The Great Room Switch 2011

I can't remember if I've mentioned it before, but we live in a relatively small house.  Small for a family of 6 plus one lazy pug.  At the time we purchased the house, we were a new family of 5.  It was by most standards probably too small for us already, but as it was our first foray into home ownership, we took what we could get.  What that really meant was knowing that we are not the "fixer upper" type, we needed a new(ish) house that was move in ready.  And since our budget was small, our house was small too.

But it is our first home, and there's always a bit of sentimentality attached to that, regardless of all the things you grow to hate or wish you could change.

Of course, 2 short years into our journey as homeowners, we were joined by our surprise Princess #4, and suddenly what was too small became downright claustrophobic.  It became a juggling act, to decide where to put things.  And people.

For the past 2 years, the three older Princesses have shared one room, while Princess #4 maintained sole occupancy of the nursery.  It's worked alright, but as toys multiply in the night it was becoming increasingly clear that we needed to find an alternative.  Moving not being an option, nor adding on, we needed to somehow create another room where there was none.

And thus, The Great Room Switch of 2011 was born.

This week, walls will be painted, furniture will be moved and sleeping arrangements will be changed.  And hopefully by the end of 5 very long days, the four Princesses will go to sleep in their "new" bedroom, our former master bedroom.  Our hope is that by moving all four girls into the big room, and us taking one of the smaller rooms, it will free up the third bedroom allowing us to use it as a dedicated office and spare room.

Yes, it is a bit of a sacrifice.  I have my big garden tub and walk-in closet in the master bath.  Not to mention the double sinks.  I'm not looking forward to fighting with hubs over the sink to spit while brushing my teeth.  But it needs to be done.  Besides, it's giving me a good excuse to redecorate my room.  Can't complain about that!

So, for those who might be curious, a few before pics.  Sorry, there's lots.  I plan to document the process and of course take after pics as well.

The Big Princesses' room.  This pic is looking in from the door.  Sorry about the darkness, I am not a photographer!

A look at Princess #3's bed.  When we move the kids out of the crib, we always transition to a mattress on the floor.  Since things have been tight room-wise for awhile, Princess #3 has just always slept on the floor.  She doesn't seem to mind and we don't have to worry about her falling out of bed!

And the girls' closet.  I think this will be my closet when all things are said and done.  We're still deciding where to put that dresser.  The girls really need it for clothes storage, but there's not room in the master closets.  

Up next is the nursery.  This is going to become our office/spare room.  I'm kinda sad to paint over that stripe.  I did that all by myself and I was pretty darn proud of it!

Nursery from another angle.  That dresser was hub's grandmothers and I love it.  I totally want to paint it a cool color and put it in my room.

Princess #4 by her closet.  I think hubs will take over this one.  (He doesn't need as much space as me.  haha)

And finally our room, which will become home to all 4 girls soon.  No comments from the peanut gallery about the mess.  I didn't even pick up for the pictures.  Clothes drying in the corner, laundry waiting to be folded, the computer desk trashed... this is real life folks!

These built in bookshelves are of note.  We're painting all 3 rooms the same gray color.  We wanted a neutral color that wouldn't require repainting if/when we decide to try to sell our house.  So the girls' room will be accented with bright colors.  We're planning to paint the back of each shelf a different color.  I hope it turns out as cute in real life as it does in my head!

And the last wall.  Most of these decorations and such will end up in the office/spare room along with the computer armoire.  We're redoing the color scheme in our bedroom (yellow/gray/aqua - LOVE!) so the red touches won't work anymore.

So that's it!  Unfortunately, taking the before pics is the easy part.  I've got paint under my fingernails, in my hair and between my toes.  We've got about 3 good hours left of painting before we call it a night.  Back to the trenches my friends!  Check back later for progress reports!