Search Results for: blog extreme makeover childrens room edition part 2

Paige Davis Returns to “Trading Spaces”

I used to be one of the biggest “Trading Spaces” fans around. Seriously, I would rearrange my Saturday nights just so I could be home in time to watch the popular TLC home makeover series. I adored Vern Yip; wished Frank Bielec was my uncle; coveted Paige Davis’ job; wanted Hildi Santo-Thomas to be my neighbor; and dreamed of the day Ty Pennington would craft me my own wooden china cabinet. I was a dedicated fan for years until producers decided to give the show a makeover of its own. They dropped perky Paige and brought in a slew of … Continue reading →

Celebrity Confessions

Oscar winner Halle Berry cries every Sunday night… and she has Ty Pennington to blame. No, the “Extreme Home Makeover” designer didn’t dis the actress years ago; rather Berry confesses she is addicted to the show and sheds tears as Pennington changes the lives of those in need. The self-described “interior design nut” says she makes time each Sunday to watch the popular TV show. Now, she says she and her boyfriend are anxiously awaiting the start of the show’s new season. According to Pennington, this season will include a major milestone–the construction of show’s 100th house. Pennington also reveals … Continue reading →

Planets & Stars

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When I was young, I slept under dozens of small glow-in-the-dark star stickers. I loved staring up at my faux-night sky and dreaming of all the far away places I would visit and all the zany adventures I would have, as I grew taller and older. It goes without saying then that I was in heaven as my little gal gleefully expressed her desire to affix illuminating stars above her bed. She received a solar system mobile for her 3rd birthday and once her new big girl room was complete, she helped build it and hung it up in the … Continue reading →

Designing A Versatile Kids Room

In previous blogs I detailed the work that went into transforming my daughter’s nursery into a “big girl’s room.” It was not as labor intensive or as expensive as I thought it would be. As a result, I’m thinking of updating it again soon. My daughter will be turning three in a few weeks and while she is not a very tall child, her toddler bed doesn’t seem to accommodate her… well, let’s just call it… active sleeping. Basically, she’s a roller. Some nights are better than others, but for the most part she has a hard time sleeping in … Continue reading →

Spending Valentine’s Day At HOME

If you have a spouse who is employed as a truck driver, traveling salesperson, active duty military personnel, firefighter, flight attendant, or pilot then you may find yourself spending Valentine’s Day at home without a date. If you are lucky, you may be spending it at home with extended family or close friends. If you are like me, you will be spending it with your favorite 2-year-old. My daughter and I are each other’s dates this year… and we are already preparing for the big day. As you “Blues Clues” fans well know–“It’s love, love, love day” and my toddler … Continue reading →

More Toddler Room Decorating Tips

A few months ago I detailed the makeover we gave our daughter’s bedroom. The transformation from nursery to toddler’s room was made with careful planning and a lot of input from our daughter. (She may be a toddler, but she voices her opinions like a teenager.) Little did I know that our day’s worth of labor would simply be the start of what has turned into a multi-month long project that’s still a work in progress. Since my last blog my daughter has acquired a freestanding puppet theater, a plastic ball pit and another kid-size table and two matching chairs. … Continue reading →

Child-Friendly Homes

I’m a statistic. I simply have to look around my toy-strewn living room to know it. According to a New York-based consumer-research company, I spend way too much money on my child. The company estimates that parents in the United States spend $116 million annually on their 3-to-11-year-old children. Guilty as charged. But, here’s where it gets interesting… housing developers are targeting parents like me because of my spending habits. In essence they are using my child to get to my wallet. When I was growing up having a swing set and sandbox in our backyard was a big deal. … Continue reading →

Would You Buy Your Child A King-Size Bed?

Recently, I was browsing around a children’s furniture store with a friend of mine (she’s pregnant) and realized that a lot had changed since I had been in there while I was pregnant. Gone were the pastel colored furniture pieces featuring popular fictional characters. They had been noticeably replaced with carved dark-wood armoires and sleigh beds. I made a comment to one of the salespeople who tersely informed me that many adults are now buying pieces, “not just for their kid’s rooms but for the rest of the house as well.” (Sorry, I thought I was in a children’s furniture … Continue reading →

Crib Climber?

At the age of 18 months, my daughter decided she didn’t want to be in bed anymore when we put her down in her crib. She’d learned to hoist herself up and come over the crib rail and shimmy down the side. She’d then go and pull open her bedroom door and holler down the stairs for us. Luckily, we kept a gate at the top of the stairs so that she couldn’t just mosey her way down or worse – fall down the stairs. How Did She Do It? She had a lot of stuffed animals in her crib … Continue reading →

Nursery and Nurture

New moms confront new challenges every day. One of the more difficult challenges a new mom may be confronting is her own preconceived notion about what her baby should have versus what her baby needs. For example, when my daughter was born – we had a crib and a changing table a small set of drawers for her things. But I didn’t want to set her up in the huge bedroom across the hall, so we emptied out our oversized closet and set her up in there. Our clothes went across to the guest room and our baby nursery was … Continue reading →