ROOMS

I don't think I've posted pictures of the boys' rooms (except Will's) and I want to remember them at this stage forever so I took advantage of a clean house the other day and snapped away.

This is Gabe's room. I actually liked it a little more when it was a nursery because his crib bedding matched so perfectly. I was worried about the day when we moved the crib out and I'd have to find "boys" bedding in pastel colors to match his walls. I thought about this AFTER I'd painted of course... :) This quilt couldn't have been more perfect. I've called him my "little monkey" since the day he was born with all of his jet black hair on his head and down his back so I've always collected ANYTHING and EVERYTHING monkey for him. A friend of mine bought this set from Target for her son's room and the minute I saw it I KNEW it was what I needed for Gabe's. It had the lighter colors of his wall in the quilt, mixed with darker more boyish colors as contrast AND to top it off, was COVERED in monkeys!! The only problem was it was a discontinued Target line and my only source to find it was Ebay. GRRrr. I watched auctions for it for WEEKS, and they always ended WAY over $100 plus $25 or more for shipping which I just didn't want to pay. FINALLY I found one that was "buy it now" at $65 with free shipping AND a free coordinating pillow and light switch cover! I was SOOOOO excited. I also made the three pictures on his shelf which say "beautiful little monkey" in the darker colors to tie in the darker colors of the quilt. I do like the way it turned out a lot, but keep wondering if I should shade the outside edges of the stripes in the darker shades to make it look a little more rugged. ANYWAY....sorry you had to sit through the novel...this is just stuff I want to remember later! :)






This is Josh and Sam's room. It used to be the 4th car garage area, but was finished as an extra room that has been used as a storage room for the last few years. When Mark went on his MBA trip to Paris last May I used the time to pack up EVERYTHING in the storage room (the stuff is actually stuff that belongs to my mom) labeled everything and moved it into the garage, had a yard sale AND painted book shelves. I truly don't remember another time in my life that I've worked so hard for SO LONG. Mark was gone for ten days and I don't think I rested the entire time. I never got more than 4 hours of sleep each night AND I was 6 months pregnant! It was SO exhausting but SO SO SO worth it. I think I was fueled on determination and the fact that I could picture the way I wanted it to look and I was so excited to reach that point. The fact that I was "nesting" probably didn't hurt either. :) Also worth mentioning, the shelves with the blue curtains on either side is their closet. There wasn't a closet in the room so I had to improvise and make one. I love that they have their OWN space and each side has 3 levels of curtain rods so I can organize their summer/winter/church clothes a little more effectively. The shelves in the middle are for organizing the clothes that they will wear during the week. This gets done some weeks and others it doesn't....truthfully MOST weeks it doesn't get done, but at least it's a goal! :) I really couldn't have done it all without the help of my sis and her family. Jeff came by and helped move and secure shelves, Shar and Erika helped pack and move boxes and Elise stayed the ENTIRE day of the yard sale and played with the kids AND cleaned my house! LOVE them!!!

My favorite part of decorating their room was adding the art/computer area. I think I made about 15 trips to Lowes by the time the 10 days were over picking up shelves, and getting the wood for the peg board and the art/homework table. I picked up the totes and trash bin from Ikea which I think is what sparked the idea to make the table. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it turned out and the boys love it too. They've really been great about keeping it clean and organized and it has been perfect for giving them a quiet place to study when things are going crazy in the house. It really is a good room for them with lots of space to play.