The Cs’ Big Boy Room- The “Before” Pictures
Whether I like to admit it or not, my little Cs are getting bigger. Sigh. I have asked them numerous times to please stop growing and just stay little forever, but they just won’t listen. What’s up with that? 😉 A few months ago, handy hubby and I started talking about transitioning their rooms. “Baby” C (who is 2, and not so much a baby) was still sleeping in a crib, and big C (who will be 5 in January) was in a Lightning McQueen car bed that we bought him for his second birthday. They were both outgrowing their beds and had expressed interest in sharing a room, so D and I decided to give it a trial run. We moved Connor’s bed into the room with Caleb’s crib so we could see how they would handle sleeping in the same room.
I’m not gonna lie, the first few nights were rough. There was screaming. There was crying. There was lots of getting out of bed. But just when I was getting ready to scrap the whole shared room idea, they adjusted and began to do really well. Since they really seemed to enjoy rooming together, hubby and I decided to make it happen permanently. Today I’ll show you where we’re starting, and tomorrow I’ll reveal the super exciting plans for the room. {I’m so pumped and can’t wait to share them! Wait until you see!! *squeal*}
We will be using Connor’s old room as the shared space since it is the larger of the two rooms. It is currently being used as a playroom/ dressing room/ storage space for the boys’ stuff, and it needs a lot of help!
When you first enter the room, you are met by diapers. Boxes and boxes of diapers. Awesome, right?! During this transition time, I haven’t come up with a more attractive storage solution, mostly because I knew it would only be temporary, so “covert diaper storage” is definitely on the “must do” list for the new room. The Cs still use their art station, but we moved the table downstairs temporarily. It will return when we put the new room together. And those darn hand-me-down bins are still stacked, just waiting to be moved to the closet. You can also see part of Caleb’s dresser in the picture with Connor’s name over it from when his bed was in that corner. It’s a hot mess, I tell you. Hot. Mess. {Don’t be deceived. The room is hardly ever this clean. I straightened up so that you wouldn’t keel over when you saw the pictures. :-D}
The other side of the room holds a tool bench that the Cs never use (hasta la vista, baby!) and their toy shelf, which I would like to keep since handy hubby built it waaaaaaaaay back when we were in college. (It was stained dark brown then. Bet he never thought he’d be repainting it to be used for his kids’ toys!) We have lots of decluttering to do on the toy unit. Way too many knick-knacks and unused items have made their way onto the shelves, and I can’t wait to simplify and add some storage solutions so that we can really maximize the space. You can see Connor’s dresser, which will also need to stay in the room. The boy needs to wear clothes, right?! (I actually have to remind him of that often. Boys! 😉 )
And finally we have the closet, the worst offender in the room. I almost didn’t include this picture (which was taken before the huge hand-me-down overhaul), but in the spirit of full disclosure, here ya go. Notice that there is only one door. The other one broke. Hubby has plans to build a header and install normal-sized doors rather than the floor-to-ceiling variety before the new room is complete. Also the use of storage space = horrible. I need to do a major purge and reorganize everything to make better use of the space.
So basically, the new room has to meet a lot of needs: sleeping space for both Cs, a craft area, toy storage, clothes storage (2 dressers, hanging clothes, and hand-me-down bins)… and oh yeah, it needs to look cute too! We need to fix the closet doors, make a plan for furniture arrangement, come up with decor, and add personal touches so that the Cs feel like it is truly their room. Aaaaaannnnd we want to do all of that in about a month. Think we can do it? We’re up for the challenge!
Tomorrow I’ll be going into more detail about our plans above and I could not be more EXCITED to share what we’ve come up with. (Seriously, it’s so much fun, so make sure you come back to check it out!) Until then, I’m sure you’ll be waiting by your computer in suspense! Ooooor not. “See” you tomorrow!
Have you made over your kids’ rooms lately? Do you have any tips for us?
I link up at these fun parties!
They sure do grow fast!! I think the “before” is already super cute – can’t wait to see the changes!
Thanks, Adrianne! We have a long “to-do” list, but we’ll get there! Have a great week!
~Abby =)
What a fabulous room and I adore that car bed. I would love for you to link up to Inspire Me this afternoon. Party goes live at 2:30 PT. http://www.astrollthrulife.net Hope to see you there. Hugs, Marty
Thanks for the invite, Marty! Have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
Your pictures look like they would be my after pictures, not my before!
