Top Decoration

Ok...you asked for them, so here are the photos!

All of the construction is finished and Will and I stand back and look every day, filled with pride, that we (with our own hands) made all of this happen!

Remember when it was a Dining Room?

And what it looked like before?

(click here to see the progression from open Dining Room to enclosed Playroom)




One small disclaimer:

This room was decorated on the fly! I shopped our home and, in an effort to make it feel more finished, came up with a look. This room is the definition of "use what you have" decorating. Once the kids have used it and lived in it for a while (and we can see what their needs are in the room and how they are really going to use it), I will start to give the room the look that I envision for it.

These photos are of the room as it is right now.

Welcome to the new Playroom!

My plan for the arch is to fill the shelf with small globes - vintage globes, toy globes, metal globes...whatever globes I can find at local thrift and antique stores, I will put on the shelf.
My mother-in-law found two different globes during their vacation in England. They'll be home on Sunday and I can't wait to get them up on the shelf!
(The globes, not my in-laws!)



By sheer luck, the bean bags chairs that we bought for the kids a couple of years ago, in their favorite colors...

perfectly coordinate with the globe that the boys have had as part of their bedroom decor for years...

I am thrilled with this happy accident since this space is for the boys and their little sister! A nice tie in to the girly pinks and the little boy blues.



The things that will remain in this room unchanged are:


all of the letters and words

the pops of red
(I love how it looks against the blue on the walls)

the globes

the kids' artwork

and the old schoolhouse desk

The things in this room that will remain, but will be changed:


These bins (which used to be in the boys' bedroom closet) offer a ton of storage and are totally kid-friendly. But while they are extremely functional, they are also extremely unattractive...

My plan is for Will to build an enclosure for them that will encase the sides and the top, while still allowing full access to the drawers. I will be able to paint the enclosure in hopes that it won't be such an eye sore as the huge, plastic bins!



This toy chest came with the house and I love it...

but I have been meaning to paint it for a while. Now that it has a permanent home in the playroom, it will be getting a fresh coat of paint to coordinate with the room.


This dresser/changing table had been in the boys' bedroom, but we decided to move it into the playroom for more toy storage. The dresser and the red bins will be painted as well...

And I am torn on the armoire. I love the color! But it's so similar to the wall color that I'm not as happy with it as I once was. I'm not quite ready to take the plunge on changing the color (mostly because I have a ton of other painting to do), but if and when I do change it, I know which direction I want to go with it, and I think you might be surprised...

So there you have it!

LOTS more painting in my future.

But that's only after I finish painting the built-in that is now in our entryway. I cannot wait to show you! I found the inspiration online and Will recreated it for our space perfectly!
It's the kind of addition that makes a house unique.
Just what I like!

Time to get back to painting!

Only a couple more hours before I have to pick the boys up from school...





P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway for the $50 gift certificate to Lowe's! Just leave a comment at the end of my interview on Houzz.com - click here!

You have no idea how happy it makes me to be able to say that!

Ok, I'm sure some of you do -

But I had no idea how happy I would be to say that in the end!



We finally got the doors in and once that happened, there was nothing stopping the progress.

Quickly, Will's work was done and it was time for me and my paint brush to take over!


All of the molding went up around the new walls seamlessly - like they had always been there...

and it looks fantastic painted!

I'm still putting the finishing touches on the inside of the room (I'll show you soon!) and touching up paint on the new walls outside of the room...


which leads me to this project...

I know - "what the heck is that?", right?


Ok, I'll give you a sneak peek, but only because it's just so exciting...

I have lots more painting ahead of me today, but more important than that...

today is the first day of school for my baby boys!

(I wonder at what age I'll stop calling them my babies? I don't see it happening anytime soon.)

Our oldest is starting second grade.

And our youngest boy (our middle child) is starting kindergarten...all day long!

*sniffle*

I'll admit it...

Today will be hard.

I was telling Will last night that it's not so much about having them gone (although, after all summer together, it will be a weird change), but more about not being their main caregiver anymore. As a stay-at-home-mom, I've been with Owen since the day he was born, but as of today, for the first time...he'll be under the care of his teacher for 6 & 1/2 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Ok, I better stop...I'm getting emotional already!

Speaking of their teachers though, they both got who we wanted for them! So that's a great feeling!

Will and I will be helping out at the school today with the kindergartener's during lunch (so at least I will get to see Owen and how he's doing!) while Ellison has a playdate with two of her favorite friends. After that, I'll be painting - and I promise to update with better pics!

Have a great day, everyone!