Top Decoration

I have three words for those of you considering transforming a closet in your home into a bookcase...

GO FOR IT!!!

Now that the closet-turned-bookcase project is complete and Owen has been living with it for over a week, I can easily say that this is one of the best decisions we have made in making our home work for us.

The last photo I left you with in my previous post was this:

We were working on getting the shelves cut and installed and making sure that the whole thing was stable enough to hold all that we intended for it.

Once the shelves and supports were in place and secured...

the tops and bottoms of each shelf got a good, solid coat of paint. I painted it the same blue as I had painted the inside of the closet so that they would blend in...

Pine trim was cut to face each shelf. I painted it white to match the existing trim around the closet and throughout the room...

Once that was done, we were ready to get all of Owen's belongings out of our room (where they sat during this project) and put into place in a newly organized fashion.

Canvas bins were filled with marble tracks...

dragons...

costumes...

and all of his other multiple-piece possessions.

We stacked all of our family board games up high so that they would stay out of reach from little hands...

And his buildings from his train set were placed on top for display, but are easy enough for us to reach when he feels like building a new track...

A stool for Owen to stand on was all it took to complete his new bookcase...

Everything below the game shelf is easily accessible for Owen.
Easy to get out and, more importantly, easy to put away...

Owen is still getting used to sleeping in a room without his big brother, so I came up with an easy way to give him a nightlight.

A push light hung on a nail on the inside of his closet illuminates his train track buildings and let's him dream up new track designs before falling to sleep...

I thought it was a clever idea.

And Owen loves it!




So, once again, I say...

if you're considering doing this
(and I know many of you are based on your comments on my previous post)

GO FOR IT!

You won't regret it!

What was once a constantly messy, good-luck-trying-to-find-the-floor, little boy's room...

is now an organized, cozy space to be in. The boys are happy to play in there, setting up marble tracks, playing trains and competing in rousing games of Connect Four and Dominoes.

You won't find any regrets here!


But I have to say, I think the key to keeping this bookcase easy and do-able for Owen was not placing any hard rules on where things belong. The canvas bins fit on two of the shelves and his lego bins fit neatly under the first shelf. The shelf above his lego's has been kept open and he is free to arrange it as he sees fit. His canvas bins can be filled any way that he likes. I thought about labeling them, but decided against it. Easy for Owen is the main objective. As long as there is room for everything to fit, I don't mind where he puts it on the shelves.

And, luckily, it has been working!


Along with a closet overhaul, Owen also got a fresh take on his decor...

I am happy to say that Owen's room is finished!

I'll show you how it all turned out in my next post.

So what are we working on now?

It's William's turn for his room to get a whole new look.

And we're loving the results!

Pictures to come...





P.S. I am posting this at:

Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch
Make It For Monday at Cottage Instincts
DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land
Today's Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On
Blue Cricket Design for Show And Tell
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage
Mustard Seed Creations for Furniture Feature Friday

We've spent the first week of the New Year with our hands in a project.

Owen's closet is getting a major overhaul!

I couldn't be more thrilled, and honestly...

I'm still pretty shocked that I convinced Will to go along with the idea.

Why?

Because we're taking a standard home builder closet with bi-fold doors and wire shelving and turning it into one big doorless, bookcase.

I know. I'm sure some of you are thinking "why?"

That's what Will had said too.

Well, there are a couple things you must know about Owen to grasp the reasoning behind this project.

1. Owen doesn't care about clothes.
He's the kid that would be more than happy to wear sweats and a ratty, old, too small T-shirt every day of the week, if I would let him. He wears a uniform to school and that alone keeps his wardrobe pretty limited. The need for a large, open closet for hanging clothing is a complete waste in Owen's room.

2. Owen's prized possessions are made up of many, many, many pieces.
He loves his marble tracks (all 3 of them), his race tracks (two of those), his train set, his two big bins of legos, his remote control helicopters and all of his books. Unfortunately for me, this makes for one big messy bedroom.

Here's a little Owen logic that he gave to me a few weeks ago during a conversation we were having in his bedroom:

Me: Owen...why do you keep your room so messy?
(said in a pleading tone)

Owen: Because.

Me: Because why??

Owen: I just...like it this way.

Me: Why would you possibly like to have it a mess all of the time?
Can't you just put your toys away at night before you go to bed?

Owen: (he looks up at me from the floor with big, convincing eyes)

Mom...this way I just don't have to get them all out again.

Me: (as a smile slowly spreads over my face)

Well, you have a point.


You've got to love the way a 6 year old brain thinks!


Now here's some of my logic...

