Posts in design
on kid friendly living
on kid friendly living

Those of you who know me or have read this blog for any length of time know that I am a total magazine junkie. I’ll take all the magazines, please and thank you. Pinterest was made for people like me – idea hoarders with binders of ripped out magazine pages, collected over years and years of information consumption. I digress.

This summer, I picked up a copy of Traditional Home in an airport enticed by the cover’s headline “Living with style and kids too”. I mean, right? Who doesn’t want to live in style with their kids? Boy was I underwhelmed. I was reminded at first glance of a page in a kids’ book (“What Are You So Grumpy About?” – you should totally get this book) that asks if the kid is grumpy because he had to go over to so-and-so’s house and not touch anything and listen to adults talk about boring junk. You were a kid once. You know this place. I’ll tell you what. The pages of Traditional Home’s July/August issue were filled with don’t touch anything rooms.

I decided to write a letter to the magazine outlining why these featured homes were completely unattainable and prone to depressing those of us parents trying to live the dream surrounded by daily kid clutter. Ever the recovering lawyer, I went back to the magazine for fuel to support my position. You’ll never guess what I found.

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design, interiors, kidsadrienne robideauxkid friendly, design, small spacesComment
let’s talk about color and pillows for days (ORC week 5)
let’s talk about color and pillows for days (ORC week 5)

It’s week five of the One Room Challenge, and that means it is time for the details. The room is painted, the floor and windows are covered, the furniture is all in place, and it is time to work on the finishing touches. The fun stuff: pillows and art and additional lighting.

Wait. That must be someone else’s space because mine still looks like this:

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design, small spacesadrienne robideauxone room challenge, design, small house Comments
let’s talk about ORC: week 4 (in which we stand frozen paralyzed with fear of decision making)
let’s talk about ORC: week 4 (in which we stand frozen paralyzed with fear of decision making)

Welcome back to the tiny family room One Room Challenge makeover, also known as holy moly there are only two weeks left in this challenge! If you are new here, you can find week 1, week 2 and week 3 just below this post or through those lovely little links.

Let’s get right down to it. This week, I did not get anywhere on my plan for the family room. The painters came to paint the rest of the house, and lucky for me, painted my little family room as well. It is REALLY hard to pick the right white paint and boy did I get lucky. This paint (Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace) made a huge difference in the feel of every room in the house.

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kids, small spaces, designadrienne robideauxone room challenge, family room, designComment
let’s talk about rugs (or one room challenge week 3)
let’s talk about rugs (or one room challenge week 3)

Welcome back to week three of Linda from Calling It Home's One Room Challenge. Last week, we destroyed the silly shelving in the pantry/laundry/sun room/closet to the back of our new house and looked at some inspiration for making this odd after-thought addition into a working family room. In this episode, we will explore every floor covering ever. Not really. But the amount of time I’ve spent on the internet and in my car over the last week searching for the perfect rug borders on the insane.

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kids, explore, design, small spacesadrienne robideauxdesign, small house, one room challenge, kid friendly Comments
let's talk about inspiration and slow progress (aka one room challenge week 2)
let's talk about inspiration and slow progress (aka one room challenge week 2)

It’s week 2 of the One Room Challenge and it is time for a game plan. Last week, we discussed why I am working on this room. Quick refresh: our family needs a play space that is slightly out of the way, but close enough for kitchen time supervision (not hard in 1,100 square feet). We would also like to keep the TV out of the main living room.

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design, kids, small spacesadrienne robideauxdesign, one room challenge, small house Comments
let's talk about the one room challenge (week 1)
let's talk about the one room challenge (week 1)

Confession time. I’ve been stalking the One Room Challenge for the last couple of years. It is the source of some pretty amazing ideas – both from professional and amateur designers. This challenge seems to feed really good design. It showcases places that you really want live in. And I want to accept the challenge. I almost have. But putting yourself out there is tough, especially when you are putting yourself out there with something as personal as your home or even something as personal as (gasp) your dream job. What if no one likes my room? What if no one even reads this?

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explore, design, small spaces, kidsadrienne robideauxone room challenge, small house, design Comments