I've been silently at work on a project for awhile. Remember my craft room? The one where I do all my sewing for the shops that I sell kids stuff in...? It was never truly finished, but looked a bit like this:
Well, I've decided to give it up. I'm doing a lot less sewing these days and don't feel that I need to take up an entire room with all of my stuff. So I pared down. Gave away lots of things. Threw out the excess junk.
My boys are getting bigger, and are starting to show signs of needing their own space. They currently share a room, but the younger one just can't seem to leave the older one alone. Ever. So I determined that it is time for this room to go back to being a bedroom. He won't be ready for it for awhile now, but that's ok because it still isn't quite ready for him. And I'm going to let him make the transition on his own timeline. But he will be 10 this winter (10!) and probably deserves his own space.
I first took apart my sewing/craft table and reused the top along with some cabinets found at the ReStore to create a corner desk in there for him. I kept the tall cabinet that once housed my fabric stash because it actually works well with the desk, and I didn't know how to get it out of that room. :)
I painted, and then for awhile, I left it like this. Summer came and I was busy. I still used it as a sewing room. Still had all my supplies in there. Found a cute/cheap rug at Ikea. And an awesome secondhand pink desk chair which got an immediate makeover, obviously.
I was also on a long search for a storage bed. This is a small room. So it needs all the storage help it can get. I debated making one, but ended up finding this one for a steal at Sal's. I had both kids with me, but couldn't pass up the deal and so ended up calling Jay to come get them so I could jam this thing into my car. The headboard was reading a bit girly, so I took it off and made a new, more square one out of some leftover plywood I had lying around in the basement.
I decided, after debating for many, many years, to paint the floor. Talked about that back in 2010. And I think it was the right option. I let my son pick the color (within reason),got it matched to porch paint, and it has held up really well over the last few months. And then all that was left was accessorizing. I reused a few things that we already had. Recovered the cork board that was in my craft room with a burlap fabric and brass tacks. Painted over my sister's wedding seating chart with chalkboard paint. Got some sports do-dads and a place for all the hats. Moved in all of his various trophies. Found some red bins on clearance for the tall cabinet because no one want to see boys toys or underwear. I also yanked out the old closet system and revamped it for better usage. And now all it needs is a mattress. I put our air mattress there for now, and my son already reads in there every day.
What do you think? Good space for an almost tween boy? Aaaghh. I can't believe he's going to be 10!
And don't you worry, my sewing stuff has found itself a new area. But that's a post for another day!
