Hanging Decorative Birdcages In A Kids Room: a house log

Put a birdcage on it. That is right, why stop at putting a bird on something when you can put an whole birdcage on it?

Follow up question: why stop at one when you can go with three?

Sidenote: we have gotten a few questions about the brown sheet on the daybed, so the deal with that is that we still have not picked up sheets for the bed, but they’ll most likely be navy and most certainly will not be that crazy old tan sheet that has been on this daybed for around six years! Haha. So simply try to ignore that for now if you can.

But back to the birdcages. I have been itching to hang these folks since we began this room, so it is truly exciting to at last unveil the “secret 3D items that we plan to hang to balance that off-center window” as we so cryptically referred to them a few times. Why birdcages? Well, it all began over a year ago when we came across the big white birdcage at a local thrift store during book shoots (we were there grabbing some other things and could not leave without it, so we picked up it for thirty beans and I hugged it the whole way home).

Then back in September when we got those $8 thrift store chairs in West Virginia on the drive home from redoing Granny’s bathroom, we also grabbed the red birdcage at the same thrift shop for $10 (it was white when we got it though).

So we had two birdcages sitting around forever, but I knew I’d prefer one more to make a pleasant grouping of three. And of course, per Murphy’s Law, the third one was not as straightforward to come by. We tried a bunch of thrift stores and even stalked craigslist (where some folks hoped $90 for their birdcages, eeks!) along with online decorative birdcage vendors (yes they exist, but they also want plenty of money for them). Then when I had nearly given up all hope, I found that guy on the left at Hobby Lobby (which was $19 after I got 50% off thanks to their all-the-time sales).

That one came in the darker pewter color and I had originally planned to spray it white to go with the other two white ones I already had, but then I realized leaving it that color (it ties into the navy curtains) and spray painting the $10 one from the thrift store bright red would make for a lively little mix.

We hoped this to be a surprise for Clara, so she did not see me paint that one or watch us hang them (they are all quite light, so we simply used plant hooks that are guaranteed to hold much more weight than these birdcages along with anchors, simply to be on the safe side). She was so excited when she woke up from her nap to see them all hung up. Wish we got it on video. There was plenty of pointing and laying down on the floor & daybed and gazing up at them. And then she brought in all of her stuffed animals to see them too.

Speaking of careful, since the white and the red one are especially light (they are made entirely of wicker) we opted to hang the dark one on the end, so it is not over the daybed at all, which is clearer from this shot:

And even though the white and red wicker birdcages are extra light, we still did not want them hanging directly over the daybed, so as you can see from this angle they are set back a lot and the daybed is pulled away from the wall. That way they are not in a spot that a jumping-on-the-bed Clara could hit her head. So in the end, they are simply like hanging a mobile or a model airplane or anything else that you might find hanging on the ceiling of a kids room. We are big fans of making things that Clara can gaze up at (like her flower mobiles) so these birdcages were an especially lively little addition to the room for us.

So that is the story of the birdcages. We enjoy that they add interest, pattern, color, and playfulness to the room – especially since there is already a frame collage on one wall and we have those postcard ledges on another wall. It is lively to keep thinking about ways to add dimension and interest beyond the ol’ picture frame, ya know?

Bam. I simply hit you with a birdcage detail shot.

And now for a few compact updates that have also gone on. I found some thin red ribbon from my leftover-from-Christmas box, and ran it around the bottom of Sir Moose, simply to balance the patterned shade a bit more. Diane in fact mentioned the possibility of painting it here in a sweet comment back when we shared the new shade (thanks for the idea Diane!) but I opted for ribbon since it is so easily changed.

As for how I attached it, I simply taped it around the back to hold it in place with regular old scotch tape about a week ago. Still holding strong!

The room’s truly starting to look wrapped up in certain areas. We certainly still have plenty more on the to-do list, but it is coming along slowly but surely…

Speaking of the list, here ya go:

• paint the room (more on that here)
• cut down our old den side table to make a play table (more on that here)
• bring in a dresser (we’d enjoy to find something secondhand) (more on that here)
  
• make/hang some curtains (more on that here)
  
• add a rug (more on that here)
  
• paint the backs of the chairs along with her play table (more on that here)
• hang our postcard ledges and fill them with go-to flashcards (more on that here)
• install a new light fixture (more on that here)
• hang a few 3D objects that we have in mind for wall decor (how’s that for cryptic?)
• get a new set of sheets for the daybed (most likely in navy) along with a cushy mattress pad
• refinish or paint Clara’s new dresser (which we got here)
• turn the junked up closet into an actual clothes closet/reading nook
• add crown molding (along with tackling the other un-crown-molding-ed bedrooms on this side of the house)
• possibly paint the ceiling once the crown goes up and we choose a color…
• add accessories like more pillows, storage bins for toys, etc

Oh and we did frame and hang one more thing…

Is not it cute? I enjoy that you read it right as you walk in, and that it is full of so many colors that you see when you step further into the room. It is by Katie Daisy (I am a crazy rabid fan of her remarkable work) and I in fact pinned it around a year ago, only to find our new friends Lauren and Steve at our book signing in Palo Alto holding it out to us (all rolled up and tied with a ribbon). Is that sweet or what? It truly is remarkable how thoughtful people are. When I said “I pinned this so long ago!” she said “I know!”

I do not know if I am simply a sappy mom, but it gets me all misty-eyed. It is so true. Clara is enjoyed like crazy, and every time I see it I send some enjoy to Lauren & Steve for their amazingly thoughtful surprise.

So that is what is up in Clara’s big girl room. What did you folks do this weekend? Anyone else hanging giant 3D objects or fairly little prints? What about “put a birdcage on it.” Thinks it’ll catch on? Come on folks, we can make this happen. The question is, do we want it to…?

Psst- Ahhhhhh! The secret video thing we hinted about on Instagram is at last out! It was in fact for BBC and not only do I rock a side ponytail, there is plenty of talk about our big goal this year. Nothing like trying to stick to a resolution by chatting about it at length to BBC News. You can watch the video and read the article here. If nothing else, the Clara & Burger shots are priceless.