Kids Kitchen Makeover

After having our kids IKEA kitchen for a fair few years now, it was looking tired and grotty. Our toy area is a part of our open lounge room area and every time I sat on the couch , I seemed to catch sight of it and it bugged me. After seeing a gorgeous picture on Instagram of someones clever makeover of an IKEA kitchen for their daughter , I was inspired. It couldn't be that hard to do , surely?

Enter mass Pinterest pinning session.... It didn't take long to convince myself that I could do it!

And now ? I am so so pleased with how it turned out!

 Not only does it add a gorgeous pop of colour to an otherwise bland area, but it looks devine ad the kids have been re-inspired to play and use it. Win win! 

Here it is before its little tizzy up. The bench top are had a dark stain/mark that I could not get off, the tap was broken and it was looking a little used and abused. 

Now it stands , pride of place in the toy area. Surrounded by a sea of gold polka dots at that! 

We have added some pretty glass knobs above the oven area as well as a few cute tea towels (I cut a pretty Target tea towel in half and just whizzed up the edge on my sewing machine).

We also added a 'splash back' behind the sink and stove area using some pretty wrapping paper and a thin sheet ply board cut to size. 

A few cute bowls that I picked up the the Coles Dollar Dazzlers section finished the new look perfectly and the kids are having a ball with 'precious bowls'.

As I said, we are completely in love with the 'new' kitchen and think that it looks amazing. It wasn't hard, nor expensive to do and it makes such a change to an otherwise plain kitchen and kids area.

Stay tuned for a follow up post on how we underwent this project. 

The Toy Room Makeover

Finally our Toy Room is finished. It has taken some time, whenever funds and spare time permitted but we are chuffed with the results.

The bones of our toy room were already quite good, and many would have been happy with it, but I was bored of the same decor, things were getting worn and tired looking and as our room (which is supposed to be our formal lounge/open theatre ) is ope to the main hallway and one of the first things you see when you enter our home, I wanted it to look a bit 'nicer'.
There are some before photos in posts HERE and HERE

Our home is predominantly beige/brown and white in colouring, so I knew I wanted to try something different and perhaps a little out of my comfort zone. Seeing as though our existing art canvas is yellow, it was a great place to start and there are so many products available in the grey/yellow tones at the moment so the decision was made.

You might remember I wrote a post with a few plans for the room HERE , well these were the main products that I purchased, the floor mat and the couch cover, and they weren't cheap, so this is one of my 'not so cheap organising posts' but I have never actually set out on a mission to decorate a whole room, in a theme or 'look'. My rooms have all just evolved and its probably why they all look unfinished. Well not this time, I was doing it right this time!!

So , here it is. Our toy room.

(NB- this room hardly EVER looks this way. Sure, maybe at night, when the little cherubs are tucked up in bed but during the day, its a sight to behold!!)

ta-da!!

Ohh I love it!! Absolutely LOVE it! So fresh and crisp. Colourful but not too 'in your face' and still nice and neutral when you walk by.

Now more details for everyone;
The floor rug is from IKEA, super cheap at $49.95, called GISLEV
Our original brown couch from IKEA got a new cover KARLSTAD Grey $199.00 (eeek I know! Nice Tax refund but a cheap alternative to buying a new couch!)
Yellow lamp on side table - Target , $35 on sale, originally $50

On the couch there is a mix of patterned cushions , all keeping with the colour theme, but all purchased on sale.

Yellow back cushion - $8.86 ( x 2) Target

Grey and yellow chevron cushion (x3) $8.86 and one was $5.86 with a small hole I repaired. Target

Grey polka dot cushion -  I made it. The fabric is Michael Miller and it was in my stash. The ruffle is just some scrap material and the gorgeous Felt flower is handmade by my sister from Bread n Butter Factory .(They are a brooch or a hair clip and come in a range of colours!) 

The reading corner has been very popular since removing the small couch. It was super cute but the kids were using it as a step ladder to reach higher books, and it didn't fit all 3 older kids , which resulted in fighting!
I just replaced the couch with white pillows, a few scatter cushions (the chevron one for $8.86 and a plain yellow I scored from Target last week for $2.86!!)
The star mats help to define the area and keep it soft to lay or sit on , and are from Target a little while ago, I scored them for $15 , and originally bought them for Angus' room.
The book shelves are the famous BEKVAM spice racks from IKEA, and we love them!! They are used all day , every day and the kids love being able to see all the books.

