Here we are at Week Two of the One Room Challenge, where we’ve been transforming our guest room into a new nursery/bedroom for Marcus. We’re not as far along as I’d hoped we would be, but we’re getting there! Turns out that a two month old adds several layers to the degree of difficulty in getting a project done.
For one thing, days feel successful if I just get laundry done and folded, let alone a DIY project. For another, while Scott is great about hanging out with Marcus when he gets home from work, we’re still trying to spend time together and with Marcus during that time, and then trying to equitably share free time. On top of that, Marcus spends a lot of his evening time sleeping, so the last thing I need to be doing is hammering and using power tools while he’s trying to sleep.
I have enjoyed the few times during the day that I’ve been able to park him and his DockATot in his crib, where he excitedly watches his mobile or dances along with my music while I work. And no, to the safety conscious, I do not allow him to sit in there or sleep in there unsupervised, and the blanket hanging on the crib is just for show and will be removed when he finally moves into it!
If you’re interested in where we started, here’s the first look and plan for Week Zero, and first steps toward furnishing the room we made for Week One.
This week, I focused on a couple of things – gathering major materials for the projects I want to knock out in here and prepping Marcus’s closet. I did a rough design for three easy DIY projects that I’ll be covering in the subsequent weeks and picked up their materials – a name sign for Marcus, drapes and a curtain rod for his window, and shelves for his books and toys. I’ll link to the projects once I’ve got them done and posted.
The bureau on the side of the room is getting messier and messier as it has become a consolidation point for all the junk I still have to get out of the room along with things for the new projects. Sigh.
A majority of work this week went into Marcus’s closet organizer. While he’s growing like a weed, it’s going to be a while before he needs a full length hanging space in his closet. Instead, I figured we’d get a lot more mileage out of multiple adjustable rods, compartments, drawers, and whatever else I could pack in there.
His closet started out with a bunch of clothes Scott and I forgot we stored up there when we pulled everything out of our closets in preparation for overhauling our master bedroom, part of which was installing new closet organizers. There were also a couple large bins of Scott’s old toys his parents saved for him that we’d like to clean up and let Marcus have.
Not very kid friendly.
I walked all our clothes back downstairs, found temporary or permanent homes for the other things piled up in there, and pulled out the old metal organizer shelf. It ran the full length of the closet and those things are expensive, so I squirreled it away for potential future use. It just might come in handy.
I debated patching and painting inside the closet but figure I’ll do it after everything is fitted and installed instead. I’ll probably be adjusting things all over the place and I don’t know how much I’ll want to move things, so why do the work twice?
There are a lot of different places that offer closet storage solutions for kids, but I found this “Grow With Me” organizer system by Little Seeds on Wayfair. It’s temporarily out of stock right now but projected to be back in a month or two, and hopefully will be on sale as well!
I wasn’t sure what to expect when the large flat box arrived. I opened it up to find a thousand pieces and an instruction manual that makes IKEA seem simple, but everything was made of high quality wood and metal. Definitely nothing flimsy about this closet organizer system! So far, I’ve managed to put together the center unit and I’m trying to figure out where it will fit best.
By next week, I hope to have the drawer and side shoe shelf put together and clothes rods installed, and pick up a couple storage baskets with a Michaels gift card Scott gave me for my birthday {how well he knows me}. I’ll stock the closet with the 6 month to 18 month clothes we’ve received so far, his extra blankets and quilts, and maybe some of the many stuffed animals he’s received. I’ll also change out the door hardware from brass to either black or acrylic handles. I’m on a slow mission to rid this house of brass.
Other than setting up his closet and getting a mattress and bedding for his crib, I’ve just done a little bit of decorating here and there. Like hanging up this little duck peg hanger Scott had from when he was a child. It’s perfect for our little boy’s blankets.
I almost waited until our rocker/glider from Pottery Barn arrived to share it as well. It should be coming today. We bought it on clearance and with the help of a gift card we received from friends, we basically just paid shipping for it, and I’m so excited to get it up here!
So, let’s recap. Here’s what we’ve done so far:
- Moved out bed, mattress, linens, blankets, and vertical dresser
- Found homes or tossed {most of} the junk accumulated during second floor renovation
- Assembled and placed crib
- Purchased and hung some artwork
- Purchased and partly assembled closet organizer {Wayfair}
- Purchased rocking chair {Pottery Barn similar, purchased on clearance}
- Purchased hamper {Amazon similar, bought smaller one no longer available}
And here’s what’s still on the list:
- Place the rocking chair, add pillows and blanket
- Assemble and place the changing table
- Build bookshelves/toy shelves
- Build toy chest or toy organizer
- Pick and hang other artwork as needed
- Hang curtain rod and curtains
- Finish closet organizer and patch/paint closet
- Make and hang name sign
- Woodland area rug or play mat
Four more weeks to get it all knocked out! If I plan it out and manage my time out properly, I should be able to get it all done without much trouble. So far, I’m really enjoying the One Room Challenge format. It’s helping me focus on what I need to do to get the nursery done without getting distracted by other projects. I may have to use something similar to get the rest of our other unfinished projects done, from finishing the board and batten in the laundry room to the trim and painting the door in the mudroom to…there are just too many. After the nursery is done, we are finishing all the unfinished projects and purging the house of all the homeless junk before we start any new projects!
