my favorite room
Story By Hazel Jump, Photos By Jodi Hutchison

Chances are that when Olivia and Elyse Wilcoxson are grown up and become mothers themselves, they’ll still remember what their first room was like, and it isn’t hard to understand why.

The two girls are the daughters of Doug and Melanie Wilcoxson, who knew one another back in Missouri, graduated from ASU and then married.
“We’d known each other for quite some time,” Melanie says. “We both love basketball and played in high school. He lived in Kennett, and myself in Naylor, so we played a few tournaments together. When I started ASU in the fall of 1997 I moved in next to Doug at the Links apartment complex. We just stayed friends for a year or so – he became my best friend, then my boyfriend, then, on June 16, 2001, my wonderful husband.”

On July 25, 2004, the couple became the parents of twin girls. Not just twins, but identical twins, born in Little Rock prematurely. Olivia weighed 4 pounds and 9 ounces, and Elyse weighed 3 pounds and 9 ounces.
This year, with the twins facing their third birthday, the couple decided that it was time to get them out of their baby beds and into a more grownup room.

“We started eight months ago, piecing it together,” Melanie says, “and we have had lots of fun with it. The children are so vibrant, and so much fun. We couldn’t see soft colors for them. We found Karla Nortier, an interior designer who helped a lot in making our colors come together, and it worked.”

The result is that the room’s colors, while vibrant, are not overpowering, and blend well with the new furniture. The walls, painted by Doug in hot pink, orange and bright blue, are accented with fanciful flowers created by artist Lane McKinley. Woodwork is white, as are the twin-sized sleigh beds.

The coverlets of chocolate brown and the sheer curtains with flowers appliquéd in the same colors, are by Freckles Australia. Wall signs are from Twelve Timbers, and additional whatnots in the room are from a line called Elegant Baby. A Shaggy Raggy rug in sunburst orange was selected to tie in with the color scheme, and the glass in the large arched window that centers the room was given a 70 percent tint by Supertints.

“It really made it easier for the girls to sleep-in, and it has really made a difference in our wakeup time,“ Melanie says, adding that with the exception of the wall shelves, which were made by her cousin, Chad, all of the furniture in the room is from Young America, a Stanley Furniture Company available at Wilcoxson’s Kids Place.

Melanie says the girls have been surrounded by music forever. Doug’s father is an avid guitar player, who occasionally plays informally with music star Sheryl Crow, a native of Kennett and friend of the family.

A 60-year-old guitar, formerly owned by Doug’s grandfather, carries out the musical theme in the room, as do other guitars displayed on the walls. Another special feature of the décor are two paintings framed in black, created from the girls’ footprints when they turned one-year-old.
“The guitars are all gifts from Olivia and Elyse’s Poppa and Gamma,” Melanie says. “The hot pink guitars were Christmas gifts last year; and the others are from Poppa’s collection of over 30 guitars.”

Also on the wall is a large rack of hair bows and a bright orange chifforobe.
The decorating project will be complete with the addition of a pink crystal chandelier, now on order.

“My mom and dad are farmers in Naylor,” Melanie says, “and a huge part of who I am today. They absolutely adore my children, and have four horses that my kids love – Baby, Dandy, Angel and Cody.”

When Olivia and Elyse aren’t enjoying their room, they enjoy the horses and Aspen, the family’s large grey Weimaraner, whose boundless energy matches their own. During the weekdays they attend pre-school.

“Everything is wonderful,” Melanie says. “We have always dreamed of opening our own business, and thanks to the wonderful people of Northeast Arkansas, we were able to make that dream a reality on March 6 of this year.

“The girls are wonderful, and I want them to be happy and live a happy life. But at the same time, I want them to know how blessed they are. I want them to realize that they are truly blessed.”