Pea announced a few days ago that she doesn’t like her bedroom because it’s “not pretty.” Strong statement coming from a 3-year old. So I’ve decided it’s time to do something about that. Her room should be pretty and luxurious and cozy. And you know what? So should Coco’s! Why did I forget that? A quick glance around her room brings about the realization that everything in there? With the exception of her crib? Was someone else’s. Her dresser? Daddy’s. From his college days. The table was a wedding gift to my husband and myself, and the chair that sits next to it was swiped from my mother’s house when she redid her own bedroom. Lamps? Mirror? Bedside table? All cast-offs. Lovely cast-offs, yes, but still. Where is the personality of my mellow little fireball reflected in her room?

When each of our girls was born, we didn’t do ‘nurseries’ for them. And although we were in Fort Worth when both arrived, our philosophy regarding design remains the same now as it was then: kids should grow into their rooms, not out of them. So no cuddly farm-animal themes, no baby pink walls or chenille butterfly rugs. We went classic and simple. That streamlined look had another benefit: we did not know who our girls were at the time; their personalities. And if we had made a guess? We’d have been very wrong. Pea? Who I thought was going to be my little tomboy? She’s all about pink, sparkles and princesses. And Coco? Who I thought was so quiet and sweet? Well, she’s still quiet and sweet, although getting louder by the day, but she’s also turning into the real adventuress of the two girls. Outdoorsy, barefoot, climbing on anything that she can pull herself up onto. Which would include the rock retaining wall in our backyard.

So here we are, working on their rooms. Pea? Only wants pink. But I cannot do pink walls. I’m sorry, I cannot. I’ve looked at hundreds of pinks, and you know what? Pink is pink. Even when it has a crafty name like ‘Romantic Pink’ or ‘Queen Anne Pink.’ And I just can’t, won’t and don’t do pink. Not on the walls, anyway. So, we opted for a new duvet set from Dwell Studio, called ‘Carousel.’ Of course, we’ll be doing solid sheets with it, but it was a pink print that both Pea and I could live with, so pink it is… at least on the bed. With this gorgeous faux-fur blanket folded at the bottom. Because I like my beds to have layers and texture to the nines. Oh, and it snowed here this morning. Snow. On September 1st. And it’s cold out. And so layers? Perfect for winter, which it would seem is right around the corner.

But the real score is for Coco’s room. She’s bright and shiny and the center of attention in any room, so I knew that we’d need some fantastic art for her walls. But after searching and searching, I couldn’t commit. Art is tough for kid’s rooms, too. There are so many wonderful options that I came across during my search, but they were all too juvenile. They weren’t going to grow with her. And then, it occurred to me. The perfect pieces to hang on her walls. Vintage affiches scolaire. From France. And the search was on…

Affiches scolaire were widely used in French schools to help the teacher illustrate lesson plans. They were hung all over the walls. Everything from body parts to the four seasons to the food groups, sports, a diagram of the brain. You name it, it was covered in one of these posters. French eBay has a decent selection, but so many of the sellers were unwilling to ship to the states. And then? I found it. The quintessential little shop for children’s design. Located in France! But with an on-line shop, as well. And they were willing to ship to the states. And while you do have two shop options with Bianca and Family, one in French and the other in English, it was the French site that had the greatest selection of inventory: furniture, art, decorative objects. The English version of the shop had no selection of the posters to speak of. And so, all those years of studying French? Middle school? High school? College? As an adult at the Alliance Francaise in New York City? Time to put my investment to the test. And after my initial correspondence with the lovely Muriel of Bianca and Family? After she told me my French was impeccable? Naturally, I 1) considered relocating my family to France – Paris, to be exact – tout de suite, and 2) ordered four affiches scolaire for my little girl’s room.

They arrived, I unrolled, I gasped. They are even more incredibly awesomely chic than I could ever have imagined. These particular four are from the 60s. And when I pulled them out of their shipping tube and eagerly unrolled them, they had that wonderful old classroom smell. French classroom smell. Is there even such a thing? Perhaps just in this Francophile’s head. But once these posters are matted and framed in some kind of black metal (at least that’s how I’m picturing them right now), they are going to be the focal point of little Coco’s room. Vibrant and stylish, just like my little Coco Puff.

And of course, Pea wandered in while I was literally “oohing” and “ahhing” over every single item I clicked on (and I clicked on them all) on the Bianca and Family website, and let me know that she just had to have these little French-style market baskets to organize her “stuff.“ And so, as I added four of them to my shopping cart, I envisioned Pea, in her twenties, strolling in the south of France with one of these baskets, albeit a larger version, slung lazily over the crook of her arm. She’s wandering in and out of stalls at an outdoor Farmer’s Market, a crusty loaf of bread peeking out from the basket, some soft and runny cheese in there, too. Yes, that little fantasy sealed it for me. And apparently for her, too. Because when the carton from France arrived, she asked aloud, after adorning herself with her miniature French straw market totes, “can we go to Paris after school today?” Oh, don’t I wish that we could…