This is the Spring House Projects edition of 7 Quick Takes and it is brought to you by Alex's Two Week Break from school! Yippee! Here's what we accomplished on this break.
Ever since we bought our house in 2009 we've had one of our main level rooms set up as my piano studio. I used that room for teaching and that was it. We never went in there for anything else. Now that I'm done teaching we wanted to turn that room into a space we could use in our everyday life. We decided to make it into "the den."
The first step was moving the piano into the living room. My brother came over with some lifting straps to help us do that which was awesome, because there was no way Alex and I could have done it on our own. The piano is now in the living room and it feels very classy. I kind of want to call it "The Salon" and hold gatherings with our friends where we read poetry and play music for one another. Will this ever happen? Idk. A girl can dream though.
After we moved the piano out of the piano room we painted it white. That's right. White. I know some very fashion forward ladies who are huge proponents of white walls. Jacqui and Grace to name a couple. Well, they're rubbing off on me and I decided it was time for us to try some white walls.
This room was a pain in the behind to paint. The walls had been blue before, so we were going from dark to light. The walls are also a textured plaster and paint does not go on evenly. We ended up having to do three coats, giving me time to get all caught up on my podcasts.
Before:
We had been using one of our upstairs rooms as a TV room/playroom, but we wanted to make that room into Trixie's room. So we moved the TV down stairs into what we are now calling "the den." Air quotes because that's not really what we call it. We call it the TV room. But I don't like thinking of us as a family that watches a lot of TV (even though we do) so I don't want an entire room of our house designated for that purpose. I'm going to keep calling it "the den" and hope that the rest of the family gets on board soon.
We brought most of the kids toys in there as well as one of the couches from the living room and my very favorite lamp that my aunt gave to us. I love this room. It's feeling very den-y.
The next thing we did was paint the old TV room/Trixie's new room gray. It had been a really bright blue/teal before and I wanted something neutral and easily adaptable. I'm really happy with the color. And after painting the terrible plaster walls in "the den" these normal drywall walls were a dream.
Here is a before and after of the wall color:
We got the crib down from the attic and set it up in Trixie's room. You may be wondering why the crib was in the attic when Trixie has been around for about 20 months now. The reason is that Trixie has been sleeping in our closest for the last year or so. The crib is too big for our closet so she's been sleeping in a Pack 'n Play in there. One reason Trixie needed her own room was so she wouldn't have to sleep in a Pack 'n Play anymore. The other reason is that Alex and I were growing tired of having to whisper all the time in our room.
I should add, please don't think we are bad parents for putting Trixie in our closet!! We have a very large walk in closet with a window and everything. Having her in the closet was a nice way to have her nearby but not so near that we were waking her up every time we rolled over in bed.
Now Trixie has her own room and it is such a sweet space. She transitioned well to sleeping in a different bed. Johnny has been very interested in the crib as well. He calls it "Trixie's cozy bed." I made the mistake of letting them go in the crib together and now that's what Johnny wants to do every time we're in Trixie's room.
We put the Pack 'n Play in the attic leaving more room in our closet. I'm not sure what we're going to put in the space yet. Maybe my yarn stash, which is still in Trixie's closet. For now I have just hung a curtain in the doorway to the closet and am choosing not to worry about it.
Now that we no longer store Trixie's clothes in our room I wanted to create some more functional spaces. Our room is very small, but I was still able to make two spots where can work or relax.
One is the desk. We've had the desk in our room for about a year, but it has always ended being more a landing place for all of Alex's text books than an actual work space. We had a super old silver Ikea book shelf that we painted white and put next to the desk. The books are now on the book shelf and the desk is on it's way to being cleared off and ready for use.
We also moved the rocking chair that had been in the old TV room into our room. I wanted to have a little spot where I can knit or write, especially in the winter months when our lower level is very cold and drafty. It's a cozy little corner and I think I'll really enjoy using it.
Now we're done with our indoor projects and trying to be outside and enjoying the beautiful weather as much as possible. Have a great weekend!
