Baby Project, part 2!

Every day, Lilia reminds me that the baby is getting bigger in my belly.  It's getting harder to walk, breath, eat and sleep.  Sometimes it's even hard to sit.  I expect December is going to feel pretty much like the entire summer...slow and never ending.  35 weeks along, and I think this one can come as early as next week, and as late as next year.

Remember this little unit?

Part two of my changing table project was actually transforming an old shelf unit into a small matching wardrobe.  We bought this unit way before we had kids.  At one time it was filled with DVD's and video games.  Then Lilia was born, and began to crawl and then walk, and all our DVD's got strewn onto the floor on a regular basis.  One by one, I emptied the shelves, and than as Lilia got old enough to leave it alone, I started putting it all back.  Until Liam came along, and then it was the same story.  Ever since then, the DVD's really never got put back onto this shelving unit, and there seems no point in trying to use it again for it's intended purpose- I'm sure this little one will do the exact same thing.

Finished, and perfect for newborn clothing!

As I began to gather baby stuff, I stored it in my dining room closet.  Liam's room has no closets, just a wardrobe and a set of drawers.  Lilia's room has a closet, though her toys are mostly stored in there, and no matter how many times I clean my own closet, there never seems to be room in there for long.  And then looking at this shelving unit that now seemed to function as a junk unit, an idea hit me.  A small wardrobe, perfect for holding the baby's clothes.

I started with a coat of paint.  Same color as the changing table.  I decided I wanted to keep a small shelf for storage, so I moved one shelf to the top most holes, and painted the shelf.  I bought an 18-30 inch adjustable clothing rod, and installed that.  There's a basket on the bottom for baby blankets, swaddles and changing table covers.  I debated having a second shelf on the bottom, but that took up too much room.  Because the top shelf was so thin, I used old silverware baskets from my kitchen drawers.  They have things like hair bows and hair bands, nail files, nail clippers, nose sucker, and the like.  I added a basket for bibs on the top, another basket for baby wash, coconut oil, and wipes solution, and the wipes warmer.  The top is actually protected by a plastic desk shield.  And I added a few decals from the set I used on the changing table.  It looks so nice, and I feel so organized!  I'm still debating on adding a curtain rod and a small curtain, but I can't decide if that would be too much.

Side with a decal.

So far, I placed all her newborn clothes, with the exception of onesies in there, as well as 0-3 month outfits, dresses.  I use one of the drawers in the changing table for oneies, and another for sleepers.  Everything fits in there nicely, and as she starts to outgrow items, it will be easy to just break out the next size, while stashing the old sizes.  And once we've had either an addition made, or we move to a bigger house, she can still use it for play clothes and toy storage.  I have a little mental image of attaching a mirror on the other side, and hanging up her (and Lilia and Liam's) dress-up clothes.  And again, this was super cheap.  Except for the baskets and the clothing rod, everything was an extension of the original changing table project.  The baskets I got from Kmart on Black Friday for 24.99 (for a 7 piece set that included a hamper, waste basket, and 5 different sized baskets.) and the clothing rod was $5.

Little Changes...

Before!

I've had the same crib and changing table for all my kids.  Well, sort of.  It's one of those convertible cribs that turns into a toddler bed, and then you can eventually use it for headboards, and the changing table can turn into an end table.  Or something crazy like that.  We used it for Lilia, and then when we had Liam, we converted it to a toddler bed for Lilia, and he slept in his own crib.  We kept the changing table part for him though.  Now no one using the crib or changing table, and until we decide how we're going to go about adding another room for the baby, I'm only using the changing table.

After two kids, it was a bit of a mess.  A bit of wear and tear, and me having the desire for something new looking, I knew I wanted to do something.  I had some ideas in my head, and then of course, I found some things on pinterest which made me think "Hey, I can do my ideas!"

After!

The first thing I did was wash the changing table, and then let it dry.  I added two layers of Benjamin Moore paint, in a chocolate mocha color.  After it was dry, I put on pretty little decals because I'm not so good at painting by hand.  Or with stencil.  I replaced the hardware, though I have to admit, I'm disappointed I couldn't find butterfly or flower shaped pulls like I envisioned.  But I like the little pink knobs well enough.  I found some cute baskets that fit the shelves (and small enough to be able to throw in a small basket just for snappi's when I get around to buying them!)  Since I cloth diaper, I added a towel bar, just to hang covers on between use.  Is it bad to admit that I feel a bit like genius for that one? Toss on the changing pad and a new cover, and voila.  My new changing table.

I love the bins, and I love the towel bar.

I wish my camera could do it justice.  I think I should've added new camera to my baby registry (which was really more so I could keep track of what I needed to buy...)  The best part is the price:  20 bux for the paint, 12 bux for all three bins, 5 bux for the towel bar, 10 bux for the decals (I paid $5!), and 3 bux for the drawer pulls.  A brand new looking changing table for under $50. You really can't beat that!  And while I don't include it in the price, the changing pad covers were almost 50% off on Amazon, so I bought a couple then, rather than pay full price.

And before anyone asks, yes, I have everything organized, or a list of how I plan to organize.  The drawers will be prefolds, sleepers and onesies.  The bins are hats and mitts, soakers and covers, and socks, baby legs and soft shoes.  If I can find one I like, I might add a small mobile, and my warmer and wipes will be near by.  Perhaps on the wardrobe I'm working on, but that's a whole other post.  (You know you are looking forward to it!)

Now if I could just figure out what to make with the chicken I have out for dinner tonight, my day will be a complete success.

Another finished room.

I wanted to finish painting my dining room before Thanksgiving.  That didn't get done, mostly because of the whole "let's come down with strep" thing (seriously, how did I get strep and neither of my kids did!?  Not that I'm complaining, but me and my immune system don't get along.)  So I was pretty determined to before Christmas.

