Dorm Storm! Three days to decorate.

This time last year, I drove to Lubbock to help my sister Lynnette, decorate her (freshman) daughter Natalie's dorm room. As you can see we had a blast brain storming, shopping, creating and installing the many items we found. It was so much fun! Several days later when we returned home tired but happy, knowing we had left Natalie and her room mate Brittany, surrounded by beauty. Which we girls know, is a helpful thing when your far away from family, friends and the familiarity of home. A pretty room decorated with your momma's love is a sure cure when your homesick.

I'm happy to say that Natalie had a great freshman year at Texas Tech and is back for another. So, last Wednesday my sister veered off I-20, picked me up and headed to Lubbock! Her Navigator was stuffed!!! We had a great visit which made the trip fly by and before you knew it we were standing in Natalie's new digs! A 4 bedroom/4 bath/kitchen/living/laundry apartment. Wow! This was definitely a step up from dorm life! It would also be a bigger challenge for the 'Sisters'/design team... but for me it was an opportunity to pretend I was on Design Star! First we talked to Natalie and her suite mates Brittney, Sarah and Amanda. Much to my delight they gave us artistic freedom and off we went!

Here are all the before pictures of the kitchen and living areas.....

This complex allows you to paint walls and the girls definitely wanted a little color. Pretty quickly we decided that the "L" shape wall w/ counter would be a good one to paint and the tall skinny wall at the end of the counter would make a nice chalk board.




After plotting and planning a bit, we unloaded the expedition and went shopping.

The entire next day was a blur!

I love shopping, but that day it was hard work. Our plan was to get everything we needed so the following day would be spent in the apartment working. I mean everything! Decorations, wall art, hardware, art supplies, paint, rollers and brushes! Just for fun, here is a list of all of the stores we went to that day: Burlington Coat, Ross, Target, World Market, Goodwill, Lowe's, Hobby Lobby, Micheal's, T J Maxx, Kirkland's Hancock's and later that night we made a midnight run to Walmart! Boy, were we tired!


After a good night's rest, we got started on the big list! We divided it and split up. Lynnette got started in Natalie's room (I'll post pic's tomorrow) and I opened a gallon of paint and started rolling on 'blood orange' paint.

While the paint was drying, I addressed the big wall in the room. With charcoal I sketched 'hula hoop' size poppies onto the wall. I loved it! Funny though how it never seems quite right to draw on the wall. It's kind of like breaking dishes on purpose! I sprayed a fixative over the finished art.

Next up: Art work! We bought some and I painted the others.





Then it was time to put it all together! Lynnette hung these Waverly drapes and I ran back to Goodwill to get this HUGE vintage lamp.




We hung art (Burlington Coat Factory) on top of the 'sketched' wall......look closely it's very subtle. We found the metal basket at Ross.

I painted this 3' x 4' canvas titled, He's got the whole world in His Hands, and hung it above the sofa. It made a big splash on the wall. The pillows came from BCF and World Market.

The painted gallery wrapped canvas added a subtle pop.

Above the TV we hung F A I T H ...

Here's the overall look for the living.

The cabinet below we found on Craig's list for $50 and finished painting it around 1:00 am. Saturday morning, I painted two coats of turquoise on the display area. Also notice the bar stools we added (Walmart $19 e.) and the faux pendant lights.

Lynnette dreamed up this idea! They are intended to protect picnic food from flies and were on sale at World Market. They are hanging from black cords (drapery tie backs). These really made a big difference. Everyone that came in really thought they were lights! :)

A framed print ($19.99 - Ross) added color to the kitchen. The bowls came from there too!

And so did these! The biggest one is huge and was $9.99!!!

Here is the tall skinny wall at the end of the counter. I painted it with flat ('oops!' paint at Lowe's $ 5- gallon) black and wrote on it with white chalk. The EAT letters were (on sale at Hobby Lobby- $5 each) spray painted olive green.

Check out this wonderful surprise! Brittany's mom and dad brought these beautiful dishes which we happily displayed in the (barely dry) cabinet. It was simply stunning!

All of the girls were delighted and appreciative. Lynnette and I were tired. It was a long drive home but we slept very well last night....and dreamed of four beautiful college girls living out their sophomore year on the backdrop of our heartfelt creativity. Thank you ladies for letting us share the fun! We've grew fond of you and will be thinking of you often in the days to come.

May God richly bless you Natalie, Brittany, Sarah and Amanda. All of you are precious and He loves you! We know He is with you, watching and listening. Waiting patiently to be your best friend. We pray you will settle for nothing less than His best! He thinks you are worth it. That's why He sent Jesus. It is our prayer this year, that each and every step you take, will bring you closer to His love and His truth. So that you may truly, live happily ever after.