does above. At the end of May - a month before little Ysa was due - they pulled everything out right back to the studs. So there was nothing - no water, no counter - not even the vinyl flooring. The hope was to have the kitchen in and finished by the end of the summer. It was a challenge for the end of a pregnancy and even more so for a new mom but Merin was willing to do it and  looked forward with excitment to the finished and functional kitchen.

Merin and I spent many hours brainstorming ideas, drawing the plan, shopping for finishes and fixtures. It was my idea of great fun. It also put me in the unique position of being able to execute the plan after the accident - to know that I could finish it so that the kitchen looked just like she wanted it to. I did. And it does. It is, I think, pretty fantastic.

Now there is a very functional, large, deep single bowl sink to replace the shallow and entirely frustrating itty bitty sink. And the dishwasher we found is a huge upgrade over the old portable. We chose to install the shelf instead of upper cabinets. It kept the kitchen much more open and is a younger, hipper look. The countertop is Richlite, a material that is fantastic. It will not burn or stain, is more forgiving than stone if things are dropped on it and has a softer, warmer appearance. 

We mounted upper cabinets on the wall under the windows. This addressed several issues - the baseboard radiant heating that could not be moved, the need for more storage, as well as the need for countertop. Brilliant solution. I like the way it 'floats' - visually light and open. (Merin and I had planned to paint the space between the windows with blackboard paint - a great graphic hit -but since the house is no longer for them but resale that was deemed a potential hazard. I still thought it would be amazing. Oh well.)

The new ceramic tile floor is practical and, in my opinion, cool-ly graphic. The kitchen light fixture was original as is the lovely chandelier over the table. We thought it was fun to keep that bit of history - and, after shopping, we really liked them.

Merin would have been beyond thrilled with the result, the product of all the dreaming, working, and sacrifice of convenience. I have felt comforted (although at times it was very hard) as I have had the opportunity to do this for her. For me it has been important. I wish she could have used this kitchen but she was so happy here in this little house of love and dreams even without it. I remind myself that it doesn't matter so much where we live but how we live. I can be grateful and therefore happy or I can not. I choose. Every day. I can honor her memory by choosing well.

It is a very good kitchen. Sweet, practical, beautiful, cool - perfectly Merin.

I know that most of  you have likely seen many of these pictures from Eden's blog but since I was so intimately involved in the process of getting to the "After" stage, and since who doesn't love to see the "Before"s, this is my offering.

I acknowledge all the hours of help and work contributed by Merin's brothers, father and uncles, they selflessly gave many,many hours doing work that was not fun. It was a gift of love.

All after photos are courtesy of edenlangpictures. Thanks so much Eden for your beautiful work.