School Room

Early this year when I first started planning  Allie's move into Maggie's room, I had many ideas for what would now be a spare room. They mostly involved an extension of the playroom- the tv area, but I wasn't sure if the couch would fit, a craft area for the kids, a restaurant with the play kitchen and table, a lego room, combination of things, etc. But in the back of my mind I thought turning it into a school room would be the most useful.

Once another year of homeschool was official (at the kids' request) and Allie was moved, I was certain this was the best idea. The dining room was always a mess and plenty of noise ensued right outside Daniel's office. So this move was going to be good. Being right off the playroom would be a distraction but also would allow me to keep an eye on the littles more plus bring them into the classroom more easily.

Allie made her big move in June but we didn't start work on the transformation until the beginning of August. I'm sure some of this was my inner need to make a slow transition from a nursery. Accepting that I'm having no more babies and that part of our life is over. No more baby bed, glider or mobile. Time moves on and so we must as well. I'm not saying I want another baby, but change is hard. It's the end of an era. My babies are growing up. My youngest is already 3. Just crazy. Anyway...let's get back on track.

After Allie moved, I searched and searched for pictures of her baby nursery. I could not find any! I remember taking pictures. Even if I didn't before we brought her home, I remember taking them when I made her birth sign and had her big baby picture printed. Daniel recalled me taking them as well. They must be lost on a card somewhere, who knows. I was so upset. It did not make this transition easier. It wasn't the original setup, the bookcase has been broken since then, but I took these semi-before pics.

It all started with the table. You gotta have a table, it's the biggest must have for any school room. I checked Craigslist for awhile with no luck and finally stumbled upon this at a thrift store for $15. It sat in the family room/kitchen area a couple days before I took it to the garage for painting.  

On August 5th, I got to work re-painting the room. I kept the color the same b/c the green is nice but needed a fresh coat. I was surprised by two things: that the new green was several shades darker even though I took the original can to Lowe's for matching and I still had to do 2 coats, 3 on some edges even though it was the same color! Will wanted to help so I let him roll while I cut in. He helped the first coat go up pretty quick. 

And there we have it! Time to start on the table, get the shelves hung and move everything in. Some friends gave us a great idea for shelves, so we headed to the Container Store to pick some up ourselves. I had a similar idea- to get wood and brackets from Lowe's- but this was a more streamlined solution than Daniel building what I wanted, albeit more expensive. Daniel started on those the day after I painted and I got to work on the table.

I used a white paint I have on hand and sealed with polyacryclic- had to buy that though since I tried polyurethane first. I also did some shopping. I wanted a reading area with bean bags but couldn't find ones I liked so I ended up with this dog bed from Home Goods, ha! It's comfy and the kids love it. I also found the perfect shelf organizer, a clock and pictures shelves used to store books for our reading area from Target. The closet was aptly used as storage while I worked.

Crazy how much I collected from one year of homeschooling. Well, a lot of the books we already owned but still plenty was acquired over the year. And the room starts to take shape.

The kids helping daddy put together the organizer. I was really proud of my solution for the calendar pieces below. I punched two holes in a ziploc bag, tied string through it and hung on a command hook. I'm very happy with my little solution. :)

I worked all weekend long to get the room finished before Allie's birthday so I could focus on her that day. I'm very pleased with how everything turned out. I couldn't do a $50 room makeover like some people do, but aside from the shelves where my desk is, everything was a bargain. The organizer was on sale at Target, the clock was a steal, the picture ledges were reasonable and everything else I already owned and re-purposed, from last school year or bought from the dollar store or Target's dollar spot. Even a lot of the stuff I got last year was from those two places.

The room is basically finished-- I would like to add some curtains and a "Read" sign above our reading nook--- and we really love it. I initially planned to have a canopy there as well but I don't think that will work after all. Daniel even moved the fans so the pretty pink one is in the girls' room and a regular fan is in here. :) I'm really obsessed with apples now, btw. Must be a teacher thing. ;)