Madison's bedroom

Gina Miles story can be told, at least in part, in numbers. Thirty is the number of years she's been married; five is the number of children she has raised. Greater than five is the number of grandchildren who call her house a second home (there's another on the way). But, for this story, we will only focus on the number two, made up of daughters Madison, 10, and Austin, 13. "Our house was a long time in the making, and we wanted to do something fun and special for the girls," says Miles.

That special something is most frequently displayed in the form of paint; fabulous, double-taking, meticulous paint, applied by Cheri McClung of Cheri & Company (www.cheriandco.com).

Austin's Bedroom

Says McClung, "Both children's rooms reflect complete cooperation between the client and myself. We just sat down and Gina and her girls gave me their thoughts and I tried to read between the lines. Everything is free-handpainted; no stencils on this project. Gina would have special items she wanted in the room and then I would always try to work them in the total design."

"This is Austin's little quiet space," says her mom Gina. "It duplicates the outside of our house, with a nice country feel." Cheri & Company used real wooden knobs on the fencing to provide a three-dimensional affect.

A classroom, once used for homeschool, now serves as a homework and study area for the girls.

"I love the 'Mary Engelbreit' color scheme, and thought it would work perfectly in a playroom," reflects Miles. The adjoining bathroom features handpainted cabinets to "add the overall look of completion. It's a look that can grow with them," explains McClung of Cheri & Company.

Boys rooms can also take advantage of bold, colorful stripes. This room, found in the Carr family home, has cute to spare.

Bella Notte Baby Linens available at Suburban Chateau

Bella Baby
Bella Notte, known for linens that feel as good as they look, now offers the finest easy-care luxury bedding items for your baby. Timeless, in a luscious palette of textures and colors to suit every nursery, this line of linens will forever change how you view children's decor. Available at Suburban Chateau; 775-2980


Do It!
Treat your little sailor to a nautical-themed bedroom on the cheap. Authentic items, like fishing nets and poles, tackle boxes and vests can be promoted from the back of the closet and put on full display - for free! Touristy items that have accumulated from vacations past can be repurposed, too. Bottles of sand and collected shells will add another boost of no-cost authenticity. Make low-cost art from expired glossy calendar pages with tropical themes, or pick up some used world maps at a garage sale or thrift store. Of course, you should provide the "captain" with push pins to mark all of his future ports of call.

Elle Michelson's Nursery

ABC Baby Furniture Announces Winner of Cutest Baby Room Contest
ABC Baby Furniture has announced that little Elle Michelson of Santa Clarita has the cutest nursery in town! Her mom, Heather Michelson, shares how the room came to be: "The room was decorated by my amazing brother and sister in law. They live in Orange County and came up on weekends to work on the room. My sister in law knows how much we love our dog, and used her as the inspiration for the room. In fact, she blew up a picture of our dog as a puppy and framed it to put over the changing station. A lot of love definitely went into it! The timing could not have been better, either. They finished the room at 5:45 p.m. on Sunday and my water broke at about 8 p.m. that same night. Our little Elle must of known her room was ready!; 775-0360 www.abcbabyfurniture.com