Name: Lily (2)
Location: Boston, MA
Color Inspiration: Our daughter Lily has such a vibrant and imaginative personality. We wanted to create a room that captured her energy and joie de vivre. The resulting room is one that overflows with character and very much represents Lily-- bright and bold with oodles of whimsy.
Color Inspiration continued: Lily's curtains are made from the same mod polka-dotted fabric as my favorite dress. I had bought the dress many years ago as a single gal living in the big city. Wearing it always put a smile on my face. Thus, when I serendipitously discovered this same fabric in the clearance bins, I immediately bought it for the curtains. And these curtains-- made with fabric already imbued with happy memories-- have served as a springboard for the rest of the room.
Everything in Lily's room carries some personal meaning: it is either built or refinished by her dad, made by myself or one of her grandmothers, or carries some sentimental meaning, such as the silver family portrait tree that traces back three generations. It is definitely our favorite room in the house!
Tip for Using Color: To prevent the bold colors from overpowering the tiny room, we painted the walls in a light, buttery yellow color. The furniture is either natural oak or refinished in an antique white. We also painted the tree mural using clean, simple lines so that it would not compete with the bright colors.
Colors Used: Vibrant shades of fuchsia, carnation pink, candy apple green and forest green. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore Moonlight Yellow.
Thanks for your colorful entry Ruthie and good luck!






Howard Butcher Bloc...
I love the sheer number of colors that are used -- and that look great together!
I love the fun rug- where did you get it?
Really loving this one. Shows a lot of personality, which does it for me. Great story about the fabric too!
Fabulous design! Are you a professional?
love how cheery this room is and the fact that everything in the room has such a sentimental or personal touch is right up my alley.
Adorable bird mobile. Did you make it yourself?
oh, i love how the tree painting appears to be hanging upside-down. brilliant!
Love this room! The rug looks like it's from Ikea. What I would love to know is where did you get the bed from?
I love your dresser, where did you get it?
I think those draps must have been made by someone with incredible love for the child that sleeps there.
Lily's mom here. Thank you for all the sweet comments. I'm so glad to hear that you like the room!
- The rug is from IKEA.
- The painting over the bed is called "Strawberry Roots" by Masah D'yans.
- The dresser was a cheap find on Craigslist that my husband refinished into an antique white.
- The bed was re-purposed from another room in the house, but I think we bought it from Cardi's Furniture.
Thanks!
Ruthie
I think there may have been a Gami's hand working on the drapes. They have love prints on them. A sure sign.
What a happy room! I like the bird mobile, although I wish we could see the tree mural that you painted better. Room tour!
Lily’s mom again!
Indeed, Lily is lucky to have crafty contributions from both her Mimi and Gami (her grandmothers). Her Mimi made the crewel embroidery of Bambi that is framed by the bookcase. Her Gami and I made the drapes together.
@aerobics.chica -- My husband and I painted the mural ourselves (tree decals are so expensive these days). We used masking tape and made our own leaf stencils. I know it’s kinda hard to see with only 5 pic limit… perhaps we will get to do a room tour in order to show the other details!
This is absolutely adorable! It looks like you paid an expensive decorator to do her room. Lily is one lucky little girl.
Very impressed .. for me the absolute winner!
Grew up with IKEA as well and I am still a fan.
wish there were a bigger picture of the tree painting above the bed. looks beautiful!
@splim - The painting is called "Strawberry Roots" by Masha D'yans. It's available at Urban Outfitters and is even prettier up close: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?navAction=jump&isProduct=true&id=14822753
Just in case you haven't sold yet, I would DEFINITELY leave the mural. If a potential buyer has SO LITTLE imagination that they can't/won't consider painting over it (should it not fit with their plans), who wants to sell to such cretins anyway!
It seems to me the mural is more likely to be THE selling point than a drawback. And, I don't consider it "personal." AND, I wouldn't imprison my thinking by the much-copied self-styled experts' opinions. No doubt one person said it and then, whether true or not, all the rest decided it sounded like a good thing to say. I get so tired of hearing stuff like that as though it were carved in stone. Phooey!
That mural is fantastic. Be proud. The right person will buy your house.
beautiful room!! well done! where did you get the silver family tree? it's wonderful.
Thanks for the compliments!
@Laura Leigh - the silver family tree was from Things Remembered.