Last year when I was pregnant with my second child Marlo and agonizing over the tiniest details of her nursery, I remember conducting random word searches on Flickr for inspiration and stumbling across this incredible arrangement of plates on a wall:
CC image courtesy of shareski on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/shareski/2098598077/
That sounds a little menacing, doesn’t it? PLATES ON A WALL. Like you show up late to a meeting, your skirt accidentally tucked into your pantyhose, and you’re all SORRY! PLATES ON A WALL AGAIN!
That is going to be my excuse for everything now: The plates. On the wall.
I found that photograph and others like it so inspiring that I wanted to decorate one wall of the nursery with a delicate set of pink plates, an idea quickly squashed by my annoyingly logical husband. Breakable plates in an infant’s room? Did I really want to see my child bleed and possibly sever her carotid artery?
I guess there is a reason I keep him around.
So I opted for something much more infant-friendly, or so I thought. My first child Leta was such a sedentary kid and was never interested in outlets or dangerous cords. We never had to child-proof anything with her around because she was much more interested in deciphering letters and words. I mean, there we were at an amusement park waiting to ride a carousel when she turned to me and said, “Can we please go back to the hotel so that I can read my books?”
Is that not the cutest little geek ever?
I found a set of whimsical magnetic flower art that I installed in a dramatic flourish up and over the dresser in the nursery:
The dresser that I intended to use as the changing table, yes. You can probably see where this is going. Your jaw just hit the floor, I know. But you have to understand! If this had been Leta’s nursery she would have stared up at the wall, arms calmly at her side studying the intricate way the flowers seemed to burst forth from the wall! How mathematical!
But Marlo is no Leta. Marlo is very interested in touching and grabbing anything potentially fatal: glasses full of water, our phones, forks at the dinner table. How many times I have had to pry the remote control out of her fingers before she has swallowed it whole. Yummy, yummy channel changer!
And so this is what that section of the nursery looks like now:
Lesson learned: PLATES! ON THE WALL!
I don't understand why so many people have issues with Heather doing something with HGTV. I mean, they are quite a big company, don't you all think they had many meetings and decided that it would be great for them?! Obviously they know what they are doing, as that channel is on a little to frequently in my house for my husbands taste. I am so excited about this! I have so many times watched the shows as the mother of a two year old and a crawling nine month old and thought yes, I love this, but my kids would destroy it!! I also LOVE the designs in Heather's house, so really, I can not wait to see what comes of this, I think its fabulous. Good for you Heather, you are doing something you love to do again and making it work for your family. Who can really disagree with that? Who wouldn't want to be able to do that??
That would indeed make sense. I figured there was probably something like that. Thanks, Melissa!
I change diapers from the end of my girls dressers, so for me it doesn't matter what side the change pad is on… I change a lot of diapers between my 18 month old and 1 month old
Love it! My favorite blogger combined with my favorite TV channel. Can it get any better?
My sentiments exactly!!
Sad that multiple people (including me) thought first about "Pants on the Ground." What I want to know is how they put those plates on the wall. I would totally steal that idea if I thought I wouldn't end up having to clean up broken china and possibly some bloody dogs every day. Anybody know?
This is awesome! The post, I mean, not that Marlo tore the butterflies off the wall. It is awesome to see how a design can look beautiful at first but then to see that it does not function. That is something we don't always see on the HGTV shows. We see the design process but not what happens after the design/film crew leave. Part of design is trial and error, but you don't know until you try! Thanks, Heather, for showing us your error and pointing out that not every design is perfect.
I believe she uses blackout blinds or some other kind of light-canceling window coverings.
I know how to get "Plates On the Wall"! 3M sells has an item in their Command line. It is basically 2 strips of velcro. 1 side sticks to the back of the plate, and the other side sticks to the wall. I used it to attach a plate to a wall in my living room. It works great! I bought them at Wal-Mart.
Great post. It touches on something I have struggled with as well, i.e., designing a cute baby/toddler room when the baby/toddler in question is a bit of a *ahem* banshee. My first child was like Leta. Not my second. Oh, how many times I have walked into his room to find him grinning ear to ear only to realize he has destroyed something in his room. Our nickname for him is BEAST.