For more quick takes visit This Ain't the Lyceum.
//1//
Ever since we bought our house in 2009 we've had one of our main level rooms set up as my piano studio. I used that room for teaching and that was it. We never went in there for anything else. Now that I'm done teaching we wanted to turn that room into a space we could use in our everyday life. We decided to make it into "the den."
The first step was moving the piano into the living room. My brother came over with some lifting straps to help us do that which was awesome, because there was no way Alex and I could have done it on our own. The piano is now in the living room and it feels very classy. I kind of want to call it "The Salon" and hold gatherings with our friends where we read poetry and play music for one another. Will this ever happen? Idk. A girl can dream though.
//2//
After we moved the piano out of the piano room we painted it white. That's right. White. I know some very fashion forward ladies who are huge proponents of white walls. Jacqui and Grace to name a couple. Well, they're rubbing off on me and I decided it was time for us to try some white walls.
This room was a pain in the behind to paint. The walls had been blue before, so we were going from dark to light. The walls are also a textured plaster and paint does not go on evenly. We ended up having to do three coats, giving me time to get all caught up on my podcasts.
Before:
After:
//3//
We had been using one of our upstairs rooms as a TV room/playroom, but we wanted to make that room into Trixie's room. So we moved the TV down stairs into what we are now calling "the den." Air quotes because that's not really what we call it. We call it the TV room. But I don't like thinking of us as a family that watches a lot of TV (even though we do) so I don't want an entire room of our house designated for that purpose. I'm going to keep calling it "the den" and hope that the rest of the family gets on board soon.
We brought most of the kids toys in there as well as one of the couches from the living room and my very favorite lamp that my aunt gave to us. I love this room. It's feeling very den-y.
//4//
The next thing we did was paint the old TV room/Trixie's new room gray. It had been a really bright blue/teal before and I wanted something neutral and easily adaptable. I'm really happy with the color. And after painting the terrible plaster walls in "the den" these normal drywall walls were a dream.
//5//
We got the crib down from the attic and set it up in Trixie's room. You may be wondering why the crib was in the attic when Trixie has been around for about 20 months now. The reason is that Trixie has been sleeping in our closest for the last year or so. The crib is too big for our closet so she's been sleeping in a Pack 'n Play in there. One reason Trixie needed her own room was so she wouldn't have to sleep in a Pack 'n Play anymore. The other reason is that Alex and I were growing tired of having to whisper all the time in our room.
I should add, please don't think we are bad parents for putting Trixie in our closet!! We have a very large walk in closet with a window and everything. Having her in the closet was a nice way to have her nearby but not so near that we were waking her up every time we rolled over in bed.
Now Trixie has her own room and it is such a sweet space. She transitioned well to sleeping in a different bed. Johnny has been very interested in the crib as well. He calls it "Trixie's cozy bed." I made the mistake of letting them go in the crib together and now that's what Johnny wants to do every time we're in Trixie's room.
//6//
We put the Pack 'n Play in the attic leaving more room in our closet. I'm not sure what we're going to put in the space yet. Maybe my yarn stash, which is still in Trixie's closet. For now I have just hung a curtain in the doorway to the closet and am choosing not to worry about it.
//7//
Now that we no longer store Trixie's clothes in our room I wanted to create some more functional spaces. Our room is very small, but I was still able to make two spots where can work or relax.
One is the desk. We've had the desk in our room for about a year, but it has always ended being more a landing place for all of Alex's text books than an actual work space. We had a super old silver Ikea book shelf that we painted white and put next to the desk. The books are now on the book shelf and the desk is on it's way to being cleared off and ready for use.
We also moved the rocking chair that had been in the old TV room into our room. I wanted to have a little spot where I can knit or write, especially in the winter months when our lower level is very cold and drafty. It's a cozy little corner and I think I'll really enjoy using it.
Now we're done with our indoor projects and trying to be outside and enjoying the beautiful weather as much as possible. Have a great weekend!
For more quick takes visit This Ain't the Lyceum.