11 August Featured Space: Bedroom - Switchin' Things Up!

Last week I announced I was focusing on our bedrooms this month, and sharing the story with you!  I also mentioned that we are creating a movement, of our children!  They are switching their bedroom spaces around, so that our oldest can finally have his own personal haven.

Of course, I absolutely couldn't wait to get started, this is right up my ally!!

When I started on Friday evening, the room looked like this:

I made a drastic decision, that totally made a ton of sense to me.  I have always wanted to paint the trim in our upper level white {which is currently varnished oak}.  White trim has been a long time dream, that didn't happen when our home was built...  it's one of the only things that I didn't heart about our home.  White is fresh and clean feeling, and when we finished our basement a few years ago, we went the white trim route since I knew someday, the upstairs would match.  I had a few gallons of paint that have been waiting for their big day, I have just been putting off what I figured would be an awful and cumbersome project.

"Wait no more" I said!  If we were going to be taking all of the furniture out anyway, why not take the opportunity to follow your long time dream!  DO IT DO IT DO IT!

So I did....

And am I incredibly glad I did!  I just taped off the carpet and trim, and used Behr's Premium Plus Paint/Primer combo in Swiss Coffee.  I went with that paint because IHeart it so much for my walls, and really didn't want to spend time doing multiple coats or sanding the varnish.  IHeart this paint just as much for trim!

As you can see, sometimes {or almost always}, things have to get worse before they get better...

I was actually able to get the whole room moved around and taped on Friday night after the little ones went to sleep.  Then I got all of the trim painted Saturday evening.  And then Sunday I got them involved in putting the room back together, letting them give their input on where things should go and what they wanted to see happen in the room.

Everything managed to fit in the itty bitty space {meaning the jumbo sized bunk bed set}, however, there was really only one option on where it could be placed... leaving the focal wall, looking a little confused...

Time to think up a new position for that too cute for words blue star, and allow those stripes to continue to make a statement in the space.  Just need those wheels to keep spinning on that current dilemma...

The rest of the furniture got moved to their newly organized closet space, perfect for two little growing boys...

The white trim just melts my rapidly beating heart.  Best change in the whole space.  Haven't gotten to the doors quite yet, but the closet is cute enough to be left open for awhile...  also allowing for easy access to their toys and hamper.

Speaking of closet storage, I really had to put some thought into how much/how little I wanted to live in there.  They already have a fantastic playroom, so I don't need a lot of toys to be stored in their room.  Just some of their personal favs.  That included Play-Doh, but any mom knows that leaving that stuff in arms reach of little ones can quickly prove to be a disaster, so ours got tucked way up high!

And down below are their bins of toys and books.

Lastly came the desk space.  How would these little ones need to use the space?  Well, Peyton will be going into first grade this year, so it will be the perfect place for him to have a quiet homework zone.  And Parker, totally digs coloring.

This is currently the only zone in the entire space where any moola was dished out.  A total of $8.86 functional dollars in fact.

For the crayons and markers, I snagged a couple of $.99 buckets from Ikea along with two drawer pulls to the tune of $3.99, which weren't used as drawer pulls, but as the perfect way to hang the buckets on the wall of the desk!

And on the other wall of their desk went a clear hanging file {which was $2.89 from Target}, which is the ideal location for their coloring books and notepads!

And that is where I left off on Sunday.  What's left to do in there?  Here is my current "To Do" list for their space:

• Update the color of the letters on the face of the bed that read, "Brothers"
• Move the star on the striped wall
• Create free/cheap art for the desk space
• Paint the doors
• Hang the wire airplane back on the ceiling

The boys are already crazy about their new zone, which makes it all worth any time investment.

Before

After

Before

After

Another huge benefit to this move, is that we did a lot of sorting.  Focusing on a room really allows us to ask our selves what we need, what we use and what we don't.  We ended up sorting out a whole basket of goodies that never got used or that the kids are getting too big for:

Which hopefully we will make some buckaroos from, and if not, will happily be donated!

And what are we doing with the other space?

Well, it kind looks like this:

Yikes right?!  We have more work ahead of us, but it's been great amounts of fun {probably mostly for me} and it's worth the smiles that are on our kid's faces. Plus, we have a mega change in store for Preston's space that we are all uber anxious about...

Stay tuned for more on how we will continue to tackle these spaces!