March 28, 2024

Bedroom-sized surprise

For Christmas, my husband and I decided to redo the girls’ bedroom, moving them from the smaller room they had been sharing to the larger room that previously held all of their toys. We also traded in their daybeds for full size bunk beds.

The only rooms in our house that had carpet remaining from the previous owner are the bedrooms. The rest of the house had the carpet ripped out years ago thanks to the dog and kids. The carpet in the bedroom was, of course, white, a color that did not hold up to four years of animals and children.

We set to work in early December with the major renovations to the room. It made me a little nervous pulling up first the carpet then the padding knowing everything that had been spilled or soiled on the rug. Thankfully, none of it soaked through to the base and we could proceed putting down new vinyl, waterproof flooring.

Before the flooring went down, I repainted the walls in the girls’ current favorite colors. The green and purple that previously adorned each side was replaced with white, pink and teal.

I got an itch in me to try something different with the walls and attempted an ombre look from dark to light with each of the colors. With the very little artistic talent I have, I worked for a night trying to make the walls look how I wanted. The YouTube videos guided my way as I worked to blend each color with the next and I think it turned out pretty well.

Next my husband was tasked with installing the flooring, not his favorite thing to do, but at least it was only a bedroom instead of our entire house like last time. We selected a gray wood tone to contrast with our dark brown flooring throughout the rest of the house and I love it.

Earlier that fall, I picked out new bedding for the girls, matching blush pink and light teal mermaid scale inspired metallic sets. I waited patiently for them to be shipped and was very disappointed when my youngest’s was stolen from our front porch. Bed, Bath and Beyond was amazing to work with to replace the bedding but the pattern ended up being out of stock to reorder. I crossed my fingers and looked on Amazon and much to my delight I found the exact set.

The bunk beds and mattresses came in plenty of time but we had to wait until the girls were gone for a night to assemble them. My in-laws had all of their grandkids stay overnight the Monday before Christmas, giving us the chance to finish up the bedroom.

I messed up more than once putting pieces in backwards or on the wrong side, but by the end of the night we had two beds assembled and stacked one on the other. I even overcame my inability to use power tools and became one with the impact driver.

With the final touches of new curtains and shelving in place, the room was ready. After the girls fell asleep Christmas Eve, I covered the door with wrapping paper and placed a large bow in the center.

That morning, after running to the Christmas tree to see what goodies Santa left, the girls remembered the door-sized gift next to their bedroom. Together they ripped the paper down and squealed with excitement as they saw their new room. It even had a handmade sign, thanks Dana, welcoming them.

My youngest claimed the top bunk, no surprise, while my oldest settled into her “cave.” After opening the rest of their presents, they spent most of the morning on the top bunk, playing and discovering their new room.

I have to say redesigning their room is one of my favorite gifts we have given them. They really enjoy being in their room now, playing in there way more than they ever played in their toy room.

I know the time will come when they will want to separate to their own rooms again and I planned ahead with bunk beds that can work as two independent beds, too. For now, though, I am just enjoying watching them in their new setting, making it their own, together.