I made the Art Display Canvas a while ago, and it has been a fantastic way to display the current craft projects or drawings that come home from school.

Its just a large canvas (that I already had) , spray painted , with bulldog clips glued on.

The curtains are a new addition, and purchased from Spotlight. Also a while ago ( I told you I have been buying stuff gradually!). They are a light fabric with a gorgeous Grey and white pattern, and we reused a rod from our living area (we replaced curtains with Plantation Shutters).

The Storage unit is quite old but still in fantastic condition, it is the TROFAST unit from IKEA.

I picked up the print (in the greeny blue) at Target and it is perfect for a toy or childrens area.

On the main wall, we have put a few RIBBA Picture Ledges (also IKEA), at a bargain of $19.95, they are the perfect size to create this display area. I have placed a few framed prints that I found on pinterest, free of course and had them printed at a photoshop.

They are 4 cute Nursery Rhymes and you can print them in a variety of colours! Things like 'If you are happy and you know it' and 'twinkle twinkle'

You can find them HERE.

 We also added some small canvas' that the kids have done , and will swap and change these as new pieces are created.

The print on the end in yellow is from a little delightful and says

'so many smiles begin with you' . You can find it HERE

A few yellow tin buckets bought from Crazy Clarks for about $6 each were added as storage for play food, kitchen items and tea sets.

.

All the toy baskets were tizzied up with gorgeous yellow labels, laminated and tied on with yellow bakers twine. I am so pleased with the uniform look , and they have been great for Stella with letter and work recognition. They are the perfect size and I love the colour! Do you think you would like them too? (hint hint)

The white boxes hold all of the kids craft supplies, such as paints and glues, paper supplies, craft items etc. And the top row of the shelves is perfect storage for my scrapbooking albums and the kids art folders. They like to look through them whenever they please.

And on top of the Expedit unit, 2 baskets from Woolworths hold items that need to be out of reach from the kids, like a DVD folder, some colouring books etc.

The kids drawing supplies are kept in the turntable and a cute 'You are my sunshine' print found from HERE, was also printed onto photo paper and popped in a frame  I scored from Target at 50% off.

There you have it. Our childrens space for learning, playing and interacting.

Like I said, it has been one of our more expensive projects, but well worth it in the long run!

I hope you like our new space and have gained a few ideas or projects to do at home too!

I am so excited to be able to share a wonderful printable with you soon , so that your toy room could look as organised too!
Stay tuned!

Redecorating Itch

So.... lately I have been feeling a bit of the good old "redecorating itch". Don't get me wrong, I love my house, I love 'most' of my furniture and I love that our house feels welcoming and homely ( well thats what my instagram friends say anyway!! haha)

However, I have never actually set out with a mission to redecorate and complete a room, from head to toe.
 Like totally redo a room.
Set my mind to the task, and do it!
I see so often that people say " I'm redoing the kids rooms" or "we are redecorating the living area" or whatever. Our rooms have always been a work in progress, and probably always will be! Whenever we have a bit of extra money (got an inheritance, sold some shares haha ) we have put it towards buying some of our major furniture items, and of course, the gold old Interest Free purchasing!
The only problem with getting this 'itch" is the lack of funds. Isn't that always the case? Haha.
So I am going to have to be crafty and clever with my dollars, which adds a bit more fun into the mix!
The main bedroom makeover is still a work in progress, there was actually a bit of a big change that sort of throws the makeover WELL over budjet (like the purchase of a new bedroom suite on said Interest Free Finance) so the next project (I know, I know, don't start a new one until the other one is finished) is probably one the most used spaces in our home. Our Playroom.

This is a room that the kids play (derr!) , snack, watch movies for quiet time (amen for quiet time) , pretend to cook me dinner, read books, make MESS and sometimes eat breakfast.
I have never been too precious about this room. I like it to be neat and tidy , and the floors vacuumed ( one day I hope to replace the carpet with lino) but kids are kids, it is their space, and I am ok with letting them eat, drink etc in there.

The only toys kept in their own rooms are their special ones, the rest are in the playroom. Because their Playroom is shared, I don't think its fair that all their toys have to live there. Sharing is definately caring, but so is learning to look after and cherish your own special toys. So this means mass storage as we have boys and girls and ages 4 to baby. Thats the easy part, we already have the storage.

