Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Wordful Wednesday - Nursery Makeover: Before

What I'm about to show you is an incredibly messy, disorganized, boring nursery.

Before Kaylee was born, I chose to decorate her room in a theme of ladybugs and dragonflies. The colors were red, pink, and sage green. I had a matching curtain thing, hamper, and little wall decals that I thought were just the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Back then, I thought, "This is a smart choice. It's cute, it's girly, it's not Pepto Bismol pink everywhere, and it's a theme that will grow with her for a few years."

Silly, silly pregnant lady.

Let me tell you something.

I am SO over the ladybugs and dragonflies, and I have been for quite some time. I wish I'd just chosen a color scheme - that way I could have incorporated new things, taken some things out, kept it fresh...but no. No - I had to go with the silly little theme, and then I got sick of it.

So, one day not long ago, I took pretty much everything off the walls, and I rearranged her room - a fresh start, if you will. I used to have some painted wooden letters that spelled her name, a few of the decals on the wall, and a couple other hanging items.

Now, the walls are bare, and it's driving me batty.

Her nursery needed some serious reorganization, so I decided that I would get everything organized, and then once that was under control (which it is SO close to being!), I'd decorate the walls.

My plans? Minimize the ladybugs/dragonfly theme. Put photographs and artwork up on the wall. Add more stuff to help keep things better organized. Eliminate the dresser.

So, here are the boring before pictures (and remember - it wasn't always like this - this is just the bare bones, starting over phase)...

This is what it looks like when you enter. BORING.


















Crib, changing table - bare wall. What else can I say?














I just put that ladybug thing on the chair so you could see it. My sister-in-law made it for Kaylee from scratch, just by looking at the ladybugs from all the match-matchy ladybug stuff. That will be up on one of the walls for sure. I love it.














Here's the window to the outside world. I think I want to ditch the little curtain thing and go with a solid color. I'm thinking of red, to match the lamp, and to break up some of the other pink stuff (sheets, diaper organizers, hamper, etc.). The nightstand is staying, even though it really doesn't get used, because I think we need a place to set stuff like a humidier, etc.













Bigger view of the wall with the window















Lovely little mess there, eh? Welcome to life with a toddler. The dresser? It's going to its new home in the garage. I took everything out of it a few days ago, only to discover that 90% of what was in there is too small. After I hung some stuff in the closet, only about 1 drawer was being used, so it's going. It's taking up way too much space that could be used for playing.



















And, now we're at the closet. I believe, in part, that closets exist so that you can give yourself the illusion that a room is clean, even when it's not, simply by tossing everything that's all over the place into the closet. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Except, it wasn't exactly out of sight because I saw this horrific mess every time I went to get Kaylee some clothes. I'm happy to report that the closet is probably 90% organized and is looking fabulous.


















So, there you have it. In the coming weeks, I'll be showing pictures of the progress each Wednesday. I'm already pretty excited because I've made a lot of progress since I took these pictures.

Want to share your tips on keeping your kid's room organized and clean? Got any fun decorating tips? Leave a comment and share them!


Head on over to Angie's place at 7 Clown Circus to check out more Wordful Wednesday posts from other bloggers.

10 comments:

Muthering Heights said...

Bins, bins, and more bins...that's the only way I can keep my kids' things put away!

Young Momma said...

Oh man! I thought my sons closet was bad! lol You're not alone girlie! I've been trying to get a grasp on my kids birthday for the last year. Maybe I'll post some pictures too! :)

Liz Mays said...

It's gonna be cute! It looks to be a good sized room too.

Momma@Live. Laugh. Pull your hair out said...

Good luck! Cant wait to see more pics!

Molly said...

Don't you just love kids pulling everything out of the dresser?!?
I just went with teal and brown, so we have patterns, but nothing too printy. I move the furniture around like every 2 months too, because I get bored. :)

Brenda said...

Can't wait to see the progress, its always fun to see other peoples ideas.

Susie said...

I am with Muthering Heights! Bins are the answer!

Anonymous said...

I have the exact same design in my daughter's room. She's only 9 months old so I'm still digging it.

Deb said...

i can't wait to see the transformation! i love redecorating. i know it will be adorable.

Jenners said...

What a fun project. I'm sure you'll come up with something fantastic. I did the same thing ... I went with a stars and moon theme and then just really didn't care for it. Plus he never even slept in his nursery so it was all for nothing. Now his room is a mish mash of Diego, Cars, Transformers and animals.

 
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