The Little Dumplings' Room

The second upstairs bedroom in our rental house is quite small. So, we had to be creative in finding ways to make the space work for our needs - primarily, to provide a cozy and safe place for our dumplings to sleep.

Looking at the room when we moved in (above), our 'to do' list included patching the plaster in a few places, applying a fresh coast of no VOC paint to the ceiling and walls, and giving the floors a good cleaning. 

Next, we needed to come up with a bed, and some other items. 

I thought that finding an antique full-size bed would be a breeze. Hadn't I just seen a million of them over the years? Well, I looked in antique stores in three counties (with two little ones in tow), and afterwards resorted to Craigslist - something I had never done before. 

Eventually, I found this lovely bed (photo from original ad), though perhaps for a bit too much money ($200). 

 The bed wasn't what I originally intended for the space (I was looking for a light wood bed). But weeks had passed and we wanted to get the bedroom set up before the holidays. 

First order of business was to paint the bed light blue. Blue you say? Well, I ordered the paint online using a color wheel that I had on hand. Let's just say it turned out a bit lighter than hoped. It is a very light blue color, which we ultimately made a decision to leave for various reasons (primarily, cost and time).

Since this is the first time I've ever painted furniture, I was at a loss as to what sheen would be most appropriate. So I asked my friend and amazing interior designer Amy Meier and she said eggshell - for durability! 

To start to make the nest cozy, I used organic pillows (a long body pillow for padding the headboard and two infant pillows), with flanged slipcovers that were made by Patricia Banner of Cottage by Design. Patricia is my go-to custom sewer and she is wonderful. I sent her organic fabric that I liked, she sent me some ideas, and together we came up with a plan for them. 

She's also made other things for me - a special pillow case and a changing table skirt. 

After trying a half dozen curtain options (all patterned), in the end I recycled curtains that we had purchased for our first house rental. I had to have them hemmed a bit as the ceilings are quite low upstairs. They may appear a tad grey in this photo because there are black-out liners hanging behind them. 

The chair doesn't really get used much, but I like the texture it adds to the room. The walls are so delicate (two hundred year-old plaster), and the floor space so limited, that there isn't much room for anything else. 

But it's cozy and that's good for a bedroom. 

So the small space works well enough. All of the toys are kept in the big play room downstairs. 

I removed the right side-rail to take these pictures but you can see the left side rail in this photo. Patricia Banner made covers for them from 100% linen using the original polyester covers as templates. They create a very nestlike feel which is perfect for little three year-old hatchlings. xo

At the foot of the bed, we keep a basket for bed time books. 

Bed time books and friends. 

Other things I would do to this room if we owned the house include adding a lovely colored stencil on the walls. 

I would also try to find a slender dresser to keep pajamas in, and perhaps even install some bookshelves on the wall. 

Sources: 

Full-sized organic bed, full size organic wool comforter, organic body pillow and organic infant pillows: The Clean Bedroom 

Organic fabric for pillow sleeves: Organic Cotton Plus 

Curtains: Country Curtains 

Organic full-fitted sheet: Gaiam 

Light blue paint, eggshell, Air 06: Yolo

Flat white wall paint, Imagine 01: Yolo 

Everything else was recycled from our old house.