Bloggers Heart Zebra Print... and Turquoise... oh, and Basketball!

What Do You Get When You Mix Zebra Print, Teal, and Basketball?

An Awesome Room With a WHOLE LOT of Personality
 

I think I'm kinda getting addicted to these Bloggers Heart Habitat projects ;) But seriously, the privilege of being a part of this amazing group of bloggers was all I needed to make my Christmas complete.

Bloggers Heart Habitat is an amazing program started by Charlotte at Ciburbanity. Essentially, a group of bloggers get together to furnish and decorate rooms in newly-built Habitat for Humanity Houses. In case you missed it, during the first collaboration, I worked on this fun space for a 4-year old boy's room.

This time around, I got to pair up with two other amazing bloggers to work on a 10-year old girl's space. In partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut, each room was provided with a budget generously provided by Hometalk, our main sponsor.


What I love most about the Bloggers Heart Habitat program is that we can take the homeowner's ideas, engage our own "expertise," and work together to create a customized space... on a budget. In this case, we knew our homeowner's daughter loved turquoise, zebra print, and basketball, and we went from there.

This is how the room looked during the building process:

I had the pleasure of working with Carli of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and Robin of A Home to Grow Old In. I just have to say that we worked so well together... especially considering the fact that we collaborated from three different states ;) And - sidenote - a big thanks for Carli for sharing her images with me--most of the finished photos in the post are "borrowed" from her.

In our individual planning, the three of us kept the color scheme, basketball theme, and zebra print pattern in mind as we shopped and DIYed, and we used an Instagram chat to keep each other updated along the way.

Since the bed is one of the biggest expenses in a room, I went to work on that right away. Shea's daughter was really hoping for a pull-out trundle so she could have sleepovers. I was fortunate to find a local family who was willing to donate a solid 'This End Up' trundle bed for the project (a lot like like this one -- I forgot to take a 'before' pic). The functionality of the bed was perfect for the space, but the look of it... not so much. To try to minimize the "heaviness" of the look, I painted it white. The super-cozy mattresses (donated by Tuft and Needle) topped it off, and we were thrilled with the end result.

You can see the finished product poking out around the pretty linens here. The drawers at the bottom are "faux," and the whole piece pulls out to reveal another twin mattress--perfect for sleepovers, as requested!

Robin got a great price on the bedding (not to mention the curtains that compliment it perfectly), and Carli found those adorable polka dot decals to create an awesome accent wall behind the bed. The ombre heart art in the corner was a craft store find.

Photo Credit: Carli Alves

 This streamined dresser was a Target find, and the hanging lanterns and zebra-print lava lamp add some additional whimsy to this corner.

We really wanted to give her the bold pop of turquoise Shea's daughter was looking for, but we thought it could be overwhelming on the walls... so, we painted the doors, instead, and it really gave it the color pop we were looking for. Major props to Carli for a superb paint job under major time pressure ;)
 

Photo Credit: Carli Alves

When I saw that black basketball hoop, I couldn't pass it up, and I love how it stands out against the teal door. And... speaking of basketball... this custom print is from Solowords, a modern art shop I found on Etsy. You customize her designs with your choice of colors, then you purchase the digital file. Print it at home or at a shop, and display as you wish. I chose a simple black frame to keep with our color scheme.

The desk is one of my favorite parts of the room. Robin got it from Ikea and we styled it with the various accessories we each picked up along the way.

Photo Credit: Carli Alves

And COME ON, how cool is this banner Robin made? I just love how it ties the whole room together.

Photo Credit: Carli Alves

In addition to being incredibly chic, this desk chair has adjustable-height capability... and it swivels! I found it for a whopping $8 at Goodwill.

Photo Credit: Carli Alves

We we lucky enough to meet the Shea on install day for the "full reveal" of her daughter's room (and her master bedroom designed by Michelle from Weekend Craft and Lauren from Lauren McBride in sponsorship with Raymour and Flanigan).

But the best part of the day: Shea 'Facetimed' with her daughter, and we got to see her exuberent reaction to her cool new bedroom.

Plus, here's a sneak peek of the master--head over to Michelle and Lauren's pages to see the full reveal:

Master Bedroom by Michelle of Weekend Craft (photo credit Charlotte Smith)

And, as if our experience wasn't enough feel-goodness in-and-of-itself, remarkably, Shea's house was the SECOND Bloggers Heart Habitat project in just as many weeks!

The weekend before we installed, Charlotte and Jillian from I Am a Homemaker worked together on this stunning dining room for another new Eastern CT Habitat homeowner.

Photo credit: Charlotte Smith

As far as this cozy and polished living room in the same house, the credit goes to Lisa of Shine Your Light and Kim Macumber of Kim Macumber Interiors.

Photo credit: Charlotte Smith

All prettiness and creativity aside, the best thing about these projects was that both families were able to move in to their new homes in time to celebrate their first Christmases together there.

Want more information in how to get involved? Check out Charlotte's blog for more information about the Bloggers Heart Habitat program.

And hey, are we connected yet? If not, find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Etsy,  Google+, and Bloglovin so we can start sharing ideas together!