We’ve got a looooong wish list of projects we’d like to tackle through the year ahead (you can read more about them all here) and, after spending our January planning out what we hope is a realistic timeline to tackle them all, I think we’re finally ready to get moving on our very first project of 2021.
Finishing up our basement late last year created a ton of new living space for our family. It also changed the way we use many of the spaces we already had. The last month has been one big long game of “musical rooms”, as we shuffle furniture around the house, trying to figure out where we want everything to go and how we want each room to function for us. Most of the furniture from our back family room moved downstairs to create a cozy little seating area for watching movies and we also managed to tuck most of Carson’s toys from the playroom into a little play area down there as well. All this furniture moving and room shuffling has left us with a few empty spaces that we still need to figure out.
I mentioned in our 2021 renovation wish list that we’d love to turn our old family room space into a cozy library/ study. Though I’d really love to tackle this now before Brady gets tied up with all of our outdoor projects this Spring & Summer, I still have SO much to figure out in this space and I really don’t want to rush things and risk not loving it. So, for the time being, it’s become a home office space filled with all of the old furniture from our old office upstairs (yes, we moved that too!). It’s only been a week and we don’t really have a proper layout figured out just yet, but Brady’s already loving working from home so much more in this space.
Our renovation wish list also included a little re-fresh of Carson’s bedroom as well as creating a “bunk bed” room next door for sleepovers. We purchased the bunk beds several weeks ago (here are the mattresses we went with too, they were such a great price and are super comfortable!) and they’ve been living in the old playroom (which Carson has claimed as his second bedroom) ever since. Though we liked the idea of having these 4 beds for Carson and his friends to sleep in, and we measured out the floor space to make sure they would fit in this space, we definitely underestimated the amount of visual space they would take up. It’s all you can see when you walk into the room.
We’ve tried a few different layouts in here, but we just can’t seem to find a way to make these big beds work in this space. And so, we decided they need to move onto a different bedroom (luckily we have 3 others we can choose from). We measured and taped out some different layouts in our 2 other spare bedrooms, but between window, door and closet placement, they were just too tight of a fit. Our only other option was to try them out in Carson’s room, which just so happens to be the biggest bedroom aside from our own and, as we taped out the measurements of each bed on the carpet, it quickly became clear that this would be the best space for the bunk beds to be. Now obviously, in order for the bunk beds to take over Carson’s room, we’d have to create a new space for his bedroom (have you ever read the story “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie“? – we seem to live the renovation version!). In the end, we decided that Carson’s bedroom will be moving into our old playroom space and then the bunk beds will take over Carson’s old bedroom space. And so, the wheels started turning and I began hashing out a plan for not only our new bunk bed room, but a new bedroom space for C as well.
Above, you can see what Carson’s bedroom looks like right now. It’s not terrible really, but we’ve been ready to make a change in here for a while now – adding a bit more character and creating a space that continue to grow with him. Below, you’ll find photos of the room he’ll be moving into. I just LOVE the light in this space!
I’ve got some big plans for this little room – bringing in some character with some wall paneling all around the space, a gorgeous green paint colour that Carson’s had picked out for ages and a few new pieces of furniture to finish it all off. I’ve still got a lot to figure out in here, but I’m hoping to pull together a few ideas to share with you next week. In the mean time, keep on eye on my Instagram stories for some behind the scenes sneak peeks as we get started with it all this weekend.
I know all this room shuffling is definitely a round-about way of doing things, but it turns out it’ll be the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I’m so excited to watch these two spaces come together!
Have you started any fun projects this year?
Wishing you SUCH a lovely day my friends!
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I can't wait to hear your thoughts!