Room Switcheroos

Lately we've been working on our little master closet, getting it cleaned out, painted and organized and we actually have more updates to share with that soon.  Next, we will be moving on to the laundry room/area (not sure if it counts as a room exactly).  But, in the meantime it seems like getting organized in one area as spurred on more organization in other areas of our house.

Our little boys room was in much need of a clean out and shuffle.  His room had not changed much since he was born and it was starting to drive me crazy. Now that he is 15 months we needed to weed out some of the things he never plays with and we never use anymore and make room for the things he likes.  I also felt like there were a few hazards in his room, like cords dangling and breakable objects that before wasn't a big deal since he wasn't into everything - but really needed to be addressed.

I'm not sure if I ever gave you a full shot of his room way back when we were putting it together...but here is the before:

And here it is now...let me say that I promise his room color did not change - I guess the lighting was different when I took these pictures since it was a different part of the day.  The room color is closer to the first but almost in between the two.

Silas actually loves his new room set up.  He plays in there a lot more than he did before and he has better access to his toys and I don't have to worry about crazy cords or something being broken.

One of the things we got rid of to make more space was this changing table.  We just weren't really using it anymore (well, not as a changing table) - it had just become a junk collector.  His room is so tiny, it's the smallest in the house so space is at a premium here.  You can also see that we his awesome handmade rocking horse tucked in the corner and yes, that is a dangling cord.

So out went the changing table - which meant we had to find a new place for all of those bins and toys. We moved the crib over and then moved his little bookcase to this side with his little rocking chair (which was actually my dads).  I love this little reading spot - he actually sits in that chair a lot and "reads".  This also provided a spot for me to hide that cord - out of sight and little hands.

His bookcase used to be right across the room on the other wall...I didn't like the fan there - another cord dangle spot.

Now it's a little space for his big boy toys - and no more cords.  He loves playing here too.

His dresser top was a jumbled mess too, we still had his name letters sitting here and they really needed to be hung.

We moved his fan on his dresser so it's now unreachable and the cord is tucked away behind the dresser.

This dresser top received a much needed clear off.

His closet got a clean out too.

It might be hard to tell, but we got rid of a lot of stuff that was not being used - and in turn it was filled with things that needed a new home (a lot of the things that were on the changing table ended up here).

So here's a quick before and after - you can also see that we hung is name over his window.  I like that he can see it now and he points to it and notices it often.

There are still lots of things I would love to do in his room - like new window treatments for example but as of right now, Silas is loving it and I'm happy with that.  Also, I love that we spent no money and gave Silas more space and a better place to play, sometimes it just takes a little rearranging and clean up to get a space you like.

Master Bedroom Remodel Progress

For those of you who have been following since the beginning, you know that our master bedroom was the room that absolutely sold us on the house.  Ok, I'm lying - it was pretty awful.  We endearingly gave it the name master cave since it was covered top to bottom in faux wood paneling and extremely small - the majority of the world would not call this bedroom a master of anything.  We have not been able to change the size of the room but we have however given this room a lot of upgrades to make the room feel larger and also feel comfortable and relaxing.  Today we are taking a little trip down memory lane and looking at the progress we have made on this room so far.

Master cave beginnings - 

First thing we did was paint the walls (or paneling) a soft gray and the trim white.  We used Olympic no VOC paint in Secret Passage for the walls and Olympic no VOC paint in just plain old off the shelf white for the trim - both in eggshell finish.  For detailed instructions on how we painted our paneling check here.  Right off the bat this was a huuuuuge improvement and we loved it.  Painting this room immediately brought in light, made the room feel larger and offered a calm and relaxing feeling.

We didn't like our doorway at all - call us claustrophobic; so we took off the door and created a new fabric doorway - you can see how we used a table cloth from Target to do that here.  We actually really love not having a door here that is always banging on the wall and other doors and love the added color and the bright pattern the curtain brought in.

Next we hung our dramatic curtains - high and wide.  Instant sophistication.  Hanging your curtains higher and wider than your small little window will help bring your eye up and create a larger looking space -  check it out here!  

We also have brought in a rug for a little texture and pattern action to help pull the whole dramatic curtain thing together.  Rug is from Ikea ($19.99!)

I think our most favorite update is the new chandelier light fixture, this is definitely our main focal piece in the room.  It's amazing what a new light will do to a space.  If you don't do anything else - update your lighting, it takes years off of your old house and it's really easy, see how we did it here.  We found this chandelier at Ikea as well for $39.99 - a steal for an awesome light.

Finally we grabbed these side table chests, painted them (here) and found cute lighting to put on top.  Both from Ikea - Ikea Rast Drawer Chest - $29.99 and Table Lamp $16.99!  We love the added storage, balance and function these chests provide.  

This part of the room really hasn't changed much.  Our space is really small so we don't want to add any furniture until we find something we love and that is appropriately scaled for this little space.

Just a few shots, I love the lighting, can you tell?

I'm really wanting to add some pretty pillows for some much needed style to this bed - It's a comin'.

And, the final before and after (so far) - for a dramatic effect.

Some things on our list to do - pillows, artwork, shelving and maybe even a sitting chair - if we can work a small one in.  We love our room now, it's relaxing, inviting and feels like a little retreat (a grown-up space since our house is now a giant playroom for King Silas).  Thanks for being a part of our journey so far!