His room was once cute. It has been stripped down piece by piece as he figures out new things to investigate and destroy. It now looks like Mr. Hart's bedroom in the movie "9 to 5." The room de-nudification includes: removing all pictures from the walls; putting heavy-duty child-proofing straps on his dresser drawers to keep him from opening the drawers and dumping all of his clean clothes into his hamper; taking the doors off the closet; putting his changing table into the closet with a gate to keep him out; then adding plywood panels zip-tied to the gate when he figured out how to climb up the changing table through the gate…. Good thing he's super cute and cuddly.
This is just the before, right, Heather? You are going to fix it? The flowers are gorgeous, and I remember seeing the nursery pictures and it's all gorgeous. I'd love to see you reinstall the flowers up and over to the left out of Marlo's reach, and patch and paint the damage spots on the wall. Then show us the after pictures, pretty please.
Bless you for posting this!! I swooned with absolute delight when I saw Marlo's nursery photos. Your sense of design is amazing – it's so clean! I am a clutter bug and have spent the last few years wondering why everyone's babies were so much cleaner than mine. I think it's perspective.
While your design still stands are beautiful, the after effect of practicality made me smile. Your baby and her room are still clean, but I think this is your version of how I felt. I'm sure that doesn't make any sense, but it actually made me feel a kinship with you.
Thinks don't turn out how you expected, but it doesn't mean they were wrong in the first place.
I put flowers up in my nursery. I think I put them up high enough to keep out of reach
http://mommalovebug.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-littl…
I have butterflies up in my older babies room. No where near the change station!!
I love the M on the ledge, as if to say "Marlo was here." Brilliant. Love it, H. xo
This is so funny. I went throught the same thing. I added a border wall paper in my 1st born room and oh boy, what a mistake. She's three years old now, and she STILL is ripping it off the wall! I'm looking forward when both my girls are a bit older, and less prone to break things. We're going to go all out in their rooms. Will be a fun thing to do together. BTW, i LOOOVE that plate idea.
Go Dooce! I really liked those before and after photos. As another poster said, "Le sigh." You are such fun.
LOL! LOVE this!
Totally goes to show that kids are ALL so different that it does no good to think that what works for one will work for all ;o) And, oddly enough, none of my kids have been particularly grabby, so even after 5 little buggers, I looked at your picture and thought "Huh, cute! What a neat idea!" Oops… I SO coulda been in your shoes – that is, assuming I actually *used* the changing table for changing, not as a great place to stash coats, shoes, and blankets lol!
i refuse to read 3 pages of comments, but i hope you do heather. i have to say, as much as i think the idol worship you've developed is bizarre, hgtv is a great fit for you. the photos you post of your house always leave me amazed. you do have great style. congrats! also, i like the flowers, and i used an antique dresser for a changing table.
Great article! Sometimes we just don't see the problem before it becomes obvious. I've made many decisions that I had to change quickly! LOL
Doesn't it make your skin itch every time you look at those holes in the wall? Tell the truth, you've already fixed it. Please say it's fixed. Please? Crooked picture frames got nothin on those holes in the wall.
Gotta love the people who are obsessive-compulsive for you, Heather.
Almost as entertaining as the trolls.
Babies like Marlo are why they developed stencils
I really like the flower idea, though, just not for a nursery.
This is exactly why I love you Heather!!! You're hilarious, down to earth and not afraid to poke fun of yourself. Glad to see you joined the HGTV family.
Love you heather… but I come to HGTV for design tips… sorry this one fell flat. the only solution you offered was don't do this, but no fix. can you start sharing more fixes and how tos?
Clearly behind on my (pop) cultural references because I was back at snakes on a plane rather than pants on the ground when I read this.
i love dooce the blog, but I come to HGTV for DESIGN ADVICE and or inspiration. Which this post does not have. Epic fail, HGTV.
Here, I think I can help.
Design advice: when decorating a space for small children, please take into account not just style, but also how the space will be used and how the different personalities of different children will affect your choices.
Epic fail, your reading comprehension.
That "after" picture is like an emblem for every plan I ever had about how I would parent. They did look so pretty though! Sigh.
O.K. I have now idea who dooce is, but I went and looked at her blog. From that blog I don’t know how she got to here? Where’s your formal training, a list of clients? Why attack anyone who doesn’t agree or says they aren’t aware of who this woman is. Dooce your fans are a little scary.
HGTV is this what you were hoping to bring onboard?
HGTV, I had never been to your site before you added Heather to your roster. I like this. I find her funny and honest, and I like the photos. I think you made a fine choice.
