I had a dream the other day. Actually it was a daydream, but for storytelling purposes lets go with the dream. In this dream we packed up and moved to Europe so that I could attend design school. Yes, you read that correctly. I packed up the family and we flew across the pond so that I could go to design school. In say… Sweden. How cool would that be!?!

As a child I was always moving my furniture around, changing the art on my walls and also helping my mom with her interior decorating. I would move a sofa so fast you wouldn’t know what hit you. I’d have the hammer and nails out in a flash to hang new art. Actually it was more like Kirk Cameron and Corey Haim posters from Bop magazine but who’s counting. My idea of a good time was shopping for new furniture for my room. And I was only in elementary school.

Had I only known then that you could make a living doing that I would have followed that yellow brick road. Instead, as life has it, I was led into sports where I eventually went to college on a basketball scholarship. And I went to school in a very tiny Texas town that was all about agriculture and the rodeo. Needless to say I don’t think design was a choice as a major. What’s a girl to do… major in communcations that’s what. You can do anything with a comm. degree. So they said.

So now that I’m into my thirties and have lived my first life as a teacher, I long and thirst for something more. I oogle over design books, blogs and flickr pictures. The stark white design of Sweden is such a long way from where we are here in Austin, Texas. But oh how I love it. The simplicity of it all.

Since I can’t pack up and move to Europe to pursue my dreams I have a tendency to put my mind at work around our house. Pictures, furniture and children are moved on a regular basis. Just until I get it just right, only to find a new idea and move things all over again. Having gotten Makena’s room all done I was ready to move on to Keegan’s room. Since he’s almost two and got a new big boy bed it was the perfect opportunity to turn his nursery into a toddler room. The first thing I did was take all of the pictures off of his wall and everything off of the shelves. I needed to start with a blank slate. Then I got down on the floor, at his level, and layed there for a while. Thinking about what this space should be.

Here is a little tour for you of his space.

The bed we found at Ikea. I know, go ahead and say it ‘it looks like a girls bed,’ but I was immediately drawn to it because it looked like an antique bed. I couldn’t resist. The art above his bed are pages framed from Where the Wild Things Are. On top of his toy chest are his first pair of cowboy boots. This is Texas after all. The quilt was made by my great-grandmother and handed down to us. I think Keegan’s bed is the perfect place for it. Lovingly handmade in the early 1900’s. I’m getting sappy just thinking about it.

His shelves are full of things that I love, but he just can’t play with yet. I’ve collected some of the vintage toys at garage sales, estate sales and thrift stores. Some of the other things like the dala horse and Pinnochio duo were mine. My husband brought the Kremlin model back from Russia when he visited as a kid.

I created a corner for him to play and relax. I put together a basket full of books. Since he’s a book tosser, I can’t have a bookshelf in his room just yet.

Above his play corner is all of his art. His own little art gallery that I can add to as he gets older and creates some of his own art. Yes, that is a stuffed animal buffalo head on his wall. The rocket was painted by a friend. Another friend created his name art on the wall. Inside the letters are all of the details of his first year of life. The other framed items are from vintage books.

Here is his view to the rest of the world. The dresser was used in his nursery as a changing table, but since he now weighs more than his three year old sister there is no more lifting him up there. I’m really happy with the way his room turned out. As he walked into it this evening, his face lit up. He immediately climbed into and out of his bed. Then made his way over to the book basket and picked out his favorite dinosaur book. As he sat in that corner and snuggled the puppy dog with his book, I knew he liked it. And that’s really all that matters after all.