The old dining room

You remember the ugly paneling?  I can't believe it took me this long, but it's finally gone.  I was a bit afraid of just painting over it- the paneling was etched and grooved, and I was afraid it wouldn't look good if I simply painted over it.  I also didn't want to spackle all the walls, and I definitely didn't want to rip off the paneling, particularly not knowing what was under them.

The grooves turned out not to be so much a problem.  Only one wall had really deep grooves, the others were just lightly etched.  It gave the walls a unique texture, something I can't seem to capture on film.  In fact it's not really noticeable unless you stare at the walls.

I had a little helper.

It was risky, but I went with a dark brown.  I knew it would make the room darker, but for some reason, I really like that for a dining room.  Not that we ever have romantic, candlelit dinners at home (Have I ever mentioned that my kids work off their dinners by running around the kitchen table several hunded times playing chase with one another?) but darker dining rooms always make me think modern and romantic.

Right now there's white curtains, but I'd like to get new ones eventually.  If there's one thing I've really picked up on in the past few years, it's the difference between cheap curtains and heavy, pricier drapes.  They really help a room, in my opinion.  And since it wil be awhile before we get new dining room furniture, the only things I really need to finish the room is some shelving.  In a small house, there's no such thing as too much shelving.

The only wall where the grooves are noticeable.

In the end, I'm really happy with it.

So now that the dining room is finished, the only rooms left are the kitchen and bathroom, plus the stairwell.  I'm trying to convince myself that I can remove tile on my own, but there's a huge spot in my brain that screams "Don't do it!!"  And for now, I'll listen to that voice.

Lighting

Wall Sconce

I've been thinking about getting new lamps for my living room.  Since the living room is so small, I was thinking of getting some wall lamps.  I really like these lamps from Kenroy, although I wish I could find something with a leaf design, rather than this particular design.  Still, I'm totally in love with the idea of having these lamps.  It even has matching flush mounts, chandeliers and so many other options.  Yep, I'd take it all.

Ah house dreams.  If only my budget was as big as my dreams.

Silly little dining room dream

Now, we all know I'm a huge geek, with a bit of a Japanese decor fetish.  Ok, maybe you didn't know that, but now you do.  I'm planning my dining room, and I really would love to do a Japanese inspired dining room.

I really hate wearing shoes indoors.  I find it a bit gross, even shoes that aren't "worn" outdoors.  Of course, I don't really find walking bare foot outdoors to be gross...but you'd know if you walked on poop or had dirty feet.  It's a total shoe bias.  If you come into my house, please...take your shoes off.  Which is why I'd LOVE a tatami floor.  Without sounding like a complete jerk, I can be like NO SHOES ON THE TATAMI FLOOR.

Then there is the low table.  If I got one of these, I'd never have guests.  Who wants to sit on the floor to eat a meal?  No one who comes over to dinner.  I think my mom would disown me.  Or at least never come over for dinner.  But it seems so relaxing and comfortable.  Sit on a big pillow, drink tea, slurp noodles!  I wonder if they sell a low table that can be raised...

It won't happen, but man, I'd do it if I could.  It would be so unique (at least around here, right?)

I give you permission to poke fun at me!

My New Living Room

I feel like we've been working on the living room for a really long time now.  We have been, though it's been a Go, then Stop process.  After so long, we are finally close to being done!

Stripping wallpaper is the worst thing ever.  If there is a Hell, you can be assured that will be one of chores one will be forced to do for a few hundred years.  Removing the paper itself was easy.  It's the leftover paint glue that makes everything so difficult.  The wallpaper here had a date on the back.  1978.  It was as old as I am.  Insert facepalm here.

So I stripped away the paper, and very slowly scrubbed every inch of wall.  John was very useful here, I tell you.  It's very hard for a 5'3 person to scrub the very top of her walls.  After scrubbing, and drying, paint went up.  This was a slow process.  I managed to get a small chunk of the room done back in March. And it was only last week that we did the rest.  Though, here's a guilty confession, I still need to do one more coat on one wall.

Stick to 2 shelves, or add more?

The room was instantly nicer with the paint.  It looks totally different, at least to me.  And I love the contrast that I created with the dark and light paint.  It really worked out well.  I painted the ugly wood paneling on the fire place wall with the darker brown, without smoothing out the lines.  It's a bit noticeable, but it looks so much better than that paneling.  I also added the shelves, which I just love.  Places to put things!  I'm still debating on adding another shelf.  I'd also love to add a wall sconce, plus our wall art.

I'm still deciding on painting the fireplace, and might consider getting new glass doors at some point.  I've also decided to make a fireplace cushion to fit over that stone bench there, though it's not needed at this point.  For our summer arrangement, we're putting our love seat back in the living room, and assembling our giant couch.

I love my corner shelf!

On the TV side of the room, I painted this corner shelf, and put it up.  It wasn't too hard to hang, though I wish the shelf was a bit better quality.  I wouldn't put anything too heavy on it, but it's perfect for little items that add of personality to the room.  John and I are still discussing TV stands- we are both considering eliminating the stand completely, and attaching the TV to the wall.  We think this is the best route, as it would help increase space, plus reduce the amount of fingerprints messy children fingers put on our screen.  However, wiring becomes an issue, as does mobility.

So that's what's been done so far.  I'm pretty happy about it all, and should have the rest of the painting and shelves done by the end of this week.  I'm crossing my fingers that maybe, just maybe I can get our wall decor up as well, and I'm hoping to find my cute curtain rod.  I bought a cute set of curtains, but they are hung on the wrong type of rod.  And I need plants now.  That's like the ultimate final touch, at least for me.