And hey, moms and dads – did you guys do a lot of diaper changes on your changing table? I think we used ours twice – we changed on a towel on the floor, on our bed, in the bassinet…but the table (a clever Ikea hack, I thought) went unused.
Wow it looked so cute when all the butterflies were there and every decoration was too. What the heck happened?Good thing there isnt something heavy above the changing table.
Kristen, since you have so much common sense, contact HGTV and tell them that they made a huge mistake by asking Heather to be part of their team, and instead they should have chosen YOU. Let me know how that works out for ya.
By the way, "Epic Fail" is about as original as "DOH!" or "Take a picture, it'll last longer". Do you write your own material, or do you just hijack others while you spew your hatred?
Since when is having a different opinion hatred? Good grief. I am not an automaton and I am not going to blindly go along with something with which I disagree.
I am well aware that epic fail is clichéd; luckily, I don't mind.
Perhaps hatred was a bit too strong. Please insert the more delicate word 'criticism' in its place. The bottom line is this: if you don't like Heather, don't read Heather's blog.
I'm betting that HGTV will give your comment as much consideration as they would a fresh, hot, and steaming piece of…Dooce.
Heather is allowed to have her opinions, as are you Ex Files Chick. I wouldn't take that away from either of you. I, too, am allowed to have an opinion. I'm even allowed to have one that dissents from the popular thought.
Why then is my personal opinion of Heather called into question? I think you take a lot for granted, assuming I don't like her. How can I know someone when I haven't met her? Through reading her blog? No, I only get to see the picture she presents and that really is a character called Heather, not the well-fleshed-out person she is offline.
Allow me to return the question to you? Why do you like her so much? Why do you leap so quickly to her defense? From Heather's post below, via twitter, it's clear she can defend herself by hyperbolizing the situation.
The fact that I have to defend my right to offer a dissenting opinion on a site that I normally find very useful is a shame. The saddest thing of all is having to explain this to you. This is my final word in this particular topic.
Answers to some questions by others:
1) Plates are hung on a wall with plate hangers. Basically a wire contraption that attaches around the back of the plate and is then nailed to the wall.
2) You can't move the changing pad to the other side of the table because you need to have the baby's head on the left side if you are right-handed, and Marlo would still be able to reach those flowers if the pad were moved to the right side of the table and her head was still to the left. So it doesn't matter if the changing pad is on the left or right side.
3) Heather is here because HGTV is looking for a new, fresh voice and they have found that in Heather.
Congrats on the new gig, and I just saw your commercial for the first time on HGTV while typing this!!!
I liked her ideal it was clean an simple, some time we as mom's forget to be practical when it comes to our kids. We want to give them the best but they are to little to understand why, and want to touch everything. Lol! you can still have great design, but you also have to keep your kids in mind and still make it great!
HGTV this was a fine choice! I often go through Dooce's style section of her blog looking for an inspiration for my own house decoration.
And for dealing with super stubborn children.
I never had to childproof with my child either. Now I have a cat. He very methodically shoves any movable object off of every surface, watches it fall, then goes and examines it after it hits the floor. He is the Isaac Newton of cats. I should have just had more children…
My new cat does the same thing!! It is driving me batty! He has shattered 2 glasses in the kitchen…
My cat does that, too! We jokingly call her Galileo. So great to know that there are others out there…
Personally, I liked the before and after decorating "mistake" photos. I can relate to both the child friendly and a jungle gym cat that can defeat each and every "fortress" we have constructed. Our 6 yo granddaughter spent most of the summer with us last year, and we thought we had arranged everything, well, in an age appropriate safe manner.
I had so much fun decorating her room (which she loved). However, we didn't take into consideration she would take apart a lamp and attempt to put it back together. Nothing, even decorating, ever goes as planned. I will even admit I broke down and ordered a "Hello Kitty" bathmat because Nana's do that. It went home with her. (Her excitement over that surprise package from UPS was so worth my aversion to all that licensed decorating junque.)
I would like to see more design "fails" (not just the outtakes). Revisit homes six months or a year later and see just how that great design is working out. I get some good ideas from some of the shows on HGTV and online, but I really don't think they expect me to be interested in every single one of their shows. That's why they have such a wide variety — you don't like one or two, don't watch or read that one or three.
Posting just to beat up on someone on this particular blog and then continuing on and on just lacks class. To me it screams that you're not a regular HGTV follower. JMO.
