First Look: The Boy's Bedroom

 

While I was busy photographing my latest project in the Boy's room (to follow) - I thought - hey, why don't I show you a little look around at where we are with this space and how we plan to use it?

Jesse (5) and Jack (3) have shared a room for the last year or so, and we all love it that way. When we first looked around our new home, I knew exactly which room was going to be theirs. A sweet room big enough for the two of them with bay windows that look over the back garden. A little boy's dream - they can spot the neighbour's kids heading over with a rugby ball from a mile away!

We moved them in with their original single beds each, kiddie-themed matching duvet sets and a side table that we borrowed from the guest room. We managed to hang the same navy curtains (we wondered if they would be wide enough for the bay windows) from the previous home which saved on moving-in expenses. I also brought in a "toy sorter" that I set up a few months before the move. It's a plastic shoe rack that I converted into a bright & fun storage system. Lastly, we temporarily put a small white bookshelf in place that also used to be in the guest room / baby room. We have a plan to change the entire layout of their room, so everything just went in as is. 

  Since moving-in day, we have made three really fun changes to their little haven:

1) We painted a feature wall behind their beds (same colour as dining room feature wall - bonus!)

2) We added anchor vinyls to the new and improved wall (post to follow)

3) I crocheted a tarn reading rug for next to their bookshelf (post to follow)

Over the next few months we would like to change things up a bit to accommodate their new-found love of drawing and lego etc. Basically, they need more of a big-boy space.

*Bunk beds. This dream is coming true this week-end - more floor space, hooray!

*New duvet cover sets. As much as it might not be "stylish", I really didn't mind having my kids choose out their bedding from good ol' Mr Price. It also definitely helped them transition from baby room to big boy room. Having said that, they've moved onto bigger, more important things, and bedding just isn't on their priority list. Hooray, now Mommy can shop! I'm not entirely sure what I am looking for yet, but I will know it when I see it, ya know? Just not too matchy-matchy.

*The side table will move back into the guest room.

*In place of the white bookshelf, we'd like build a custom desk that will allow both boys to comfortable sit / draw / build. 

*Fabric blinds. I find that the dark heavy curtains really close off the stunning window area. I would love to do a reading nook near the bay windows and the curtains just take up far too much space all round. 

I hope you have enjoyed a little sneak peek into our boy's bedroom. Honestly, I cannot wait to get started on their desk over the holidays. Please could all this paper, glue and goodness knows what else on my kitchen table find somewhere else to party?! Let's build that desk Mr Kyle, and fast!

We're packing up!

It's totally crazy. 

My husband started working at an excellent preparatory school in Pietermaritzburg this year. That's a good 35-minute drive from where we live, on a traffic-free day. To say that my husband loves his job is an understatement. He's happy, I'm happy he's happy and we're both happy that our two boys will be joining him there in the near future.

As the weeks went by and our daily routines changed quite dramatically, I had this funny feeling that things were going to change even more dramatically. It started with a friend calling us to say she was listing her house on the market in Maritzburg. Even though that specific home was not a fit for us, it was definitely a light bulb moment that led us to one simple and clear conviction: we felt it was God's plan for us to make the big move.

We're nerve-cited and it's been insanely busy. Thankfully Clint had been looking around at possible homes for us to move into over the last two months, just in case. He found a truly gorgeous home to start our new life in. I'm talking bay windows and tall ceilings. We then also had the business of selling our current home. Picture two messy busy boys running around the house 24/7 and then picture me running around after them sweeping up crumbs for the new interested buyer to pop in. Did i mention that I work from home too?! Time has been the enemy the last few weeks. We've had two offers on our home and so glory-be, we'll be moving out in approximately two months.

I'm not going to lie. This kind of things gets me really giddy & excited to sort, organize and start to de-clutter each space in our house in preparation for the actual pack-and-move. So many drawers and cupboards have become hoarding spaces for junk and items we just don't need. We are purging the home in a big way. Piles for keeping & putting back in the cupboard, piles of items to donate and also items we can re-purpose / sell.  My Saturday afternoon saw me sorting through the disaster of a linen cupboard that includes two shelves of medicine, toiletries...you name it. What you see below is only a quarter of what was piled up in there. Yes, that is even a broken phone that somehow found it's way in the toiletry basket...! And how did we end up with some many plug adapters? Oh my.

Anyway, I went wild and ended up tossing out a full garbage full of rubbish. I wish I had've taken a snap of that. After sorting through our medicine box, I was shocked at the number of expired bottles of this and that. I also realized that I was keeping toiletries that if i am honest, we literally will never use. After a full afternoon, I re-packed the necessary items. As I won't know what storage systems will work / fit in the new home, I am leaving all the fun setting up of storage systems / pretty labels for later. This is a REAL look at how I am busy sorting and preparing for our new adventure, not the "look how beautiful my things are" version! I'll keep you up to date as I go.