Since toys are the main focus in Owen's life right now at the ripe old age of 6, and clothing falls waaaaay down on the list below...well, almost everything else, I've decided that it would be much easier to accommodate Owen's needs (and mine) and make his room much more toy storage friendly.

Think this:

and this...

or even this...

Nice!

(Except for the thousand dollar price tag!)


It is my dream to give Owen's room the ability to be that organized!

(Notice that I said the "ability". I am not delusional enough to believe it will look that organized all of the time. BUT, at least it will be able to!)


So, as soon as the boys left for school, we got to work.

We cleared out his closet, which up until Tuesday, looked like a bomb had gone off in it. It held his dresser, two hanging cubby storage systems, sleeping bags, extra shoes, an assortment of random items and all of our families board games. The way it was set up was a terrible waste of space and did not function well at all.

So we took everything out, including the wire shelving that the builder had installed.

We patched the holes, tested the color that the closet would become and made marks on the wall to get a feel for where the new shelves would go.

Ellison wanted to help paint...

Luckily, she was content to pretend with a dry brush.


After a coat of my favorite color

(Benjamin Moore - Wedgewood Gray)...

we tacked up the laser level and drew out the lines for our shelves.

Will installed the first piece of ripped down MDF that would serve as the back bracket for our shelves...

Once all of the brackets were installed along the back and sides, I painted them to blend in with the wall. Will cut the shelves to size and the new bookcase closet started to take shape...

The closet is 6' wide and 2' deep, so it's a good size and will be able to hold all of Owen's prized posessions.

We're still working out a few minor details before I can start painting it all the same blue. Then the pine trim will be added to the fronts of all of the shelves, and that will get painted the same white as the trim around the closet.

I cannot wait to get all of Owen's things put back in!

Not only do I think it is going to look great, but I know that the new found organization will be a huge asset in this room.


And I must say...I'm a bit jealous.

How great would this be for a bedroom closet turned craft room?

Maybe someday!




P.S. I am posting this at:

Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
Finding Fabulous for Frugalicious Friday
Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Make It For Monday at Cottage Instincts
Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered
DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land
Show And Tell at Blue Cricket Designs

First, let me say...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Can you believe that it is 2010?

A new year brings the chance for a fresh start - new perspective, new goals and new resolutions.

Will and I have been tossing around ideas for projects that we would like to accomplish in this new year...

some big...

some really big...

and some small -
easy projects that in the grand scheme of things will be a piece of cake to accomplish.

We're going to make a list of 12 projects - one for each month in this new year. Not to bind us to getting them done in that exact order or time frame, but to continually motivate us and keep our creative juices flowing!

Our list is looking pretty good and definitely do-able, but until we're ready to share with you our final draft, I thought it would be fun to look back on our projects from 2009 that you were clearly fans of.

When I say "You know what you like", I mean it!

Here's what we know for sure based on your comments over the past 12 months:

You love a good head-to-toe makeover. If it involves carpentry, it's a clear winner!

Add in a couple of recipes and some DIY crafting modeled after expensive decor, and you've given us our...

Top 12 Posts of 2009


Let's start from the top:

(click on the month or the photo to be taken to the original post)


January

We transformed our ho-hum family room into a space filled with character and light when we created our own easy DIY version of historic Board and Batten.

February

Our outdated 1990's mauve tile fireplace had to go! So we did what we do best...a DIY transformation that required a bit of creativity, carpentry and good old fashioned sweat equity.

March

Ellison's pink and green scalloped bedroom was time consuming, for sure...but the result was definitely worth the effort.

April

A one-of-a-kind FREE STUFF headboard found on the side of the road was transformed into a bench that seats all five of us. Taking something old and making it new is one of my favorite things to do!

May

A series of events twisted what we had originally intended for this little house, and turned it into a cute and cozy Playhouse for our kids.

June

Who doesn't love a good yard sale find?

In this post, I found two great items that I could not pass up!

July

What started as simply changing up the look a bit, turned into a full-fledged makeover and went down in history as my first time ever using the compound miter saw on my own!

August

We were in wedding planning mode during the month of August and, with your help, I decided on several lemonade recipes to make a fresh lemonade stand at my sister-in-laws bridal shower.
Yum!

September

A remodel of our dining room is what made it possible for this storage unit to come to life and it couldn't have come at a better time...just as the kids were getting into the swing of the new school year!

October

After two years of living with a Master Bedroom that functioned poorly for us, we finally made the changes necessary to make it a space we love to be in. All it took was a little creativity and a lot of thinking outside of the box!

