Evolution of the Girls' Room

Hi!  I wanted to share a little bit about the evolution of our girls' shared bedroom today and the reason I decided to DIY a wardrobe for their space.....

When my oldest (and back then only) daughter Paige (aka Jellybean) was three and transitioned to a "big girl" day bed, we gave her room a makeover.  A makeover which began with Mommy just trying to scrape a small part of the popcorn off the ceiling.  I'll never forget the day my husband came home and asked me what I was doing.  Well, we were off and running after that!  Scraping the ceiling led to crown molding which led to...well, you get the idea.  Jellybean's special request??  Rainbows.  After finding the perfect rainbowy bedding, we painted her walls, put up new window treatments and added cubbies & shelving for storage.  The space was "just right"!  

Shelves, shelves, shelves....

Here you can see that we utilized those shelves to their maximum potential.  Looking back, it amazes me how easily just one child filled up a bedroom!

Two years after redoing Jellybean's big girl room, we were blessed to find out we were expecting our second baby.  We had to figure out the best way to fit a crib, a changing table, and all the things that come with a new baby into this space.  It had been 5 years since we last had a baby in the house and one easily forgets how much schtuff they come with.  We had to make the best of what we had in our quaint, 1930's, 2 bedroom, 1 bath house.

I was thrilled to find out a baby girl was on the way!!  You see, our first time around, a gender neutral nursery was in order because we did not find out what were having until the day she was born.  (sorry I can't find any before pictures)  I was giddy excited to be able pick out girly crib bedding to match Paige's rainbowy room.  It was a challenge.  There just wasn't much to choose from in the way of bright color's for a baby's room but I eventually found a set that I L-O-V-E-D! It arrived about a month before #2 was born.  We re-worked the shelving around the room and added some new wall art then the room was "just right" again!

A little less than 2 years later baby Morgan (aka Gummy Bear) transitioned to a "big girl" bed (aka a twin size mattress on the floor).  Between their clothes, toys (for 2 completely different ages) and books their space seemed to be getting more chaotic day by day.

Keeping it real!

We needed a new bed to hold Morgan's "big girl" mattress and preferably another one that matched for Paige to sleep on.  The daybed just wasn't working for us anymore.  The trundle was convenient when we needed it, however it is very pinchy in the way of toddler fingers.  I had to come up with a plan to make 2 twin size beds fit and still leave enough play area for the girls (so my living room wouldn't be taken over by toys.) I had an idea to make their closet solely into toy storage and find some way of storing all their clothes in one large storage piece.  I started looking around at clothes storage options online.  I came across the Stuva system at Ikea.  I loved it, it was kid friendly and could hold hanging clothes and folded clothes.  However, I would need at least 3 of the combination shown below for what I had envisioned.  Together that would have cost over $600 and that was not in our budget.  

My wheels started spinning.  I began looking at different ideas all over the internet.  Then I came across this dresser and 2 identical cabinets on craigslist.  An ambitious idea to make there room "just right" again was born.

Just in a few short years, the girls' room has gone through so many changes in order to keep up with how they grow and change.  It is always a challenge to make sure their room is functioning well for them.  In fact it feels like our home is always going through changes in order to best suit our family. Reminds me of this Lowe's commercial.

  

Do you feel like your home is always changing and improving?

I do and I love every minute of it!  I can't wait to show you the outcome of the wardrobe project and then their beds which we built ourselves.

Have a blessed Wednesday friends!

Shed to a Schoolhouse Side No.2

Great news!!  Side No.2 of our Shed to Schoohouse makeover is finished and ready for caulk and paint.

In February last year, my husband and I began to reside our shed with the hopes of turning it into a "Schoolhouse" that we could use for homeschooling.  **squirrel trail......At the end of the 2013 Summer, we decided to put our daughter back in school.  She really missed her friends and her school!  She had an amazing '13-'14 school year and we couldn't be more proud of our book-aholic!! **  We have continued to make progress over the last year on this project.  It has certainly been a challenge, but we have learned so much along the way and are thrilled with the outcome so far.  Here is what we started with.  Some major TLC needed to be given to our dilapidated backyard shed which was once an apartment with dark paneling and a half bathroom.  Our plan is to take it one side at a time and repair the outside then we get to move on to the inside.   Side No. 1 was an amazing transformation!!

  

Without further ado, I introduce you to Side No. 2.  Do you see that window?  It faces our side yard and further on, some of our front yard.  In order to see those yards through this window you have to stand on a stool on the inside.  

I was able to talk my husband into switching the windows from Side No. 3 to Side No. 2.  

Below is what we were left with after prying off boards so we could frame for the larger window.

Here is the new window installed.  So much better!  Now we can see the front and side yards without having to stand on a stool on the inside.  Also, when it was on the opposite side, our carport ran right through the middle of the window.  Who wants to look at the top of a carport??  This was a win-win kind of change! Yippee!

Below we are prepped and ready for plank siding.  We also replaced any 1 x 12 boards that were in all around bad shape.  Cutting all those angles was so tedious, especially using a circular saw to do it.  Let's just say, I am gonna be an old pro when it comes to handling a circular saw by the time we are finished with this project.  

Here she is, Side No. 2 in all her yellowy glory! (Don't worry, she won't stay this color)  Isn't she just beautiful!  Again, it is quite the transformation!  Can I just for go the other sides and paint Sides 1 and 2 NOW!  Hahaha, patience has never been my strong suit...

Here is the before and after of Side No. 2 of our Shed to Schoolhouse Renovation:

Now I can't wait to build a window box and fill it with flowers and landscape and start on the inside BUT I have to!  Have you ever just wanted to skip ahead on a project just to get to "fun stuff"?  I certainly am having to reign myself in, but just 2 more sides to go then on to the "fluffing"!  In the wise words of Dorey from Disney's "Finding Nemo" "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

Have a blessed day!

31 days: Practically, Purposefully, Intentionally

Today marks the beginning of The Nester's 31 Days series.  This will be my first time joining in.  I am thrilled, nervous, excited and a bit skeptical.  You see, I am always full of ideas but very seldom do I put them into practice.  When I do put one of my ideas into practice, I rarely bring it to completion.  In other words, I am an unfinisher.  :-)  Can anyone out there relate??

Recently, while laying in bed pondering various topics to write on for 31 days, the word practical came to mind.  It came to mind as I was thinking of my home and how my family and I utilize it.  As I began to think about the rooms in our home and their different purposes, I realized that there wasn't much practicality within it.  I'm sure at some point or another there has been but right now it is not evident.  The thought of every part of our home being practical comforted me; it brought a calm over me.  Even more thoughts and ideas (<---there's that word again) collided in my head.  The theory that even a blank wall or empty corner could be practical was refreshing.  This is where I decided the word 'practical' would be my starting point for this year's topic.  I began by looking up the definition of 'practical'.

prac·ti·cal

adjective

     1. of or concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas.

synonyms:  actual, active, applied, effective

Whoa!!  You mean to be practical, I must actually do something or put something to use??  Rather than only theorize or think up ideas I must apply them??  Many times words are just words then we define them.  Once they have a meaning, a definition, they come alive.  The volume at which this particular definition for this particular word speaks to my soul is amazing.  My challenge over the next month is to try to put into writing how this word and its definition are hopefully going to infiltrate our home and our livelihood.  

Won't you please join me along the way?!

*****UPDATE*****
   I am still an "unfinisher" and I totally didn't make the 31 days!  However, I am still trying to bring more practicality into our home daily.  Finishing may not be my strength, but I certainly am not one give up easily so I will try again to write for 31 days in 2014!