A Big Boy Room

So with the new baby on its way, we started thinking about where it would go. In order to have new kid near our room on the 2nd floor, we needed to shuffle bedrooms with the first kiddo and move him up to the third floor. We decided to put him in the room that is currently being used as an office, and repurposing the 4th bedroom into an office/guest room. Because we want him to move into his new room before the baby arrives, in order to not feel pushed out, and because we have a lot of guests  coming this summer and need extra beds - we decided to get started now.

Emptying out the Office
The office was one of the least furnished rooms in the house - so it didn't take much effort to empty it out. We moved the small desk, chair, and bookcase into the 4th bedroom, which had plenty of room to absorb the extra furniture.

the office

fireplace and closet

the other wall

Planning and Shopping
Then, after measuring the walls (and the door - which is the real limitation), we made some furniture decisions. For his bed, we opted for a twin-sized bed with a trundle bed underneath - something my brother had when we were kids that seemed useful. UK beds are slightly different sizes than US beds, so I'm hoping that sheets won't be an issue in the future. For bedtime stories, we picked a small 2-seater couch that will barely squeeze through the door but hopefully fit two people. We also picked a new bookcase that will hopefully be just tall enough to fit his taller books. My hope with all the furniture is that these are nicer things that will move back home with us and last for a few years.

For softer stuff, the room sort of fell into a calm, blue and green color scheme. I tried to get his input on bedding, but he didn't have a lot of patience with me. We wanted something he would like but not outgrow too quickly, so we ended up with some cars and trucks, as well as just stripes. The rug was a neutral pick, just something big and soft, with lots of lines for driving cars on.

1. A single bed with a trundle
2. A solid bookcase
3. A 2-seater couch 
4. A neutral rug
5. A very soft and furry pillow for the couch
6. Car sheets
7. Stripe sheets
8. A subtle car quilt

Putting it All Together
Thankfully, the rug arrived first, and was easy to put down in an empty room. Then the bed came in lots of boxes - that I slowly carried upstairs and put together with some help. The bedding also arrived quickly - which allowed us to get the bed completely made up - just in time for our first guest to try out. After that, I did some shuffling of end tables to move an existing table upstairs, but swapped out the boring handles with some great double-decker bus handles.

bed getting built

new bedding and side table

closeup of the handles

view of the window

So he is all excited, and likes to check on the new room every few days. Unfortunately, to fit all the furniture in there, the bed has to go on the wall with the window - so that the existing curtains (which are ugly anyway) don't really work. So, next up - I'm going to make some new ones. 

Introducing the Master Suite Project

So, as I last posted, we are finally moving forward with both the kitchen and master suite projects. Because we installed skylights based on our planned changes to the floorplan, they are in awkward spots in the current floorplan, forcing us to complete the project. Adding plumbing and electrical for this new upstairs bathroom will involve knocking some holes in the kitchen below, so we are doing both projects at the same time. Here's the story on the master suite part of the project:

Work Done So Far:
First, a look at how this space got to where it is now.

• When we first moved in, there was a big closet in the spare room next to our bedroom, and the sleeping porch was a disgusting mess because it was surrounded with the crankable windows made of lots of small panes of glass.

original sleeping porch

• In the big renovation of 2014, they closed in the sleeping porch with real windows and siding. They also installed the washer/dryer in the closet of the spare room, moving the closet door so that it could be accessed from the hall. 

closet getting prepped for new W/D

 sleeping porch gets closed in

• Last spring, I got frustrated with the crappy master closet and hung some shelves and a closet rod in the spare room, where the walk-in closet should be. 

I take over the spare room

• Last fall, we put up sheetrock in the sleeping porch, but stopped short of actually finishing it. 

sheetrock going up

this is as far as we got

• Then, just a couple weeks ago, we had new skylights installed based on the final layout, which are in awkward spots in the current layout. We can't actually see them because the ceiling is still in the way.  

see look - there's a skylight up there! 