I just want to make the room look more 'pretty'. Seeing as though the Toyroom is infact our formal lounge area converted, the entryway is open wide to the hallway and the main thoroughfare with visitors enter and exit our house. Hmmm, not good when there are Mr Potato Head parts, Duplo pieces and dress ups everywhere!

So I am going to use these awesome new printables from Jen at iheart organizing , for recording my purchases, the items that need to be onsold or taken to Good Sammies.





Available in Post HERE

Now, the biggest decision I have to make in regard to this project (if only it was the biggest that decisions get!) is whether to embrace all the lovely colours that are around in the shops lately, or go with my usual look, beige, white and brown!!

Beige is good, Brown is safe. And safe is always a winner, however this is a kids room after all , and there needs to be some colour! I am also leaning towards more of a grey as the main shade , with accents of yellow (crazy for Liz huh?) But it is a big decision, huge infact, to go the grey option. Eeeek

A few of the things I am thinking are;

This mat from IKEA, pretty good value at $49.95

A new cover for the existing lounge $129.00

And I am thinking some nice curtains, labels for the toy baskets and new throw cushions.

I am pretty sure my wish list is bigger than my budget, but we will have to wait and see!!
I hope to show you some before and afters within the next few weeks!

Wish me luck!

A Post of Questions...... and Answers

As mentioned a few days ago, I am a little behind on emails from readers with questions and queries of different things they have seen on the blog, so I thought I would try and address a few all in the one post.
I love being able to help you guys out, answer any questions you have or give as much information as I can, and I just love hearing from you. So please, feel free to email me whenever you like , and I will try and reply as soon as I can.

Some recent questions have been regarding my handmade products, as originally I had started a home based hobby business of sewing children's items, and this is how my blog originated. Unfortunately I don't have the time to sew much anymore and don't take custom orders for anything either.

Where did you get the babushka softie in Stella's room from?
My clever sister hand sews and creates gorgeous items for kids and she has a Facebook business called Bread n Butter Factory ,you can find her HERE.

Could you please let me know the website of where I can get the printables for letters (eg, S for Snake- a picture of a snake shaped as the letter S) that you used for your Theme weeks.
As seen our Educational weeks in these posts HERE and HERE , I like to use printables and one of the best sites I have found is HERE

You did a post on cleaning and it had pictures of your Linen cupboard with little white baskets, I can't seem to find the post anywhere though. I'd like to do a make over similar.
Well HERE you go, I searched and found the post myself. Love those baskets, they are so cheap and handy for anything!

The little print in the laundry, where is that from?
Wash, Dry, Fold, Repeat poster from HERE

Where did you get your big beautiful bookshelves and TV unit from?
That would be our lovely Liatorp unit from IKEA. I did a blogpost on it HERE and I must say, we still love this unit today as much as we did the day we bought it. We get so many comments on it and it has completed the room and provided so much storage for us.
Details of the range are on the IKEA website HERE

You have mentioned in the past that your kids go to bed early, how do you achieve this with so many kids? I just never seem to have the time in the afternoons and its chaotic.
Oh believe me, the afternoons are chaos here too! But in all seriousness, its all about organisation and routine. Dinner is ready most days by 4:30-5pm and we sit down to eat anytime between 5pm-5:45, so not long after my husband comes home from work. Its early, I know , but the kids are cactus and ready to eat and get to bed. They go straight from the dinner table to the bath, teeth, dressed, book and bed. Most days they are in bed by 6-6:30pm.
I know a lot of people may feel that is too early, or not achievable , but it is.
Its a proven fact that kids require 12 hrs of sleep per night as a minimum and if yours are anything like mine, they are up early, so to bed early it is too.
To get them there at that time is all about organisation. If you work , it would be harder, but I am lucky enough to be at home. Perhaps for working parents, you could cook up dinners on weekends so they were ready? Use the slow cooker, Or feed the kids something different that what you are having yourself.
During this time, nothing else matters but getting them to bed at a good time. If you are busy cleaning, organising , playing , on the computer etc. Nothing matters, it all can wait until after bed time. Just focus on what needs to be done and do it.
We have never had an issue with them not wanting to go to sleep because of how light it is outside. Its routine, its bedtime , regardless of the sun.
This routine suits us, its great to be able to replenish and recoup at night with the kids in bed and spend some quality time together.

