Home Renovations: The Photos, Part the Third

Bug's Room

Looking back at the driving forces behind The Four Months In Which We Demolished Our Home Then Completely Rebuilt It While Eating Mostly Frozen Pizza and Takeout, it's fair to say that Bug's room was at the top of that list. Closely followed by

2. Another Bathroom, dear God

3. More Square Footage so I can stop tripping over people/furniture/cats

4. Eradicating the 1960's design elements that lingered in our house

When we moved into this house, Bug was 22 months old. Giving her the little bedroom was a no-brainer, but even at that age the 9 by 10 foot space was small. (That's pretty much the size of my new walk-in closet). We put a toddler bed, a small dresser, and small bookcase in, then placed her toybox under the window. It fit pretty well. When she outgrew the toddler bed, we had to move the toybox out to get the big girl bed in. Dicey, but do-able. In a manic moment, I maneuvered a desk in there. The furniture was tightly wedged against each other along the

walls. There was zero floor space for playing. It was one and a half steps from the doorway to her bed, which was on the far wall. It was not good.

I would show you a picture of the old room, but:

1. I'm in the process of transferring photos to my new! fancy! computer, and

2. I really don't feel like it, any more than I feel like cleaning out the basement, which I'm currently avoiding by working on this blog post.

Picture microscopically small, purple and Tinkerbell green, with fairies hanging from the ceiling. OK?

Here's her new (not cleaned for authenticity) room:

I snagged the dresser and mirror at a yard sale this summer for $75. It was pretty beat-up and painted 1970's yellow with metallic gold trim. Yummy. I stripped it off with a heat gun and palette knife, sanded it down, repainted it white, and replaced the hardware . It was strangely fulfilling. Power tools: they complete me.

And the view the other way, looking away from the bed:

She was in her glory planning the color and design of her new bedroom. She pored over paint samples, changed her mind daily, sketched the flowers she wanted painted on the walls, and gave me specific measurements as to how big to make them. She told me that she wanted it to "feel like a summer meadow, but trendy" (did I mention that she watches a lot of HGTV with me?) She's a bit of a micromanager, but I can't argue with the results. It's totally Bug, and she's so proud of it.

Her bedding and essential nighttime companions:

I had to document the everyday necessities that Bug feels the need to keep out on her dresser. Please note: deodorant (which she technically doesn't need, but is quite insistent about using), tube of juggling balls (one never knows when one will suddenly feel the need to juggle), tissues, nail polish, camera, bubble gum, marbles, hairbrush, lip gloss, body spray (I've had to establish a very strict "one spritz per day" rule just for her), comic books, face wipes, Chinese fan, and various bracelets, earrings, and hair accessories. I can't begin to fathom what this will look like in her teen years when she discovers makeup.

But for me, the best part of her new room is that she truly enjoys hanging out in it. I love walking in to find her laying on her stomach in the middle of the floor drawing on her sketch pad and listening to music or snuggled down in her bean bag reading. She finally has a space that feels like her own.