Hello everyone! Hopefully you all had a fun and safe Halloween and haven't eaten all the candy yet. Braxton still doesn't quite get the whole trick or treat thing, but he didn't hate it as much as last year. And he didn't seem to mind his costume too much either, so that helped. We just visited the grandparents again since our monster didn't want to walk up to people's houses. The sidewalk is much more exciting.
Today I want to share a before and after of a dresser I updated to fit into Braxton's big boy room. The original dresser we had in the room was a dresser I had as a kid. It was an antique that my parents gave me and I was terrified that it was going to get ruined. So instead of trying to keep it safe, we opted to give it back to my parents and replace it with a used dresser that we wouldn't care as much about. I was able to find this dresser off of a local buy and sell group on Facebook for $40.
Well it's finally done. I told you I would have an update about the big boy room soon, and here it is. I can't believe how long things can take sometimes, especially when you have a toddler that has decided that naps aren't for him anymore. It's a daily struggle, but so far I am "winning" (if you can call a cranky toddler a win).
[If you missed out on previous posts, you can find the plan here and the first update here]
Today I want to share the completed room as far as construction goes. I still have quite a bit of decorating to get done, but so far I am happy with how it has turned out. I left off after we had just finished the painting and were about to start the trim. We used primed 4-inch MDF boards for the trim (the same that we used in the nursery) and did two coats of white semi gloss paint before they went up:
Once all of the boards were ready Luis broke out the miter saw and trimmed the room out. It didn't take too long for him to power through this, even with a closet to trim out with low shelves (I'm sure he was really loving me while he did that).
As it can go when you are renovating, unexpected things can happen. The first thing that happened was that the ceiling needed to be painted something fierce. The previous owners did a terrible job with painting pretty much everything, so we have slowly been updating every painted surface. The second thing was that the new trim wasn't covering the gaps between the flooring and the walls:
Not exactly what you want to see after you have put up new trim. A quick run to the hardware store for some quarter-round and a few extra cuts and nails and the problem was solved. Now it was time to fill the holes, mud the joints and corners, caulk along the tops of the trim and do a coat of the trim paint.
How's that for a huge change? Doesn't it look so amazing now compared to the old yucky trim? I'm ready to do this in the rest of the upper level and main floor today. Luis has some objections though. I guess I can wait and just enjoy this room for the time being.
It is amazing what some paint and new trim can do to transform a space. As you can see above we did not replace the window or door trim, we will do that when we replace the window and door. We aren't exactly sure when that will happen, but since they both work fine on a daily basis they aren't at the top of the list.
Now that the room is toddler friendly, we moved Braxton's bed and some furniture in here. He loves this room and he spent the first 20 minutes play screaming to hear the echo and grinning after each scream.
And speaking of lists, here's the updated to-do list for the big boy room:
- Remove everything from the room
- Remove closet doors
(we are going to go with no closet door until Braxton is a little older.
I like having the closet open so I don't need to worry about him
getting his fingers caught or the cats wanting to hide in there)
- Remove old trim
- Prime over the dark green and paint walls lighter tone
- Install new trim and paint white
- Paint window trim (we will be replacing the windows eventually, but until then the trim needs to be painted)
- Find bedding (we are
going to leave the mattress on the floor for the first little bit until
Braxton is used to having no rails)
- Make art to hang on the walls
- Make teepee to fit in his room
- Make some pillows to make the teepee comfy
- Get storage solution for clothes in the closet
So close! I am hoping to get the storage solution shortly as well as making some art. The teepee might take a little bit, but Braxton won't be in the room sleeping for a little bit. Until then, I am going to sit back and watch him Benny Hill style run between all the rooms upstairs joyfully screaming his face off.
Kerby
Hey there, I am so happy to be able to share some progress in Braxton's big boy room with you guys. It doesn't seem like we got a ton done, but when you spend four days painting in every spare moment you have (including naps and baby-free hours) it feels like you climbed a mountain.
Last time I showed you the room it was full of crap stuff. As a refresh to what the paint colour used to be, here is a picture of the room cleaned out:
Hello everyone, hopefully everyone is enjoying the warmer weather. Braxton has been itching to go outside and walk for weeks, so I have been indulging in sunny walks whenever I can.
That being said, my little guy isn't so little anymore which is bumming me out. Braxton has recently started to try climb things and his crib is the main thing that he is testing out. We are terrified that he is going to fall out because we have hardwood floors upstairs, so we thought we would start the process of a big boy room. He has always been slow to transition (i.e. stubborn as heck), so starting early is probably in our best interest. I cannot believe that I am already starting plan out Braxton's big boy room.
We are going to move him into the spare bedroom, which has just been a storage/dumping ground for the last few years. Here is what it looks like currently. Please excuse the mess, we are in the process of moving everything to store, sell, donate or throw away:
