Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Shoe Box Decorating 2: A Practical Shoebox

I mentioned in an earlier post that we couldn't choose the blue/green/brown theme for Whimsy's dorm room because it was the color scheme for big sister. 


And that would be no fun.
After all, we're  already precariously perched on
Me Too Mountain

We're going to the same university...
And assigned to the same freshman dorm...
On the same floor, no less.
Creative, aren't we?

There is one major difference though. The Practical One's shoe box room was a size XXL.
She  arrived to college three years ago to discover that she was assigned to a handicapped room.


 (On the third floor... in a dorm with no elevators.... Yeah, seems kind of odd to my way of thinking too, but that's higher education. That's why we pay them the big bucks...)

She is called The Practical One for a reason. She's practical.
.
She chose brown for her comforter. We're big on a solid, dark, colors around here. I'm just thrifty cheap enough to want it to last all four years, and a decent quality dark one has done just that.

Each one of her pillows is reversible and piped in the same brown piping.


A king sized pillow is in a small polka dot with plain blue on the back.
Small pillows have large and small dots.

Because that's a practical way to switch things up a bit.

It needed a splash of color so we found this festive floral for a final pillow.

  It's my favorite.

I'm just oddball enough to drag these outside for a picture. 
Needing to get a life  here...


Here it is in the dorm room.
The pictures are the best I can find.

Day 1 her freshman year.


The desk area
complete with the flowers.
No move in day is complete for The Practical One without flowers.
It's a rule.

 
Just like her mom,
a vase of flowers is her impractical pleasure.

The Duchess found this little white cubby hole thingie online
in Target's juvenile department.
 We wanted to free up surface space on her desk.
It came trimmed in pink, but we just painted the whole thing white.

We made that tufted memo board with our scraps.
I'll yak about it another time.

She has kept the basics since then.
She just adds a little every year.
Her junior year was the first year that she had a nook all to herself.
We added little valances for her windows.

I wanted to make them out of that floral fabric,
 but we didn't have enough.
(Sure wish I had known Miss Frou Frou Britches then...)

So we found brown tab top valances on sale at Target
and dressed them up with what scraps we had left.


 Fabric coverd buttons and a little stripe.


So that's what we've been up to around here. We're working on dorm room #2.
It's similar.
But with a little signature whimsy.

13 comments:

Jennie said...

Oh man. That is AWESOME. I wonder what you would have thought of my shoebox...whose only decoration was a Breakfast Club poster I got halfway through my first semester. ;)

I blame my mother for this.

FrouFrouBritches said...

Debbie, you are so precious!! I just love it!!! The valance is PRECIOUS!!! I love the addition of that gorgeous fabric and buttons. Sooo cute!!! I love the dots mixed in too!!

I can't wait to see Miss Whimsy's room!!!

A very blessed lady! said...

I love the entire Shoebox...I never knew a dorm room could look so COZY!!! Good luck getting her to come home! or maybe that's what you were going for? LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

Manda said...

Beautifully decorated... my favourite is the "splash of color" in the paisley pillow! Fun!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Girl, this is CUTE! And I love your little tab curtain and how you teaked it out with the buttons and banding of floral fabric. SO cute! Love everything you did with her room. Can't wait to see your next one! :-)

I died laughing when I read:

"I'm just oddball enough to drag these outside for a picture. Needing to get a life here..."

I'm riding shotgun with you, Debbie! I've been decorating and undecorating a table that I don't intend to use today! LOL! I was also outside taking a picture through the French doors last night. Of course, the screen door over the French doors made the picture go all wonky. But I was suddenly struck by the fact that tourists ambling back to their B&Bs who happened by might just think I was a nut or a Peeping Tom! Little do they know I'm merely a blogger. ;-)

XO,

Sheila :-)

Lynn said...

The room looks great! Lovin' the curtains and the paisley pillow... doesn't everything look better when you take a picture of it outside???

Denise said...

Seems like just yesterday that we moved them into those rooms. Mine had a shoe box and yours a virtual mansion! Thank goodness they were right down the hall from one another so mine had a place to sit...big pink chair if I remember correctly. We certainly are imaginative in our family...4 girls...same university...same dorm. Oh well, it works for us. Can't wait to see Miss Whimsy's finished room and I have always loved her sister's. Good work A nut Debbie!!
Hugs
Denise

Amy Kinser said...

Her room looks great. Love the pillows especially. Also love the flowers in her room. What girl doesn't need flowers to make them feel good?

laura :) said...

Mine is going to look so much better!

(Due in most part to my presence in the room)

Love,

Best daughter ever

Jennie said...

I am SO glad you took that with the intended levity! I'm certain not-so-incredibly-many years from now my own children will blame me for their bare dorms. Unless I grow a decorating bone or two before then. There might be hope. Then again...

Debbie said...

Is it worth mentioning that I'm so pathetic that I remember MY single poster from 30 years ago?

It said, "Someday my prince will come...
...And I'll have my hair
in curlers."

MDB said...

hahaha why have i never heard of this poster??

Also, that really is a lovely room! You should have posted a more recent picture with my added decorative touches though...it looks even more happy and warm now!

Debbie said...

Oh... you should probably be prepared and warn your friends because I'm coming...

And I'm bringing the shiny red Kodak.

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