Joanna Goddard, Cup of Jo

Designer and blogger Ruby Ellen lives with her husband Ben and their two daughters, Brave and True, in a suburb of Los Angeles. ("There are cows out here!" she says.) But despite the West Coast locale, her daughters' nurseries feel distinctively French, with antique beds, wooden toys and oversized chalkboards. Let's take a peek inside...
Your daughters' names are awesome. How did you decide on them?
We didn't think we could have babies because of a medical condition. So, our first daughter was a true miracle, and we named her True. For our younger daughter, there's a children's book called Ruby Lu, Brave and True. My name is Ruby, so I thought, how about Brave? It's so edgy.

Why is your blog called 'Cakies'?
When they were in my tummy, the girls didn't have names yet, so we called them baby cakies!

Your home is beautiful.
I'm a stay at home mom and designer. Before I was a stay-at-home mom, I was a teacher, so I was always making, creating, painting and drawing. When we had children, we decided that I'd stay home and we had to live within a budget. I started making children's things.

Do you sell your designs?
Yes, I have an etsy shop with handmade crowns and dolls and bows. Because of the blogging world, I have friends all over the place, encouraging me. The possibilities are amazing.

What an amazing rocking horse in Brave's room.
It's from Pomme in New York City. We had a rocking chair and Brave loved it, so for her first birthday, we got her this. She can give it to her children, too.

Can you tell us about this wall display?
I took an old bottle crate that says 'Los Angeles' and hung it on its side. I filled it with blocks from the wonderful store Muji. You can get city blocks of London, Paris, Tokyo and New York. I gave them to Brave for her first birthday, but they were more for me!

What's drawn on the little chalkboard?
I drew my version of Paris! I traveled there when I was in college, and it's one of my favorite places.

How did you approach decorating True's room?
True loves dolls, so I knew we had to have them everywhere! She's only two but she's pretty particular about where she wants her toys and books. If a chair is out of place when she goes to nap, she'll move it before going to sleep. She's used to cleaning up--maybe she gets her analness from me!

Where did you find the amazing poster?
I saw it in a magazine and thought, 'I need that poster.' Luckily, I found it on the Poster Corner.

Does True use her chalkboard?
All the time. We wanted it to look like a canvas, so it would be like True's own piece of art. So we ordered a solid door from a hardware store, cut off the handle and painted it with chalkboard paint--done!

Which books does True like?
All books about food, like A Bad Case of Stripes, The Berry Book and The Vegetables We Eat. My husband is a dietician, and they pretend to eat the food from the pages. Now she recognizes radishes and artichokes at the grocery store!

What activities do you like doing with your girls?
We're always coloring, and we love making toys, be it drawing, sewing or painting them. I've also been exposing True to sewing. She's gets the idea of the needle going up and down, although really she'll just poke things!

What advice would you give new decorators?
Go to the local flea market. We're always looking for metal or wooden baskets. I lead-check everything, and if it has a rust that can flake, we spray it with a coat of polyurethane to keep it safe. We love metal chairs, garden furniture, industrial furniture. The more dings, the better!

Thank you, Ruby Ellen! For more great house tours, go to Cookie's house tour page.