Wait. Where are ALL these detractors?? Am I missing comments? I've been through these a couple of times now and have yet to find them. All I see are tons of comments saying "be nice to Dooce!" Like she can't stand up for herself. No one continued on and on as I saw. Except the people "standing up for" Dooce.
I'm not a regular reader of Dooce. And I came here out of curiosity through a friend. And sure it was a good design idea, and it was a funny story. But it's just that. I think it's the comments that get in the way of all of it. If people are able to just put their comment whether YOU see it as good or bad and not argue about it, maybe it wouldn't take away from the original post. But there's all this in fighting and arguing in the comments over a SMALL couple of comments is ridiculous. It takes away from the post. YOU! The people who talk about all the "bad comments" take away from it. The couple of random "who are you" comments don't and can easily be ignored. The 100 other comments yelling at those comments can't be.
I will have to say that while this was cute, HGTV is more about design/decorating, not parenting. So, with that said, just a piece of advice for Heather…if you're going to show a screw up, show a solution. Every parent can relate to your last photo…now show them what you did to work around that option and still have a pleasing/decorative nursery. Doing that, will make you a designer versus just a mommy blogger posting on a design blog…ya know : ).
Ahhh, I love those flowers. Also love the second shot where Marlo has "picked" the flowers. Oh dear. I'm kind of envious of the whole change table deal, though. My two year old moves so freaking fast that I now change him on the go, like a pit crew for a very fast, very sneaky and busy race car. He barely tolerates the standing change, looking at me all the while like, "dude… I have stuff to do. The remote control isn't going to eat itself."
Looking forward to more posts, Heather!
You know you've made it to the top when you have haters!!! Congrats, Heather, on your new partnership with HGTV. Thank you to HGTV for bringing us Heather. Screw the rest.
Oh, Heather, it's nice to see something not perfect in your life. I feel better about my messes. Time for a redirect to monetizethehate, don'tcha think?
Keep up the good work!
Replacement Idea:
http://dalidecals.com/Giant-Dandelion-with-Wispy-…
I love this. Your home always looks sooo amazing in pictures, but it's nice to see a slice of reality here and there. Also, my daughter is threatening the pennant banner I placed above her changing table.
Hahaha! Heather come on, this is a "new-mom-pregnant-with-her-first-baby" sort of mistake! Love it though.
Hey, I did PLATES! ON THE WALL! My solution? I put the plates above a dresser, in my toddler girl's room. And the plates are a not so noticeable hard plastic, so even if they fall, no harm done. See, it can be done! http://www.flickr.com/photos/wilke/1464229234/in/…
You rock Heather. I love you!
Geez, people. It is amazing how people can take an article and totally rip it apart. Sure, lots of people might have told Heather not to put the flowers up, but they were pretty, and it is HER house, so she decided to do it. Now she shares with us her story. Why do people feel the need to rip it apart?
Anyway, I enjoyed your story. I, like you, don't always think the most practically, but more aesthetically. So kudos to you for trying the flowers on the wall!
So pretty! I love the flowers. They're so delicate and feminine, but without being in-your-face pepto-bismol nauseating.
Maybe I will give birth to children with disproportionately tiny arms…
I love it. I love that you gave us your source of inspiration, how you interpreted it, and how it worked out. Not only do we get another idea of where to find inspiration and how to modify it, but we also get a reminder of the importance of practicality in design. Not everyone thinks about such things when they are focused on beautiful inspiration. It sometimes even escapes those who are trained and educated as interior designers.
I am an interior designer by schooling and by years of experience and it's lovely to see others' inspirations, interpretations and applications regardless of their training. There is always something to be learned or appreciated. Interior Design snobbery reeks of insecurity.
So thanks, Heather, for what you do and for sharing it with us. You may or may not be classically trained, but you have a beautiful eye for decoration and I appreciate getting to see it.
I love that there are about as many comments on how people hate Heather, as there are about THE ACTUAL POST. Stay on topic, people, focus.
Before my twin girls were born I installed a very pretty wallpaper border all around the room, about 4 feet off the floor. Unfortunately, it never occured to me to think about safety. It was, afterall, well adhered to the wall. One day during nap time when they were about 1 year old, I got that weird Mommy intuition tingly feeling and went up to check on them. One of the girls had peeled a piece of border off and was choking on it. All ended well, but it really made me take a second look at everything in our house and especially in their room where they would be spending time without supervision.