CHURCH CRY ROOM RENOVATION

I was back at our church this past week working on a little room renovation/makeover. The CRY ROOM is an area of the church where mothers can nurse, change their kiddos if need be, or retreat when said cherubs choose to get a little cray-cray. My kids are well past this phase (well, most days at least), so I personally had no use for this room. That being said, after checking it out, I knew I really wanted to tackle this space within our church next. Afterall, the cry room should exude warmth, instill peace, and serve as a retreat (of sorts) when our body of mamas need to use it.

Here is where we started:

See what I mean? These bare walls and temporary rockers needed some assistance just as this room needed a little facelift.

Ready to see this room renovation?

And here's how it all went down:

After resorting to Pinterest and checking out numerous nurseries online, I selected a mountain scene wall mural to serve as the main design of this space. Besides, I'd been wanting to tackle this little gem for quite a while and was excited at the opportunity to finally get to do so.

Cute, huh? Now for the rest of the room. I made this preliminary design board using images mostly found on Pinterest.  We needed economical, yet comfortable furniture that would be functional, aesthetically pleasing, and budget-friendly. I selected both of these modern rockers paired with a basic grey couch I found on Wayfair. 

Next up? The mini gallery wall. Seriously, EVERY time I hear the word "cry" I think of that song from Guns n' Roses. You know the one. So much so, that I felt the need to implement some of the song's lyrics into this space. I mean, it IS the Cry Room and it works. It's fun and even better? When weary mamas are using this room. it may just bring a much needed smile. 

The rest of these items and frames were found at Hobby Lobby. Oh, and that "Pray Big" sign looked awesome when I originally purchased it in black but this area needed a pop of orange to help balance it with the main feature wall. A little spray paint to the rescue!

That's it! Future plans for this room include a new changing table. Something rustic and non-traditional (with lots of storage) but in the meantime, this place is ready for our church body of mamas and all their wee ones.

The Details:

Couch & Rocker Chairs: Wayfair

Rug & Coffee Table: Ashley Furniture Store

Wall Gallery Decor: Hobby Lobby

Printables: A Fresh Coat Yuma

Wall Mural: A Fresh Coat Yuma

Copper Vinyl Triangles: Lindsey Elk

Pillows: Hobby Lobby & Kirkland's

Table Centerpiece: Kirkland's

Paint Colors: SW Urbane Bronze, SW Cattle Drive, SW Dovetail (25% reduction)

A Warped Fence & Black paint: warming up a room with the unlikeliest of materials.

The thought of actually applying black paint to a wall (or walls) in your home can be a terrifying thought for most. Will it drive down the resale value? Will it make my room look smaller? Is it too harsh of a color?  These are all valid questions and reservations to have when it comes to black paint, but creating a room with a feature wall in the darkest of hues can make all the difference.

No, seriously.

And having more than one feature wall in a room can totally work as well.

Recently, I offered my painting and decorating services at my church home in Yuma, AZ. We just moved into this building back in August and so a number of the rooms remain a blank canvas of sorts. This designated prayer room looked nice and was fully functional, but it was missing that "wow" factor. The stark walls and contemporary furniture needed some warmth and balance. This room just needed some new paint, a few rustic elements, and a little added decor to pull it all together.

The budget? $250. For a large room like this, a small budget definitely presented a challenge but I firmly believe that decorating (or re-decorating) a space doesn’t have to be expensive. That simple is better.  And paint? Paint can do wonders. Since the furniture was already in place, here's what went down with the rest of this makeover: 

First I scoured the church’s paint supply and found just enough of the colors I needed for my project; one gallon of Valspar’s Kettle Black (Eggshell), one gallon of Valspar Cattle Drive (with a 25% reduction/Semi-gloss), and two gallons of SW Dovetail Grey (with a 25% reduction/Semi-gloss).

Next, I planned out the design of this space based off the amount of paint I had in each color as well as the actual shape of the room. By pairing the modern, masculine furniture with a rustic feature wall, and some fresh paint in warm, cool, and neutral colors,  I knew it would look pretty cool. Plus, I love the added warmth wood brings into a room, don't you? Luckily our church property housed an old, rustic, semi-warped fence with a whole bunch of character. It was as simple as going out back and gathering up some wood (love when that happens).  Even better? I didn’t have to sand 'em and I didn’t have to stain 'em either. Twenty years in the hot AZ sun added enough character to these boards, so up they went. As is. *Oh, yeah!*

Now, here comes the fun part: the transformation.

Putting all of these components together, planning out the space, and adding some simple elements such as throw pillows (Kirkland's), lamps (Hobby Lobby), and a few knick-knacks , here's how it all turned out.

Kind of fun, right?  That black wall will soon house a monitor so this part of the room can double as a conference center for church administration. As for the Dovetail wall, I'm thinking some sweet b & w pics on large canvases will do the trick. And while we're talking about accents, please note: decor doesn't have to be expensive…or perfect! This chalkboard piece (pictured below) was found at Hobby Lobby. Although the dimensions were perfect for the steel table it would rest upon, the color of the border was not. It was red. Like, RED-RED! Red definitely wasn’t in the design plans but three small acrylic paint bottles--in varying shades of brown (at $1.37 each)--would make it all better. I simply painted the border to look like wood in a total of ten minutes. Acrylic dries super fast so this centerpiece got a makeover in no time flat.

So can a black wall and some old, warped wood add overall warmth and create an inviting space (especially in a room without windows or any natural light)? I’ll let you decide. ;)