Monday, July 26, 2010

Decorating the Shoe Box

Finally!

After weeks months of anticipation, Miss Whimsy has received her dorm assignment. She’s so excited.

Apparently…
Her roommate likes to hunt bear.
Miss Whimsy’s likes to chase butterflies…
This ought to be an interesting combination.
I will have the tune to The Odd Couple stuck in my head the rest of the day.

So we have dubbed this week College Week and decided to start decorating. The mother/daughter time and creativity will probably be good for what ails us on a dog day afternoon.

We have a few tried and true dorm decorating rules around here:

We don’t do the roommate matchy/matchy thing. First, while you hope it will, you have no way of knowing whether that roommate assignment is going to work. Just because a girl shares your love of pink and green doesn’t mean she won’t also be prone to sharing your clothes…

Or your food…
Or your spending money…
Or, oh say…your boyfriend.

It happens. Don’t ask me how I know this.

We also don’t try to match because when you are trying to live in a room approximately  the size of a shoe box,  it seems wise to chisel out a space that is distinctly your own, yes? 

So Whimsy has chosen her bedding colors and has a plan, and she actually got the color inspiration from her graduation gifts. When we placed them out for display, we noticed some color patterns forming.

Can you see them?
Crop.
Zoom.

First, there was this blue and green combination.

Love it.


Unfortunately, so does The Practical One. That’s why it’s the color scheme for her shoe box. (I’m planning to yak about that this week too…Here’s a sneak peek…)



But on the other side of the table emerged another pattern.
Zooming…

Zooming…


Like it? So did we. So this is where we’re going.  And look! Yet another use for that hoarded tissue paper. It can become an inspiration board.


She’s planning a solid black comforter
with a king sized zebra print pillow and small pillows of pink and green.
 Practical and whimsical. 
 We’re headed to the fabric store today to find some zebra.

Of course, I've been thinking.
I'm always thinking...
I  hope her roommate doesn’t hunt in her sleep…

24 comments:

Ann said...

I was actually surprised when you first zoomed into the blues and browns ... I saw the pink and green!
I LOVE the idea of black/zebra and then the pink and green! Perfect!

Now, you'll have to explain all about the shoebox. I'm lost.

LOVE your creativity, Debbie!
~Ann

Debbie said...

I will go and make it clearer, Ann.
I just mean the room is the size of a shoe box. Clear as mud?

Denise said...

So excited to finally have a "pink" dorm room in the family...navy/red...navy/teal...brown/blue.You know I love pink. It will look fabulous. Let me know if you need some help. Now, the shoebox...I'm lost too.

Denise said...

Sorry. I reread the post and I get it. Small room. Duh.

Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio said...

Hunting bear? oh my. well hopefully Zebra's aren't on the list.
LOVE all the choices.

(())

Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio said...

Debbie ... just read you comment so I'm back to say .... YES you ARE artistic and puhleeeze join us in the ATC swap. The theme for August is "Orange" ... and you can stamp, collage, paint or whatever you want to on the little cards....come on squeeze it in :))

(())

Alicia said...

I hope you post pictures of the finished product!

FrouFrouBritches said...

Love it! That brown, blue and lime pillow is the same fabric I used in E's room and I LOOOOOVE IT! Pink and green is another fave of mine and zebra is my favorite animal print! It's gonna be GORGEOUS!!!! I'm so excited! I can't wait to see it! You are going to post pics, right?

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

LOL! Hopefully they'll get along just fine. Love the pink and green color scheme. It's very young, fresh and fun!

Manuela

Jennie said...

I have less than zero constructive input other than to say, "I like it!"...but I will say that, being intimately familiar with the shoeboxes they call dorms, I "got" it right off the bat. I get 5 points for that.

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Both of those color schemes are as cute as can be. Can she do both and change them up as needed???

XO,

Sheila :-)

Leslie {Goodbye, house. Hello, home!} said...

What a beautiful combination!!
I am wondering if her new roommate will hang an animal head on the wall?
I had to laugh, because last year, MY Miss Whimsy's freshman year, her roommate wanted to have matchy matchy--ewww to that. It ticked Sarah's roommate off--she stayed mad at her until they parted ways mid-first semester. then Sarah got her own room to decorate however she liked!
When does Miss Whimsy start?
You will seriously miss her the first few weeks--you'd better stock up on Kleenex.
Hugs,
~me

Sharon said...

I discovered your blog over the weekend - what a blessing! You make me LAUGH OUT LOUD, my friend! Thank you for bringing your sense of humor to this life!

I'm glad to see you didn't choose a camouflage theme - who knows what could have happened then with the roommate...Hmmmm!

Just yakkin' back at you!

Debbie said...

The colors you are working with are very nice. My girls had animal prints in their dorm rooms. They've changed ALOT since graduating tho.
Have fun getting the shoe boxes put together!!
Debbie@houseatthelake

The Polka Dot Closet said...

I love the colors! What fun for you and your daughter! Thank you for stopping by and sharing in my publishing joy!
Carol

Kelli said...

I love both combos but the blue and green are my fave! Praying for the roommate situation to go smoothly! Would love to see the room/spot when it's complete!

Renée said...

Pink and green is just so collegiate! Throw in a little animal and well....it may get wild, but so fun! I'm amazed as both of my daughters have used their college color schemes in their daughter's rooms. This is such a rich time in your life and I'm so glad you are having lots of fun together.

Amy Kinser said...

What great inspiration! I love the choices you and she have made. Good luck to her.

Rettabug said...

Hilarious post...I can just hear you! LOL What fun it is to send ones DD off to college. I remember well. :D

I see you've been sewing. Me too. Will have some things to share later this week on the subject. I look forward to hearing about those pillows.

fondly,
Rett

Unknown said...

I love it all! How exciting for her!

Carol said...

Hi Debbie!
So glad you stopped by to visit my blog today!

Looks like you and your daughter are having so much fun planning her dorm decor. Memories are made of this!

Smiles,
Carol

A very blessed lady! said...

I love the choice you have made...Can't wait to see the finished room. the camp we stay at each summer is a college...Wow you have your workcut out. dorms can be so cold and bare to say the least.

CAL said...

Debbie, wow - having girls sure is a wonderful treat, here is yet another thing I missed out on.

Having a son who thinks it is perfectly OK to just use his sleeping bag as a bed covering and christmas mini lights strung haphazzardly along ceiling and windows it sure is a far cry from what you describe.

I LOVE all the color combinations that you showed us however, I have to say the zebra stripes and hot pink are a fav of mine!! WOO HOO!!

Oh - and I knew immediately what you were describing by using the shoe box termnology. Maybe that comes from having the experience?? It made me laugh - thanks for sharing your fun.

Sharlotte said...

Hi Debbie,
I love the inspiration for your daughter...the black and pink is always a favorite.I know you are having a great time together! My youngest is also going to college this fall and he just wants to bring his clothes, pillow, blanket and of course a TV!
Thanks for sharing and stopping by to visit!
Sharlotte

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