November

To celebrate the boys' getting their own bedrooms, we built loft beds for them, which created a significant amount of usable space that didn't exist before. I continually strive to make the kids' rooms easy for them to live in - a refuge for them and a space they want to be in!

December

A little JOY for the holiday season!

Decorating our 3 month old entryway storage turned into a craft project that I wasn't expecting using paint, glitter and Christmas ornaments...I loved the result!

We've accomplished quite a bit this past year...
and as always, our main goal for 2010 is to continue to make the space we have work the very best for us.

I'm ready for a good project!

How about you?




P.S. I am posting this at:

Southern Hospitality's Top Projects of 2009

"Why have a regular bed when you can have a fort bed?"

That's what Owen had to say when given the choice of what kind of bed he would like to have.

After doing a little bit of research online, Will and I came up with a design that would be just right for our little fort builder.

(Owen builds forts as often as he can, dragging pillows, blankets and cushions around the house finding that days perfect spot for a fort. In an effort to contain the inevitable mess, we decided that giving Owen a permanent fort would work best for everyone)

Will headed out to the garage and with 2x4's, a table saw and a whole lot of sanding made quick work of the carpentry. Thanks to Dad, Owen came home to a big surprise after school last week...

And yes, we know it's really just a loft bed.

And clearly, you can see that it is nothing more than a loft bed.

But if you talk to Owen, he will tell you in no uncertain terms that it is a "fort bed", followed by a look that screams "what were you thinking?"

So...a "fort bed" it is!


As expected, Will quickly got a request to build one more. This one for William.

A couple days later, William came home from school to find his big surprise...

We now have two very happy boys.

This is quite a change from the set-up that we've had for the past two years in this house.

Actually, the past five years...

The boys have shared a room nearly their entire lives. Owen was 15 months old when we put them together in a room (that's when he discovered that he could climb out of his crib) and William was just 3 years old.

To say that this split was easy for Owen, couldn't be further from the truth.

He was opposed to having his own room (which would mean sleeping all alone at night) from the moment William started suggesting it.

So why the separation?

We had reached that point where it was becoming more of a hassle than it was worth to keep them together. As with all children, our boys are two very different individuals.
William is the kid who is like a little adult. Very organized, knows what he wants and likes his things a certain way.

Owen is...more...unstructured.

(I can't even type that keeping a straight face. Those that know Owen won't be able to either!)

The problems came each and every day when it was time to clean up their room.

William would clean up his things, Owen would not...

In an effort to just be done and be able to move on from the dreaded chore of cleaning their room, William would end up cleaning up all of Owen's things too, which always led to fighting, crying, etc.

The obvious solution was to give each of them their own room.

Keep in mind this wasn't even possible before since there are five of us living in this three bedroom house, but since we renovated the dining room, closing off one open arch and adding french doors to the other, it made it possible to call it a bedroom and give them each their own space.

This was their room before...

And now it belongs to just Owen and his "fort bed"...

At the ladder end of Owen's bed there are peek-holes to see who's coming...

I am going to paint it to say "What is the password?"

On the other side is a chalkboard for him to draw on. Perfect for Owen - our little artist...

Inside are his books and bean bag to get cozy while he reads...

William's room started out as our dining room. A room that we used only once a year for Thanksgiving dinner. The rest of the year we walked right on by.

A complete waste of space as far as we were concerned...

This past summer we decided to do some construction and close it off to become the kids' playroom.

Finally, truly usable space...

It took some convincing, but William finally won us over and we saw the benefits in letting him have his own room. So where there was once a dining table, there is now a bed.

A "fort bed" to be exact...

They love being able to close themselves off and "hide"...

The beds are big and rugged and perfect for the wear and tear that our kids are capable of...

Will did a great job making the design a reality. I like them even better than I thought I would!


Now that the boys have their own rooms they can, for the first time in their lives, express their individuality on their own four walls.

So for Christmas, my parents have bought them new bedding to get their rooms off on the right foot. We sat down with the Land Of Nod catalog and the boys made their picks...

William's choice:

All Solar System's Go Bedding

And Owen's choice:

From The Department Of Motor Vehicles Bedding

Both choices perfectly represent each boy and I am so excited for them.

I cannot wait to get started on the new looks!

But, just like the boys, I will have to wait until Christmas. That's when the boys will get their new bedding. Until then, I will be planning the design for each room.

They each have lots of input to give me on exactly what they want!

This should be fun!




P.S. I am linking this post to Metamorphosis Monday over at Between Naps On The Porch
and DIY Day over at A Soft Place To Land
and Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage
and Furniture Feature Friday at Mustard Seed Creations
and Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home