DIY: Baby Room Alphabet Wall Decor

Can I just say that this was such a fun DIY?! The nice thing is that you can use the idea in a variety of ways in your own home (monograms, "Welcome", last name, etc). I saw, on Pinterest (trouble as my husband calls it), some cute baby rooms with the full alphabet with letters in different fonts, colors, and sizes. It's so fun and educational! :) So I decided to have that as a focal point in the baby's room and use the nautical theme to decorate the letters.

Over a few months I kept an eye out for unique letters and deals. I found most of the letters at Michael's, Wal-Mart, JoAnn's, and Hobby Lobby. I had a few letters (S, K, and M since those are our initials) too. The best finds were the letters where I didn't have to do anything because they were already painted and/or decorated just right! I kept a note in my phone (task app) with all the letters I had so that when I was out and about I could easily remember what letters I still needed.

Once I had all the letters I made a plan... not sure I do anything without a plan so this was no exception. :) I laid out all the letters as I would hang them on the wall to determine colors and decoration so that I didn't have a bunch that were similar in the same area.

With a plan in place it was time to get creative! My favorite time. :) I (along with my lovely friend Kristen) painted most of the letters that needed work and used some mediums to enhance them... i.e. rope, trimmings. Some I painted with designs as well including stripes or to look like a lighthouse. A few weren't painted and just used rope, trimmings, and a couple letters had cork because it was a good color and neat texture and one letter was covered in a walnut stain. Once I knew what colors I needed for each letter (from my plan) it was easier to decide on a design. I can't stress the importance of a plan enough.. don't skip this important step!

I placed all the letters on the floor in the layout again so that we could come up with a plan (another... I know.. haha.. I can't help myself) to hang all the letters. We measured the top row and found out that the left edge of the "H" was the center.

We were able to use screws/nails for a lot of letters and those that didn't have spots to hang from screws/nails we used these Command strips that are removable and re-positionable. I was concerned about the potential of letters falling off the wall since they will be above the baby's crib so I used more strips than necessary but I have peace of mind so it was worth it.

Using the "H" we started hanging the letters from there since it was the center.   

We were able to keep it fairly centered still even though we didn't measure each letter's distance from the last. We used the same method for the second row of letters.

This production totaled about $120 for the letters, trimmings, and the mounting hardware/strips. Aside from the time I took shopping for the letters, it took about 3 hours to decorate the letters and an additional hour to hang. But that's not bad for the fun impact I think this Alphabet Wall Decor makes!

-> Kassy <-

Builder Grade to Beautiful: Window Coverings

One thing we hadn't considered when we were planning to build a house were the window coverings. I guess it's just something you take for granted sometimes. We chose faux wood white blinds with 2" slats. These are great because they do a decent job keeping out the sun (and heat for these Missouri summers over 100).

I found a pretty good deal at Home Depot for these blinds which can be cut to the perfect size for your window AND I had a 10% off coupon from the post office for filing my change of address. :) I will warn that even with the coupon and the good deal the blinds for the whole home was a bit of sticker shock to me.... $600! YIKES!! I did not expect this but it's something I am happy with and honestly we need them. I wasn't interested in sharing our business with all the neighbors.

Luckily these blinds are a quick install - about 15-20 minutes depending on the size.

The other portion of the window coverings is in the curtains. As I have mentioned before (or at least I know I have thought it :)) my husband can be pretty particular... and curtains is one area he really has an opinion. Who knew?! His style is generally modern minimalist and mine is more of a rustic or homey minimalist so it's always interesting trying to blend the two styles. One thing I can push for is the right color to warm up a "modern" room. The other is how to hang the curtains. Awhile back I saw this illustration on Pinterest (from the Home Goods blog) about hanging curtains the traditional way and hanging them so that the room and window looks bigger.... What an impact! I decided we had to do this in our new home.

 
So my husband got the grommets on the curtains and I got the color, size, and hanging technique. :) Win (for both of us that is)!! Take a peek at our family room curtains. I love them and honestly it really makes the room look bigger and draws your eye up. I highly recommend using this same technique in your home!

-> Kassy <-