First of all, I almost sobbed typing the word "preteen" into this post's title, because I had flashbacks to this. He seemed so. big.
Moving on, so I don't watch that video again and start crying.
The thing about my son's room in our last place was that it was...how do I put it...
...
...
...awful.
Before we pack up and move to Texas, here’s a farewell tour of our favorite bedroom in the house: Huxley’s room! When the house was built in 1926, this was the original primary bedroom. In 1986, the previous owners converted it into a library when they added a second story and moved the primary bedroom upstairs. When we bought the house last year, we removed the back wall of built-in shelves to make room for Huxley’s bed so that the space would feel more like a bedroom.
When designing this space, I started with the wall color. I fell in love with Oakmoss from Sherwin Williams, and we’re actually going to paint Huxley’s Texas room the same color! From there, I chose the Malta Hand-Knotted Jute rug from Serena & Lily, which brought in some pattern and texture. I'm a big fan of choosing the largest rug possible for kids’ rooms to maximize the soft play space on the floor. For this room, we went with the 9x12 size, which also provides ample protection for our hardwood floors.
I am not a "fall colors" person - orange is not my jam. But the fall tablescape I put together to shoot Noritake's new Charlotta Gold dinnerware collection (featuring gold edges that are microwave! safe! YES) turned out to be one of my all-time favorites.
I started with my go-to palette (gold and white, pale pinks, texture and texture and texture), then added in autumnal elements with the eucalyptus, tall grasses, wintry berries, and wheat. One styling trick I've returned to again and again over the years (dating wayyyyy back to the flowers-in-a-teacup years, #memories): I love placing florals in unexpected containers, like the vintage tea light holders you see up there, and even laying them directly on the table (as I did with the wheat). It just feels so casual and light and easy.
Me as a garden nymph at a home scenting event, 2014
I'm not willing to accept that it's almost fall, because my internal calendar remains convinced that it's still April 2020. Or maybe April 2025; who knows! This reluctance-to-embrace-the-new-season is made vastly easier by the fact that it is approximately ten thousand degrees in Southern California at the moment, and I can barely walk my dog around the block without dissolving into a pool of sweat.
You know by now that I'm a bit of a candle obsessive; even when it's hot out, I have candles burning. Beyond being something that's always been a personal habit of mine, it's just kind of necessary when your home is filled with Child and Dog smells (yummmm).
My rug died.
Or, rather: Archie killed my rug.
It's OK, I obviously expected it; potty training has not historically been my forte with either canines or humans. Very fortunately, the particular rug that Archie killed was a simple jute rug that I didn't expect to last very long, and that had pretty much been beaten to death already. But this room really needs a rug; it just looks so ungrounded without one.