Layout
The reason we want to create a master suite is partially because the current layout is awkward and wasted. The spare room is too small to be a real bedroom, and no longer has a closet. The sleeping porch is also long, narrow, and useless. Speaking of long, narrow, and useless, the current master closet is a total waste of space because you can't see what's in it. Also, we only have one full bath in the house that we share with guests and the kiddo - so we thought having a second one would really add value to the house.

The new layout creates a new walk-in closet and demolishes the old, current one to make the master bedroom bigger. In the remaining part of the spare room, we add a double vanity and the toilet. Then we open up the current window into a door, and put a shower and bath tub out on the sleeping porch. The other half of the sleeping porch becomes an office.

Design
The current style of this space is pretty lacking. I have tried to fix up the bedroom before, but it always looks pretty lame, mostly due to the lack of natural light, which should be fixed by the new skylights. The sleeping porch/office obviously, is still not finished, so there is no style speak of at all. I would like one cohesive space that feels calm and pulled together. And the spare room is basically just a big mess, with my closet exposed and piles of other stuff that seem to accumulate.

I have previously posted my design plans for the bedroom and the new office - but now I'm trying to shift to thinking about this as one cohesive space, instead of a couple awkward rooms. So the general plan is similar to the kitchen, with greys and blues, white marble in the bathroom, lots of walnut wood accents.

1. This is our current grey-blue wall color
2. New curtains for the windows
3. A small desk with storage
4. A comfy reading chair that ideally folds out into a twin bed
5. Pretty pillow
6. A real headboard
7. Our current blue/grey quilt
8. New fancy sheets with bluish trim
9. I love this dresser for either the bedroom or bath vanity
10. Bronze fixtures and faucets 
11. Freestanding bathroom storage
12. Marble hex tile for the floor and big tiles for the shower walls
13. Blue towels!

The Work Plan

As I mentioned before, the plan is not to use a general contractor, but to hire the subs directly and do some of the work ourselves to reduce cost. We will hire out the demo, framing, plumbing, electrical, and sheetrock - then we'll take over and do the paint, installing fixtures and finishes.

Having both projects going at the same time is going to save us money and time, but it will make it even more miserable to live with. Thankfully, we can simply move over to the guest bedroom and use the current bathroom and generally stay clear of this area while the work happens. 

Introducing the Kitchen Project

As a couple of people who both really like to cook and entertain, our kitchen has been a disappointment from the moment we moved in. We made a number of significant changes to the room already, but weren't able to do a full renovation. Now that the skylights are installed upstairs, we have to do the master suite project, which will involve tearing up the kitchen for plumbing and electrical, so we're going to do the kitchen at the same time. We're about to start another major renovation.

Work Done So Far
First - a quick look back on what's already happened and how we got to where we are:

• So, when we first moved in, the kitchen was a small room with cabinets all on one side, a huge pantry, and a wall separating it from the dining room. It was immediately clear that there was not enough counterspace or cabinet space, and only one drawer. We put a small table against the wall to help, but it was clear the room needed a lot more work.

yikes. I forgot how yellow the trim used to be.

view towards the dining room- pantry on the left.

• During the Great Renovation of 2014, our contractors took out the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, which was great because it opened up the rooms and made them both feel bigger, but not great because now you had to look at the kitchen while you sat in the dining room. They removed the massive walk-in pantry to make the space into a halfbath, which left all of our things with nowhere to go. We brought in two massive shelves for temporary storage, which were really unattractive.

wall comes down

view from the dining room - pantry shelves on the right

• Then, in 2015 before starting the nannyshare and worrying about the shelves crushing our newborn - (actually, I was much more worried about the other kid getting injured) - we got rid of the wire rack and brought in two huge cheapo cabinets to hold all the small appliances and add extra counterspace. The other wire rack acting as our pantry was moved out onto the unfinished mudroom space.

new cheapo cabinets for storage and lots of counterspace

pantry lives out on in the mudroom

• Then, last summer we finally finished the mudroom, which meant the pantry had to move again, so we bought two more cabinets to go on the back of the island for the pantry. We also finally closed up the open holes that the contractors had left 2 years earlier and hung some shelves. So this is where we are now.

new shallow cabinets on the island become our pantry

view from the dining room

Problems with the Current Kitchen
There are a bunch of problems with this room that prevent it from being anywhere close to my dream kitchen. Let's start with the layout.

