Home Renovations: The Photos, Part Deux (See? I Knew I'd Get Some Use Out of That French Minor)

Bear's room was the least dramatically changed in all of our renovation project. She did get a brand-new room (space) in a different part of the house, but she had just gotten a room makeover for last year's birthday. Thankfully, she still loves the colors, bedding, curtains, etc. because there was no way she was getting a do-over. Especially since we were trying to rustle up the money to pay for little luxuries like plumbing and floors.

Here she is on her birthday last year with her old "new" room:

And here is her new new room. The main differences are: much more square footage, bigger windows, and a larger, double-door closet. I snatched this photo last month in the five minutes between the time when she'd cleaned her room and before she began to mess it up again. Just picture it festively strewn with leotards, tights, random socks, and books if you'd like a better idea of its everyday look. Also, the dresser drawers should be only partially closed with stray bits of clothing hanging out.

Here are some of her room's key design elements, which is basically a pretentious way of saying I watch way too many home improvement shows. Bear would just tell you that these are some of her favorite things. I especially love the shiny little stuffed frogs arranged on the lamp. That's a particularly "Bear" touch.

Her closet runs the full width of her room (12 feet). Inside, all the way to each side, are floor-to-ceiling shelves. Bear's are mostly crammed full of notebooks (all with partially written stories in them), sheet music, dance paraphernalia, and stuffed animals that she's not quite ready to part with but feels that she is too grown-up to display. She still picks one out to sleep with every night, though.

The bedding and a partial view of the Wall 'o Dots (also known as The Wall That Took Five Bajillion Hours to Paint). She wanted a mix-and-match blend of patterns and pillows that carried out her brown and teal color scheme. Odds on walking into her room and finding this bed made are about 129472 to 1. I believe there was bribery involved on this day.

Next up: Bug's room! If Bear's room was the least changed, Bug's was definitely the most. More on that later.