My question would be on routine. How do you stay motivated to keep on top of things?
Well my answer to that is that I am anal!! No seriously!! My hubby calls me OCD but I just think I am fussy. I often wonder myself but figure , my life is so crazy busy all the time, and so many elements are out of my control daily, the one thing I can control, is my home. I function better when everything is clean and tidy, I can think straight and feel more at ease.
The motivating factor for me is that if I don't keep on top of it, the next day it will just be twice as bad, take twice as long to clean or put away and I just don't have that time to spare. I do lots of little things , all day , and it doesn't seem so bad.
However, I don't watch much TV, don't sit down, read mags, watch TV (unless feeding Angus) during the day. Its just go go go.
And my reasoning with hubby? Our home is my place of work. He likes his workplace and area to be neat and tidy and so do I!

Continue on from same query
Do you write a to do list everyday? Do you do things on certain days? Eg clean, budget, groceries, organise.
I don't write lists for the little things, or rather the things that I do on a daily basis as part of my normal routine. Like making beds, dishes, doing laundry, putting it away etc. I do them all the time so no need to remind myself about them. If you want a sense of accomplishment then maybe so you can check things off your list ! haha
All beds are made, dishes are done and the toy room is tidy, and usually a load of washing is on , before we leave in the morning for school drop off. It makes the mornings busier, if that is possible, but I really hate returning to a house that looks untidy with lots of work to do!
I write lists for the bigger jobs I have to do. Say "Organise the Walk In robe" and try and make suitable time to do it. Or I might just plug away at something over a few days while Max and Lacey are sleeping. While the kids are awake, I do undertake in any organising, cupboard cleaning etc. Its not that fair on them and its too stressful for me ;) haha
I clean my house on a Monday, as in dusting, bathrooms, toilets, vacuuming , mopping. Everything. I also wash the towels on this day and generally change the sheets on a Sunday.
My washing is done everyday to stay on top of things and usually gets put away on the same day.
I have an ironing lady and she is a godsend!!
We are really bad with our groceries, and I don't shop on the same day every week. In fact I only shop every 3 weeks or so, when we need to. My husband brings home fresh bread and milk from work and I usually touch up on fruit and veg about half way through but we usually spend about $350ish and it last for 3 weeks or longer, buying in bulk saves money and time/stress.


Have you always been organised if so do you think there is help for those that haven't and want to be?
You know what? I haven't always been organised. Or at least I don't think I have been!
I am not an untidy person, and like to clean as I go. And I have heard plenty of stories about when I was little and I would be neurotic and change my clothes millions of times a day, but I don't think I was an extremely neat child.
My cleaning and organising obsession has definitely been enhanced with having our kids, especially since having the twins. Like I said, I felt so out of control about so many things, that our home was one thing I could organise and control and it was almost like therapy.
There is hope for everyone. But please remember, I am no guru, I just do things I like to my home and like to share them with you.
And there is no overnight cure , and nothing is a quick fix. Generally , once you start organising and culling one area, it stems and overflows to another like a domino effect. But... make a list, establish what you will need to organise the area and free up some time to do it. Even if you steal 20 mins a day when hubby first comes home from work and the kids are excited to see him and occupied, to duck off and get to work.
I really feel, to be an organised person and have an organised home, you need to see a problem or mess, dislike it and want to make it better. Simple

Ok just a random question how did you meet your hubby?
This is a nice different one!! I met my husband when I was 17, a hairdressing apprentice and living life to its fullest!! He was friends with a girl I went to Tafe with and she spoke about him a bit. We swapped numbers, text back and forth hundreds of times a day, spent hours on the phone to each other then decided to go on a 'Date'. And  I am talking a real date, which even 9 years ago, was a rarity! No one goes on proper dates anymore. But he asked for my address, and came and picked me up. Even got out of the car and met my parents before leaving.
It only took 3 months before I knew he was the one for me and I wasn't even 18 yet!!
Its safe to say , we are soul mates. Our paths were meant to cross and thankfully they did!!
We have grown up from teenagers to adults with each other, battled with a family that was not approving of our relationship and had our ups and downs, but I could not imagine my life without my darling big man. (and he is big alright, 6ft 9 inches!!)

And one of the questions I have had on my Facebook page  and I thought I would share as it may be helpful to some people;

How do you go about finishing up your craft sessions with your kids? My daughter always throws a tantrum when its time to pack away.
Hmm I am not saying our crafting sessions have been without tantrums, that would be a huge lie! However our kids are usually very good when finishing up a session but I think its because when we do craft, we make 'something'. We set out with a finished product in mind and always have something to show for our efforts in the end. The kids love nothing more than clipping their new artworks up on the fridge or in the Toy Room, and are very proud of themselves. I think if we were to have a free craft session where they cut and paste or paint just for the fun of it, and there was no finish line, then we would have hissy fits!


