Thursday, July 28, 2011

Master of our Domain

After seeing the not-yet-a-nursery, you might think we’re not making any progress around here in regards to baby adjustments. But no! Let me remind you, that in order for that room to be cleared out at all, Dustin and I had to make a pretty big change. We had to learn to share. A room that is. And by that I mean we had to consolidate our clothes storage into one room…we’re already pretty good at sharing a bedroom (I mean, we’re having a baby…!) but our clothes needed to share space. And this was something I was pretty worried about. But it’s going surprisingly well! Everything found a home (it helped that we got rid of a TON of stuff), and I’ve even had better luck keeping my things picked up, since I can’t just toss things all over the floor and bed, shut the door and walk away.

But it wasn’t as simple as just moving my clothes over to our bedroom- we had a to do a bit of a furniture switch-a-roo. And on top of that, we were in the middle of a bit of a makeover in this room (which explains why I’ve never really spotlighted it on the blog). But if I wait for it to be 100% finished (or even 75%, really) it might never go on here, so on with the show!

First- the before:

As in, way before. This is what the room looked like when we toured the house. Not bad…especially compared to the “four seasons room” or the “triplet’s bedroom”, but not exactly our taste. So in the great pre-move-in painting frenzy, we chose a light beachy teal for the walls, and went to town.

The after:




This is pretty much how the room was for the last few years. I liked it…but didn’t love it. In fact, it was probably one of my least favorite rooms in the house (which isn’t as bad as it sounds, because we have some rooms I really love). For whatever reason, it just didn’t feel like me (or us). But it sort of felt silly to redo it, when there wasn’t anything wrong with it, especially when there were so many other things that are much higher on the priority list (i.e. kitchen, bathroom, and pretty much everything else around here). Luckily, Dustin supports my particular brand of crazy, and agreed to repaint the room.

The color I chose….wait for it….dark teal!

After living with a dusty teal for three years, I finally had the opportunity to change it, and I just wanted a new version of basically the same thing. But no! It is different! So very different! And not even just to my crazy-picky designer eye (is that giving me to much credit?) After seeing a pic in an online magazine, I fell in love with Benjamin Moore’s “surf blue”, and knew that’s what the new room had to be built around. But I was worried about the room being too dark (Imagine! Me? Painting a room too dark? Impossible!) so I compromised, and decided an accent wall would accomplish the look, without making the room into an ocean cave. (P.s. if you are shuddering right now, don’t feel bad. The words “accent wall” pretty much make me want to gag, as I picture bad Trading Spaces episodes from the 90’s. But stick around, I think this one turns out ok.) So I had the Home Depot paint guy match the photo, and then……you know the next step here folks…..add black, ensuring I would love the deep, rich result. We also picked up some white paint for the walls- and here’s where the learning curve kicks in- it ended up SOOO white. So very white. It served as an ok primer to cover the previous color, but we had to go back for new swatches, and choose a less-white white to save the white trim from looking like the ever popular shade “Smoker’s Teeth”. Having averted that crisis, we were on to the decorating, which was 90% placing old items back in the room, adding in just a few new touches.

Annnnnnd….after:


Again- not finished by any means, but oh so very much better. To me anyway.



We added some frames and accessories, I painted some canvases for the focal wall (after drawing in Illustrator, and making some stencils), and we popped a new pillow on the bed (a surprise no-reason present from my husband. The very best kind of present.) And that was pretty much it for the overhaul.

Oh- and then there are these little ditties- my great unfinished dream.


I somehow got my heart set on striped curtains, and COULD. NOT. FORTHELIFEOFME. find any. So I set to making them myself. But not making striped curtains out of striped fabric. No no no. This, after all, was a Courtney Project, and one half of the Courtney Project parameters is that it has to be WAY too complicated. So I made my own striped fabric. That I then made into curtains. And the other half of the CP rules? Leaving said project unfinished as long as possible. See those hems, and that lining? No? Well that’s because I haven’t done it. But that doesn’t stop me from hanging them, and taking pictures for the entire internet to see and judge! Ta-da! (p.s. if you have a great link to striped curtains, or even striped fabric, or even even a how-to that’s way easier than the mess I’ve made, I will thank you kindly to keep it to yourself. We are too far down the path now. Stubbornness will push us the rest of the way.)

But even these afters are really technically "before"s. Because though the repainting project is still fresh in my mind, after looking at the date of the photos, it seems we completed that last August. Yikes. (in my defense, I didn't start the curtains until January, so I'm not actually as behind as you might think.) So it seems we've been living with the new color for quite a while...

But now for the reason you came here (actually I have no idea what that would be at this point…) the results of the great clothing merge! Once we got the room looking somewhat how we wanted it...of course it was time to tear it apart again to make room for my stuff. Luckily at this point, with just a bit of shifting and swapping, we were able to make it work.

It was quite simple really- my “everyday” clothes got consolidated from my closet and armoire into just the armoire.


Dustin kept the closet and dresser for 98% of his things. Dress pants and blazers (surprise! These ragamuffins actually own such things!) are in the guest room closet. And anything of mine that has to hang, (plus shoes, bathing suits, and workout gear) is in the huge (and completely full) hall closet.


Oh- and my “jewelry table" has been relocated to the top of Dustin’s dresser. I wouldn’t say he’s thrilled about this, but I’ve saved him a place for the 4 watches he never wears, and the gobs of change he collects somehow despite never paying for anything in cash. It’s all about compromise, right?

The new arrangement has worked out quite well, and though we could stand to dress up the room a bit (or maybe just hem some dang curtains!) to me, it’s looking pretty good.

2 comments :

  1. Even though there are numerous lines in here that made me chuckle, I can't stop giggling like a school girl over the line about the change on Dustin's dresser. That same thing happens to me! Where does the change come from?

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  2. So yeah you can pretty much never come to my house...virtually, or otherwise! Your designer eye would start twitching and convulsing uncontrollably!

    I can't wait to see what happens when you hit the "nesting" stage of pregnancy!

    ps. The room is of course, awesome!

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