dailyprompt-1884

We’re calling it the yellow room.

When my oldest son moved into his condo in late 2021, he took his bed, a desk, and a small table. He’s a minimalist like his mom. My son takes comfort from the familiar, whereas I enjoy change, so it worked out beautifully for both of us.

Mike and I bought a bed and a nightstand from Scandinavian Designs for the room, and that was it for a year. After that, I didn’t have the time or the energy to do more. I spent the last few months of last year researching assisted living for my younger sister, cleaning, clearing, packing, and organizing movers for a rainy December day. I set up her new space, hired a realtor, and cleared out what remained at the condo. Her place sold last month.

Between those hectic weeks, I made lists. Then, I spent evenings looking for unique bed coverings online.

Now and then, I would flop down on the new bed and think about how the space should feel. Once you have a sense of the feel of the room, design features naturally follow. I wanted a botanical vibe, green, but not too much green, and the idea of lemons and sunflowers entered the mix.

Digital lemon artwork (Etsy), Original Sunflower (a gift from Kelly), and Original cat painting, (artist/friend Barbara Oertli)

I must have mentioned this to my friend and fellow volunteer, Claudia. She gifted me a pair of beautifully hand-sewn, lemon-themed flannel pillowcases on my last day downtown. That gift got me moving.

Lemon flannel pillow case, a gift from my friend Claudia

The yellow room features bargains and splurges, unique items from my home, and plenty of cat fur.

I bought a yellow towel for the cats, and most of the time they sleep on it (Mouse looking entitled)

I found a package of decals online that assembled into a lemon tree. I wanted the tree to cover part of two walls, and after some thought, I decided to start the tree trunk along the baseboard. It worked! I spent a couple of afternoons adding clusters of leaves and then added the lemons as a finishing touch. The hummingbird decals came with the tree.

Our local Michael’s had a 90% off sale on custom framing, so I pounced. They framed three calendar pages from my 2022 wall calendar, and to my delight, they look fantastic. I hung the pictures for a few weeks before deciding to have the windowed wall painted green. Green walls made everything pop.

I found a few bargains at Cost Plus World Market:

A small wicker table
A decorative yet functional water sprayer
The round wicker piece over the bed
and that cute cat vase

Given our earthquake penchant, I never put anything heavy or breakable over a bed.

The floral chair swivels, so it will work nicely with the desk. It was s splurge!

The room is almost done, except for two details. First, a narrow desk is on order and should arrive in April.

The desk will go along this wall, currently reflecting the shudders

Treasures on the nightstand: mini-apron, a gift from Marlene, watering can frame, a gift from Carrielin and a sunflower card, a souvenir from my son’s trip to Florence. The lemon tray traveled from the kitchen.

Organic cotton light-weight sunflower blanket and assorted cushions from Ownkoti. Painted cushion by krupa paranjape.

Sadly, the gorgeous Ficus I bought for the room dropped 80% of its leaves. I need to sort something else out for that corner. The room has very little natural light, so this was a one-plant test. I’ve moved the plant to a brighter location, hoping it will rebound.