 

the current layout - crowded and lopsided

• The cabinets and outlets are all squeezed in the corner, right between the stove and fridge - so as soon as anyone wants a cup of coffee, a plate, or to use the microwave, they are in the way of anyone else trying to use the fridge or stove. Generally, I want to stretch out and spread out the main work areas, so that it's possible to have two people in there at the same time.  I want to create a small wall for the coffee maker, microwave, and glasses and dishes - so that it's possible to pop into the kitchen for those basic things, without getting in the way of the main work areas.  
• The counter space is not near the appliances or sink, so we are constantly carrying things back and forth from the fridge, to the counter, to the stove- making it even harder to have multiple people in there at the same time. More counterspace on either side of the stove and sink would really help, as would having things stored in the cabinet where they will actually be used (like knives and cutting boards by the sink). 

crowded corner is our big problem area

As for appearance: 

• The upper cabinets don't go all the way across the room, so it always looks lopsided to me. I want some balance. 
• I really hate the granite and the orangey-wood cabinets that our predecessor put in - they are super dated and make the room darker. The cheapo white cabinets that we bought of course look cheap, and clash against the older ones. 
• The floor is a plasticky laminate that is super slippery when wet (which is why we have that hideous rug on the floor). It was also installed over the previous floor, so the whole kitchen is about an inch higher than the rest of the first floor, which makes everyone trip.
• The walls are a painted, textured wallpaper, which is constantly filthy. The walls are also like three different levels, which makes the cabinets bump in and out. 
• There aren't enough lighting options - so it's either way too bright or too dark. I would like some pendants, more recessed lights, and under cabinet options too.

trying to take a pic of the floor height issue - can't take a camera out without the boy running over (total ham).

New Layout

The new plan moves the sink and dishwasher to the island, which be the primary prep area, with items like cutting boards and knives. The stove moves down the wall, with cabinets and counterspace on either side, creating a second prep area between it and the fridge. Beside the fridge will be a real pantry cabinet. My favorite part though is the small wall on the left. This will be shallow base cabinets that create just enough of a counter for a dedicated coffee station, with a microwave below, out of the way of the rest of the kitchen. We will add outlets to the island, which will store all the small appliances.  Generally, the cabinets will store the stuff based on how the counter above will be used - with really obvious changes like storing pots and pans by the stove to minimize travel time.  With two major prep areas, and other stuff out of the way, we should easily be able to get at least 2 cooks in the kitchen without stepping on each other.

the new layout - fridge and stove on top, sink in island

view from the mudroom

view from the dining room

The Design Plan
We've been eyeing a lot of kitchen pictures lately, and come up with a white marble on white cabinets plan because we need as much light as possible. Yes, it's pretty trendy and will someday look very 2010s, but aren't kitchens always that way? I've yet to find a kitchen design that is truly timeless - hopefully this one will stay around long enough for us to sell our house in a couple years. We are debating having dark blue bottom cabinets, maybe just on the island.

1. Wood shelves (already there)
2. Marble counters and subway backsplash
3. Same offwhite color as the mudroom for the walls, maybe the dark blue one bottom cabinets
4. Same pendent as the mudroom, bronze faucet
5. White cabinets, shaker door, thinking Ikea
6. Navy accents for towels and a rug
7. Wood floors (replaced if needed)

The Work Plan

I've spent the last month tweaking the design and layout, so now I think we're really ready to get started. We're working on getting permits now, and then will start to reach out for quotes. The plan is to not use a general contractor, but to hire the trades individually instead to save costs. We will do some of the work ourselves, like installing the cabinets and tile, but hire out major stuff like plumbing and electrical, and maybe the demo and sheetrock too. 

