Saturday, January 31, 2009

Kids' Room

We have painted every single room of our farmhouse on the 1st floor, including our clinic. But upstairs? We haven't yet done much up there (except for one of the bathrooms) until recently.

Our kids' room has looked like an asylum to me ever since we've moved in--white, ugly border from previous owners, no curtains, no pictures, kind of messy and unorganized. And we've been saying, "We're going to make it look nice and put up your bunk beds when we paint it."

Well, it's winter. And we tend to do lots of home projects in the winter. And since I have been feeling kind of down and have had some anxious energy that I've wanted to focus someplace, we've decided to get to it. It hasn't been without its glitches, but we're very happy with how it's turning out!

First some BEFORE pictures to give you an idea of how it was looking--an asylum, I tell you!

Please note the atrocious floral border and the papers taped up on the walls by the kids in order to beautify the bare nakedness of the room.


One night, when tucking the kids in before going to bed ourselves, we found them snuggled together in Thing 2's bed. They are so cute! Look closely at Thing 1's bed, though. Seriously, it's OUT OF CONTROL! She usually has about 23 books, 17 stuffed animals, 3 coloring books, a pencil case full of pencils and crayons, a pencil sharpener (with dumped shavings down the side of her bed), various articles of clothing, a basket, and pillows. Oh, and she always pushes down her all her sheets and covers (except her comforter) to sleep. Menedy (her VERY loved, stuffed cat) is always with her snuggled up in that bit of spot that's left at the top of her bed. Part of the whole renovated room deal is that the bed not turn into that sort of biohazard.


Here we are right before painting--the walls really don't look that different than before we "prepped" the room--there were no curtains up nor anything cute. It was so drab. An asylum!


DURING





We were thinking of doing an "Americana" theme--red, blue, and a rustic look, but you know how it is. Rooms evolve as you do them. I have no patience for ordering stuff and waiting for it. And since painting over the border didn't work to hide it, we had to buy one to go over it. And since Lowe's no longer carries wallpaper borders and you have to order them, we got what we could at a different store. Not my first choice, but it's turned out to be cute. So it's a red and blue room with a slight teddy bear theme to it. It really is cute and we're pleased with it. Definitely a cool kids' room! This is a work in progress as we're still working on it . . .


AFTER


See that window on the right near the bunk beds?
Keep that one in mind and I'll show you what we're doing later in the post.


The long-awaited bunk beds!

We even installed some "under the counter" LED lights on their headboards--they LOVE them and it's so handy for reading!

Cool, eh? They're awesome and the bulbs are safe and last for at least 25 years!

The Star Wars section - we painted those shelves red and got those baskets and also got that very cool Star Wars drawing poster with every Star Wars character on it.

The Harry Potter section--Dumbledore's Army!

Okay, so remember that window? We're building a own window seat for it! The navy blue matches the navy on the lamp on the dresser and looks very cool against the lighter blue of the walls! Plus, extra storage in the bench part and the cube shelves (that's the part they lean against while sitting on the seat)! It'll have a red cushion and some throw pillows, too.

10 comments:

Emily said...

Oooh, it looks great! I love it, especially the lights.

Oh, did you know you can take wallpaper borders down? You just need a spray bottle with equal parts water and vinegar. But the new border is cute!

terahreu said...

What a difference. Very cute. Love the colour. I am sure the kids are soooo much happier!

I also loved the light idea. I wish I could steal it, but alas, no such thing here....

Unknown said...

I LOVE it!!! I get giddy with projects like this. Seriously. I LOVE home makeovers and planning them and seeing how much can change and you feel all in love with your surroundings!

Way to go you guys! I'm too cold to even vacuum my car out!!!

J Fo said...

It turned out so CUTE! And I LOVE the idea of the window seat. So cute. I had one growing up and I spent endless hours reading and looking out that window. You guys are so good with home projects. I need to take a lesson.

HWHL said...

May I just say WOW!!!!!
That is a HUGE difference!
As in, I think you might be recruited away by the "While You Were Out" or "Trading Places" people!

BIG difference! Love it!

My son has bunk beds and my daughter will frequently sleep in his room too... even though they are now 11 and almost 13 they are still BFF, which I love!
Oh, and a quick "funny" - we got one of those "push LED lights" for his bunk bed for reading... he chose to use it to illuminate his Jessica Alba poster... much like a little mini-billboard. (Yes, puberty has arrived...) :)

Swawa said...

Oh my gosh! That looks awesome! I bet the kids are pretty excited.

April (Thorup) Oaks said...

How fun!

Boquinha said...

Thanks for the tip, Emily. We've tried stuff like that--the remover stuff, fabric softener, etc., but we haven't tried the water-vinegar combo.

Thanks, Terah! Yep, the kids LOVE their room.

D'Arcy, we love doing stuff like this, too. The being cold thing is what has us DOING this stuff! We're inside looking at our walls more saying, "Hey, that could use some color!"

Thanks, Jessica! I didn't know you had a window seat growing up. I bet you DID spend hours there!! We're planting trees this spring so the kids can have pretty things to look at (and climb)! Home projects are so fun (and addictive)!

HWHL, thanks!! Yes, HUGE difference!! Wow, thank you! Yes, we, too, love that they're BFFs. It's so nice. And OMIGOSH, you have the funniest stories! I love it! That's hilarious!!

Sierra, thank you! They love it!

Thanks, April!

kristenhcubed said...

Nice makeover. I'm sure those little Things will love their new space for a long time.

Dr. Mark said...

OK, don't get too excited. I'm just testing the comment feed.