I hope by answering these questions all at once, it has been convenient for everyone and satisfies their queries, if not , please do not hesitate to contact me. I love feedback, I love messages and comments so fire away!
And a huge thank you to those special ladies who did take the time out to email and message me! xo

Liatorp Love

Before I go any further, I am not getting paid by Ikea to endorse their products. I WISH!! But I definately have placed quite a few orders with them lately, and alot of it has been large items (the buffet, this unit, a benchtop for the Laundry, chest of drawers for Stella, a bookcase) and to make the order worthwhile (just because no order is complete without all the little things) I like to add baskets, boxes, hooks, hangers . All the good stuff.

We have found the freight from Perth to Geraldton, really reasonable aswell. I think our largest order was only $150 for the freight. Sounds expensive, but when you add up a round trip of fuel (with a trailer) food, wear and tear on your vehicle and accomodation if you are staying, its much cheaper!! Not to mention fast!! I have ordered on a Wednesday morning and had it delivered to my garage on a pallett on Friday!! Perfect for weekendd DIY projects!!

Right, enough on the Big blue store, and onto my new love  ( or one of!!)

We have been meaning to, wanting to, saving for, a new TV Unit for a while now, and with having the salon, and me working Saturdays, we just never got around to doing anything! A bit like all the jobs really!

Thats why we have achieved so much, and made so many changes in the last few months around our home!

It took awhile, and we hummed and haaaa-ed about what sort of unit we were after, and we finally settled on the Liatorp series from Ikea. Well actually Noel was very passionate that he wanted it , and I didn't take much convincing. I was just worried that it would be too big and offensive in our living area, however, luckily, its not.

Since losing the sewing/scrapbooking room to make way for another baby , I needed some storage for all my bits and bobs. My scrapbooking gear is now stored in a Expedit 2 x 4 behind our bedroom and that seems to be working so far, as I now scrap in our bedroom and can leave things out and close the door from the kids. But my sewing stuff and machines needed somewhere too. As did the printer, laptop, and some stationary!!

So this came about;

Isn't she lovely?! OMG!! So gorgeous!!

We ended up buying the tall bookshelves for either side, and the sideboard for the TV( (instead of the TV unit as it was shorter and little fingers touch more) , and the Bridging shelf for the top so it all fits seamlessly!

Then we added solid doors to the top and bottom.

NB: whilst undertaking this project, we found out out that the glass doors for the top have been discontinued (and I wanted solid anyway) and they don't make any others. But, luckily , by drilling a few new holes and it fit (not as perfect as the real ones would have but good enough for us and you can't tell anyway).

Here is the sideboard, only half filled , but it looks fantastic. We are able to store the Portable DVD player and chargers , DVDS, cords, etc in the boxes and baskets and still have it look uncluttered and organised.

And this is what is in the left side bookshelf. Buttons, scissors, small sewing kit, zips, beads, wool, ribbon. You name it, its there!

And my Machines are at the bottom!

The bottom of the right side has large boxes of materials, stuffing, wool, plain tshirts for appliquing.

(And see my new friend there on charge, isnt she lovely?)

 

And the top of the right side. Small boxes at top for blank CD's for photos, stationary, spare cords, Ipod accessories and under the printer and space for the laptop to sit (Noel needs to drill a hole on the back board to slide the charging cord through and we are set). I generally move the laptop to where ever I am, the kitchen bench, the bed, wherever, so I don't sit at a desk and blog/type/work/gossip!
The setup for the printer is not the best, but its a really wide printer, but I am happy to take this to the bench and plug it in also.

So thats it for now, lots of labels to be put on boxes (I ran out of tape) , some more boxes to be purchased when the budget allows, and we are set. I am sure I will be moving things around over time, but I always do that and I think you need to use a space or item to know what works.

All in all, we love the new unit. LOVE the storage it has created for us, but still mainting a streamlined and classic look to the house and love the quality of the Liatorp series in comparison to other Ikea furniture items we have bought in the past!!

NB: We realise the door knobs aren't on the bottom cupboards, this is on purpose , door knobs mean kids can open doors, so until we get to the shop to buy childsafe locks, they will remain off!!