The Blue Room Reveal

One of my major goals was to get Logan's room redone before the baby arrived. With the two windows on one wall, the closet on another and the air vent on the floor we are really limited on where we can place furniture. Add in that Lo is a total hoarder her room was a total disaster! I'm amazed at how much one small girl can accumulate. I found box after box full of crap her "collections" (It totally reminds me of the Little Mermaid and her cave of crap dinglhoppers and snarfblats). She is also big on what I call her shrines. She will display items on every bookshelf and dresser top and DOES NOT like them to be moved. It's not uncommon to find rocks, leaves, jewels that have fallen off from dresses/shoes/art projects and pictures organized together. 

Here's what her room looked like before Mommy got her hands on it:

I had a few goals for her room:

• a tall, narrow dresser to hold her clothes
• a bigger desk that would give her space to do homework and all her art projects
• find a solution to the stuffed animal epidemic
• get all her little dolls and their accessories organized so she can actually find what she is looking for a be able to play with them

I wasn't particularly good at taking my "before" pictures. I was a woman on a mission, determined to get it done before the baby's arrival. 

The desk came from Goodwill. I paid under $20 for it and with my Goodwill Rewards Card I received 10% off my total. It was in pretty good shape, all the drawers worked, but there was some warping on the top. Once it was distressed it really wasn't noticeable. 

The desk was given a coat of Zinsser Primer and two coats of an Behr Oriental Silk in semi-gloss. I used the warping and imperfections to my advantage and distressed those areas. Once I had the distressing to my liking the desk received a coat of Minwax satin polycrylic. I usually coat my projects in wax, but I know this desk is going to take a beating and I want to be able to wipe it down. I'm so glad I did because everyday it's covered in crayon, marker and glue.

The drawer pulls are from Hobby Lobby, 50% off of course! You may recognize the chair, I think it goes with the new desk perfectly!

I also painted a shelf for above the desk too. I've had the shelf in my garage for over a year. It's an Ethan Allen piece purchased at Goodwill for $3.99. Such a steal! I didn't want it to be too matchy-matchy so I gave it a coat of dark wax for a more distressed look. It's the perfect place for Lo to store all her art supplies. It's the right height for her, but just a little to tall for lil' sis to reach. 

I also added a few coordinating shelves to hold all Lo's treasures. We dedicated one to keep all of the special gifts that Daddy has brought home from his trips.

The dresser was a great find and a steal! I got it for $45. It is heavy and in perfect condition. It almost seemed wrong painting it, it was so nice. I'm still working on the drawer pulls. I didn't have time to spray paint them before the baby arrived and I've been too busy with the baby since, but they'll get done eventually. Here is my only "before" picture, I got too excited painting to think about pictures!

Like Lo's chair I used my homemade chalk paint. Oh boy do I love that stuff! It took me less than 30 minutes to paint the whole dresser. It dries so fast that you can put on a second coat almost immediately.  Once the painting was complete I sanded/distressed the dresser quite a bit. Then I sealed the entire piece with Annie Sloan wax. 

Thanks to a great find at Goodwill I was able to solve our stuffed animal "situation." This piece was $20 after my Goodwill Rewards discount and not only is sturdy, but it also has cabinets to hid all of Lo's "collections."

I used the same paint as the desk and did very minimal distressing, basically to hide my imperfect painting. Again, the drawer-pulls were purchased at Hobby Lobby at 50% off. The open center is the perfect habitat for Stuffed Animal Nation. Our rule is that if it doesn't fit in the space than it has to go. Mommy is no longer letting Lo's stuffed friends take over the bed, dresser, closet and floor! As she outgrows her fascination the open area can be used for books, picture frames or other treasures.

Add in a few other pieces that we already had, the World's Ugliest Dresser and the Craigslist Daybed and you've got one fab-u-lously bee-u-t-ful room that is full of organization and floor space!!!

We are all very pleased with the end result. Of course it's not always as clean and organized as I'd like all the time, but she has much more room to play and do her art projects. I still have a few areas that I'm working on, a place to display her art work and more organization for her art supplies, but right now it's a happy place for me and Lo!

So that's our Blue Room! What do you think? If you missed our Yellow Room reveal check it out {HERE}. Next up we'll be working on G's room, the Navy Room, and I've got to take the princess out of the kids bathroom and make it more boy friendly too. We're never short on projects and I can't wait to share them with you!!! 

Thanks for checkin' in, 

The Many Face Of G

He goes by many names: Grafton, G, GG, Bubby (courtesy of big sis Noa), G-Money, Grafty-G. He also has many faces. We think he looks petrified most of the time, but with two crazy, unpredictable sisters in his face constantly, who can blame him. I'd be scared too!  

...because that's what big sisters do...

Have a fab-u-lous Thursday and thanks for checkin' in!

My Blog-ternity Leave Is Over

Happy August! Where has summer gone?!?! It's hard to believe that school starts for Lo in 15 days!!! We are starting to get into our grove. G is a good baby, but even good babies have their moments and our mantra for the summer has been flexibility. The biggest obstacle has been this RIDICULOUS heat and the lack of rain. Most days it's been too hot for G to be outside and since we've had very little rain this summer we are on a water restriction which means no sprinkler fun at our house-boo! We did get to make it to the pool and splash park a few times, but the library, $1 movies and trips to Target is what is keeping us cool (and sane) on the super hot days!

Both girls have had the opportunity to go to various camps. Lo spent a week at Girl Scout camp and even had her first overnight experience. She also was lucky to spend 2 weeks at horse camp (thanks Grandma!) which she absolutely loved!!! Noa's camps started this week and she feels like such a big girl going to camp and bringing her lunch. 

Nate's travel has slowed down a lot this summer so we've actually had quite a bit of family time. Last weekend we FINALLY had a cool down and we took the opportunity to take the kids to the park. It also gave me a chance to use the new camera. We had a wonderful afternoon and I was able to get some great shots of the family. It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and fall is on it's way, but I'm looking forward to the cool-down, school starting and scarves and boots!!!

Thanks to everyone for their support and patience while I have been on my Blog-ternity leave! I'm looking forward to getting crafty again and sharing all our fun experiences with you!