Living in a construction site is never easy, but living without a kitchen is particularly hard. We're going to do what we can to move this along as quickly as possible, while relying on things like the grill and outdoor table, and probably lots of takeout. 

As I mentioned, the plan is to do the kitchen at the same time as the master suite because we will have to tear up floors and walls to install plumbing and electrical.  More on the master suite plan next. 

Introducing the Half Bath and Mudroom Project

Okey dokey - so part of our big House Shape-Up plan is to finally close in and finish the halfbath/mudroom area. We have contractors on site shoring up the structure, plumbing and electric in this space, so we've been busy planning and shopping to figure out what we want these rooms to be.

First, let's do a quick review of how these spaces got to where they are today. When we bought the house, this was a large pantry off of the kitchen, which was next to the back door that opened out onto a small back porch and the brick steps down to the yard.

the old pantry 

pantry door - view from the kitchen

Then, during the Great Renovation, we hired a team to knock down the pantry walls and close in part of the old back porch, moving the back door back to the edge of the porch floor. 

the new floor plans for the Great Renovation of 2014

on the back porch, the wall of the pantry comes down

from the back - the new half bath gets closed in and the new back door is moved

the back door gets moved to the other side of the old back porch, creating a new mudroom

the half bath gets a window

Then the team started pre-plumbing the area so that it would be ready to turn into a half bath, but stopped there. About a year later, we got desperate for a spare toilet while our upstairs floors were being refinished, so we added the toilet, but nothing else. 

the half bath gets partially plumbed 

new toilet really finishes the space up. 

Lastly, not really part of these rooms but related - we had the old brick steps removed and replaced with fancy new metal stairs in order to give us a landing area to make it easier to get in and out of the door, fixing one of the unintended consequences of moving the back door out. 

old broken brick steps are replaced with these fancy new ones

So - that's where these spaces have been for the last few months. They are the dumping grounds for a lot of junk, including the pantry, a massive pile of shoes, and lots of other random stuff. Obviously, they could be much more functional and attractive, and with the plywood floors and open ceilings - they could be a lot safer for the boy.

Since both rooms are so small and right next to each other, we're going to renovate them together with the same overall design plan. The goal is for the two rooms to be light and bright, and look like they've always been there. The mudroom will flow into the future kitchen, so we want to keep that design in mind so things don't clash. They should be consistent with the rest of the house, so we want  the same dark wood and metal accents that we have going elsewhere, plus some blue because I love blue.

Here's the design plan:

1. A glassy and bronzey pendant light for the mudroom
2. Some fabric for curtains and fouta hand towels
3. Oil-rubbed bronze fixtures for contrast
4. A removable wallpaper
5. Wainscoting for character
6. Penny tile for the floor
7. A white pedestal sink
8. Some serene but interesting artwork
9. A live-edge shelf

Workwise, there's a lot to do, and we are going to do as much of it ourselves as we can, with some contractor help to get it finished as quickly as possible.

1. The contractor will install a radiator to heat the spaces and fix the plumbing so it vents properly. He will run electric lines for new overhead lights and outlets in each room, and also sheetrock the walls and ceilings. 
2. We will then paint the ceilings, and maybe add wainscoting and wallpaper. 
3. We will then tile the floor, in something that won't be slippery if wet. 
4. Then we will hang the pocket door and add trim. 
5. Last, we will install the fixtures and accessories.

The goal is to finish this up as quickly as we can so that this is a functional space, and the house doesn't look like it's under construction anymore. 