Lol! I liked their “little boy rooms,” but right now everything is just a jumbled mess of both rooms’ decor. I will be glad to get all of their “stuff” streamlined and into one room! Hope you’re having a great day, Kristi!
~Abby =)
Hi ABby, the room is looking great…love that while ladder-shelf
Chrsitine from Little Brags
Thanks, Christine! It should be a fun transformation! Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
It looks like a really nice space to work with! I’m sure whatever you do will be great! My little girls (almost the same ages as your boys) share a room and they love being together! As long as they like it, I’ll be keeping it that way for sure…it makes using space so much easier!
I hear ya! I’m planning on using the extra room as a craft room if I can get rid of enough toys, lol! We’ll see what I can sneak away when the Cs aren’t looking. 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by, Abby! (Great name, btw!) Hope you have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
I can’t wait to see what you do with their room! I love the book shelf your hubs built! It looks awesome! And don’t worry about how your boys’ closet looks – you should see both of my boys and ours! Closets are by far my organization challenge! I hope you’re having a great Monday! 🙂
It is so easy just to throw all of the extra stuff into the closet, right?! I am definitely guilty of that! Hopefully I’ll get a good system going in the new room so we won’t have that problem. Hope you guys are doing well! Have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
We recently finished, well, I use that term loosely, the kids’ rooms, and if I can ever get a shot of a clean room, I will share. 😉 My biggest challenge is to blend the different tastes and keep everyone happy.
Dee 🙂
Ooh I’d love to see them! Right now the Cs are pretty “go with the flow” when it comes to their room decor, but I can definitely see them butting heads in the future if they decide to continue sharing a room! So much to look forward too! 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by, Dee! Have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
I think it’s so cute that they want to share a room! Sounds like they are really good buddies. I can’t wait to see what you have planned. I wish we could get a project done around our house in a month (I can’t even finish a powder room in that time, ha!).
They are such good friends, but they also have their moments like all brothers! A month is the goal… we’ll see how quickly I can actually turn this thing around! Hubby may be cursing me for setting such a tight timetable, lol! Hope you’re having a wonderful week, Miss Tiffany!
~Abby =)
I recently redid my daughter’s room in preparation for my son’s arrival (in less than two weeks!!!) and we let her have some input and she loves it! We tore everything down to the studs, replaced two windows, added insulation, drywall, board and batten, and of course paint and accessories. We went back and forth on the color and I wanted a tealish blue but it came out more light blue, which worked out perfectly with all the pink my little princess wanted. We chose pink curtains and pink frames for some of her gallery wall, plus her other random accessories. I think the board and batten (all white), trim (white) and natural wood furniture help keep it from being crazy toddler town. It’s definitely a room that’ll grow with her and can easily be updated with new, different curtains and bedding. The rest will hopefully stay the same (minus the color on the wall, that can always change). She loves it and calls it pretty all the time. And that’s all that matters in the end… if the kids like it! Now, to get her to play in it instead of junking out the rest of the house! Good luck with the reno, I can’t wait to see it!
Wow! That was a big job! It sounds like it turned out beautifully! I’m sure your little cutie loves it! Thanks so much for stopping by, Megan! Have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
Can’t wait to see the update! I’m hosting a pillow cover giveaway that you should enter! https://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/10/pillow-covers-giveaway.html
Thanks, Kayla! Have a great week!
~Abby =)
I love that beginning phase of a room design, when everything seems possible! It’s adorable that your boys want to share a room. My son and daughter shared a room when we went on vacation this summer (he had just turned 3, and she was only about 9mo) and there wasn’t much sleeping going on! He kept her up too late by making her laugh, then she woke him up to early by babbling at him. 🙂
Lol! We have been there too! The first few nights were definitely rough, but they worked it out! Have a great week, Laura!
~Abby =)
A shared room for growing kids is a fun idea. For the kids, they will learn to play nicely. For you, well, less space to clean obviously. This will also mean less hassle during the night at bedtime, you don’t need to divide your time between the two boys since they are staying in a single room.
Great points! I will do anything to have less cleaning, lol! Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
glad that you shared your before pics with us Abby, I am catching up on my e-mails now and will be reading what you are preparing! 🙂
Thank you, Ingrid! I’m excited for the “afters”! It should be a fun transformation. Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
~Abby =)