We spent the weekend crossing off several hands-on projects in the girls’ room at the showhouse. The space still feels a bit sparse and is far from done, so it will likely keep evolving up to our deadline.
- The bed needs to be raised and we’ll add a colorful throw.
- Linens need ironing and we have a custom bolster to layer in.
- Colorful fabric window treatments will be hung as soon as they arrive.
- We may swap the end table — still undecided.
- We’ll add a soft blue lamp and more accessories to tie everything together.
Even so, we managed to shrink the to-do list considerably over the weekend.
We stenciled the wall, painted the headboard, hung some art (that chicken painting was made by our friend Lesli DeVito), and painted and upholstered two secondhand chairs. We also added a few playful wall hooks.
You might remember the full-sized headboard we found for $9.98 at a local thrift called Family Thrift Center.
It now wears a fresh coat of paint (Hydrangea Flowers by Benjamin Moore) and sits in front of the newly stenciled wall. Parker — one of the builder’s right-hand crew — handled both the stencil and the headboard paint; he turns out to be a stenciling expert among many other talents.
It felt strange not to be up on ladders priming and painting ourselves, but with 3,500 square feet of house to furnish and accessorize, it was great to hand off a few tasks and be free to tackle other projects. The stencil was donated by Royal Design Studio and the room is painted Simply White with Hibiscus by Benjamin Moore used for the stencil.
We wanted to take a few design risks to keep the show interesting. The stencil mixes nicely with the colorful headboard and can be painted over easily if the next homeowner wants a different look, which makes it a flexible choice.
We also got our hands dirty refinishing some furniture ourselves. We found two chairs at Love of Jesus thrift store on Midlothian for $16 each.
When we found them they were in decent shape but not special. We debated staining them and even sanded one down to raw wood, but decided paint would read better in this kids’ room. Since the room has carpet instead of hardwood and other painted pieces, staining felt like it might stand out awkwardly. A fun paint color won out.
We primed the frames with two coats of Kilz Premium, using a foam roller for large surfaces and a brush for nooks and crannies. Then we painted two coats of Hibiscus, leftovers from the stenciled wall, again with a small foam roller and a brush for tight spots.
While the paint dried in the garage, I recovered the seats using extra loft batting from a craft store and a manual staple gun. I wrapped the batting tight around the front of the seat and stapled it around the perimeter on the back.
We used a playful fabric called Candy Floss from U-Fab (they donated a yard, which was enough for both seats). For clean corners I folded the fabric much like wrapping a present, which gives a neat front appearance.
When working with a pattern, keep it straight as you staple. I flipped the seat occasionally to check alignment and popped out staples to redo sections if the pattern shifted. If you’re upholstering more than one chair, keep the pattern running the same direction — I made sure the white arrows pointed down on both cushions so the chairs would match.
Once the paint and fabric were dry, I screwed the seat cushions back into the chairs. New-looking chairs from old finds — huzzah!
Behind one chair we hung ceramic animal hooks from HomeGoods to display small imaginative items like a purse, a mini backpack, and a scarf.
We worried the white ceramics might look flat on the wall, so we dipped the antlers in paint to add interest. We used two different colors (Hydrangea Flowers and Berry Fizz) so the pieces wouldn’t be too matchy. We didn’t tape them off — we simply dipped the tips right in the cans.
They got a bit drippy, so we suspended them from an old spreader with foam core underneath to catch splatters. The dipped tips ended up looking thick and glossy, almost like powder-coated resin. Their imperfect, angled finish feels more interesting than a perfectly precise paint line — a little rebellious coloring outside the lines.
We also added a playful pendant light that we couldn’t resist. It’s an oversized, statement piece that adds personality to the room.
The room looks much more finished than it did a month ago. We have about half a dozen changes left to make in this room, plus about two dozen other spaces to complete in the next couple of weeks.
Update: Some readers asked about the double desk in a single kids’ room. John grew up with two desk areas — one for a computer and one for homework or drawing — so our team felt a double-desk setup could be practical when two chairs fit along that wall.
Update #2: A few people asked whether furnishings and accessories for the showhouse need to appeal to every potential buyer. These choices are for the show, where we’re encouraged to take risks and make each house feel distinct. After the show, the homeowner can choose to purchase items they like, but they’ll ultimately personalize the home to suit their family.
As John mentioned on Friday, showhouse work will dominate our schedule this week and next, so forgive us if we’re slower to respond. We’ve managed to squeeze in a few projects at our own house, like nursery updates, and we’ll share those when we can.
What did you do this weekend? Any painting, chair makeovers, or fun DIY dips?