We have two rooms in our house that have needed repurposing for awhile now - our nursery and our playroom. The fear of change and what it meant to leave the "little" days behind had me paralyzed with indecision for nearly a year. But it was getting ridiculous to have one totally vacant room and one barely used room and FOUR children living in this house. We don't have the luxury of wasting space around here.
So about a month ago I stood in the nursery doorway with a can of black paint, taking in its sweetness one last time. One final glimpse...
Disassembling the crib was the toughest. I've laid four babies in there countless times over nine years and it was such a FIXTURE - a symbol of the phase of life I was in. There was a point while in the trenches of it all that felt like I'd always be in this never-ending cycle of being pregnant and nursing and diapers and sleeplessness.
Although that sequence of words being strung together sounds like a pretty brutal existence:)...leaving it behind is still hard. That being said, I think this current season of my life is pretty incredible. No more diapers and much more sleep. These boys amaze me every day and are becoming such cool people. Watching them "become" makes me feel like the richest person on earth.
The swiftness with which time moves takes my breath away, though. But I've finally come to terms with the fact that it's time to move forward. After all, keeping a crib in the house wasn't going to stop my boys from growing up.
Being excited about what I wanted the big boys' room to look like helped ease the growing pains. And when I saw the most perfect dresser being placed on the curb with a "FREE" sign attached to it I knew it was the final push I needed to let go.
This solid mid-century beauty wasn't kicked to the curb for long....
Painting matte black over that precious Anthropology wallpaper stung a bit too. But blasting "Paint it Black" on repeat helped :)
From there everything else kind of fell into place. I found some vintage National Park posters and then discovered this super cool desk on Craigslist for $40!
The grey wool bedding was formerly our duvet cover. A pair of scissors helped me transform it into two blankets for the iron beds I found here.
I had my heart set on Pendleton throw blankets, but they cost twice as much as I paid for the beds...so...nope. But I found these look-alike ones that were a good compromise.
A nod to their Chicago heritage.
This basketball goal has gotten soooo much use already.
Sullivan loves the new digs.
The boys are responsible for keeping their plant alive:)
They SOMETIMES let Fletch in their room.
It feels like the boys are settled now. Walking past an empty nursery every day made me feel like we were in limbo. I'm glad I finally MADE A FREAKING DECISION about this space. Now on to the playroom. I don't have a clear vision for it yet, so I'll wait for inspiration to strike before I get started. I can't quite decide how it would be best utilized as the boys continue to grow. I'm open to suggestions, though...!