The Kid's Room

We are working on the office, as planned, but we hit a bit of a snag. I'm getting a little nervous that we won't have time to finish the office before starting on the kid's room and be done in time- so we're going to switch gears and get started now.  Hopefully we can still finish both rooms by the big deadline. More on the office snag coming soon.

the current office

So, the kid's room. You already know that we are planning to use our current office as the kid's room. Thankfully, there isn't much in the way of renovating to do in here, so this should mostly just be a decorating project. I want to refinish the floors and touch up some paint, but otherwise things are pretty much ready to go. A couple of goals for the room:

• Spend money on the things that will last, be thrifty on the temporary stuff.  I'm generally blown away with how much money we're going to have to spend for supplies/toys for the kid that will be useless in a few months. So, as much as possible, we want to avoid wasting money on the temporary stuff and try to invest wisely in the things that will hang around. I'm thinking that means an adjustable crib that turns into a bed, a nice dresser that can be used as a changing table, a decent rug, but cheap wall art and fabric.
• Create a gender-neutral spot that works for Next Kid. Assuming there is a Next Kid, it could be a girl. So the things we invest in need to work for girl too. I'm picturing lots of gray and white and geometric designs. I'm not big on gender stereotypes, so we want to avoid sports themes and that sort of thing- but maybe some blue stuff that's cheap and can be replaced is ok.
• Add lots of visual interest. I love the look of layered fabrics and a variety of textures, so I'm thinking I'm going to be spending some time with my sewing machine to make pillows, quilts, bedding, curtains, etc. This wouldn't be a blog if I didn't make some over-the-top crafty thing and it wouldn't be a kid's room if it weren't whimsical, so I'm picturing a hanging paper thing over the chair, maybe with fairy lights and twirly, dangly stuff. Also plan to turn to etsy for some help on this.

Here's my design plan:

1. Variety of white, grey and blue fabrics
2. Cool hanging mobile over the crib
3. Basic, wooden convertible crib
4. Papery hanging structure thing
5. Geometric, neutral rug
6. Fun wall art
7. A poof for the feet
8. A comfy glider 

So, we're ready to get started pulling this all together. My hope is to really focus on this room intensely for 2-3 weeks, and then turn back to the new office. More soon. 

The New Office

So our first project for the new year is to complete the new office space. It's not really a high priority itself, but the current office needs to be cleaned out to make room for the kid- and all that stuff needs to go somewhere. Since neither of us work from home, our office doesn't get a lot of use. It has to be a functional space to store files and officey materials, like the printer and paper, as well as all of our books. It will also hold my sewing machine, which is slowly getting more use each year, and its associated stuff.

some of the many books in the current office that need a new home

the closet in the current office is full of stuff that needs a new home

new windows looking out towards the yard

the old window between the master bedroom and sleeping porch

the door between the bedroom and sleeping porch

The Design
The space is small, so mostly it needs to be very well organized, with lots of storage and not a lot of unnecessary items. The new wall that will separate the office from the new master bathroom will be covered with bookcases with cabinets on the bottom for lots and lots of storage. We'll also have a small desk with a drawer, and hopefully a comfy chair for reading. There aren't a lot of walls, but maybe we can find room for some nice piece of real art for the walls.

1. Hardwood floor of a nice, medium tone
2. The same grey/blue wall color as the bedroom
3. Stripey drapes
4. Built-in bookcases with cabinets on the bottom
5. A small desk with a drawer
6. Comfy seating to read


The Plan
So, we're doing this one all ourselves, hopefully over the weekends and not at night through the week. We need to do minor demolition to remove the ugly paneling from the ceiling, before we can frame in the new wall that divides this space from the new master bathroom. Then we can put up new sheetrock on the walls and ceiling, and get everything painted. Next up, we'll put down a hardwood floor that's meant to look seamless with the bedroom, and will need to be leveled with a little insulation from the cold, concrete slab. Then we'll build in the bookcases along the new wall. Finally, we will add the new furniture and curtains to finish off the space. Before we move everything over from the current office space, I plan to do a hard scrub on all the things that are getting stored, to make sure everything really needs to be kept. Some things (like piles of cookbooks) need a better system to be used, other things (like my wedding dress) just need a permanent home elsewhere. My goal is to be done with this space in mid-February, and ready to move on to the next room.