We don’t have any big projects ahead, but we have updated the kids bedrooms a bit. Will’s chest of drawers was too small. Now that he’s getting bigger, his clothes are, too. I went to my favorite clearance center and found a great deal in the warehouse. There isn’t a mark on it!

His old chest moved into Lily’s room. Its matching dresser was already in there. We bought them about 5 years ago on eBay and painted them white. She didn’t get anything new, but all of her furniture matches!

Will also got a new rug. He has a lot of Circo items in his room (LOVE their products!), so it’s easy to match everything.

Unfortunately, the life span of a comforter is about two years around here. Molly and Mia’s comforters and bed skirts were torn and faded. I do not recommend Olive Kids bedding to anyone! I have never seen something fall apart so quickly. My parents gave them bedding sets in the “Mermaids” pattern for their 5th birthday. Now, as an early 7th birthday present, we found this:

This is the “Dream Poppy” print from Amy Butler. It was on sale, and I also had a 20% off coupon! They are much heavier/warmer than the old sets. I bought basic white sheets and bed skirts, along with some new wall art. I can’t find curtains anywhere that match! The colors aren’t exactly purple, but more of a periwinkle and indigo. It’s tough to match! In the meantime, the twins are thrilled with their room.

I updated the photos of Molly and Mia’s room, Will’s room, and Lily’s room today. We still haven’t installed the toilet in the kids bathroom! It’s tough to get motivated in this kind of weather.

This was one of our biggest projects. We had already started the framework when we built a wall to divide the playroom. We had no idea that, less than a year later, we’d have baby #4 on the way and would need to add a 4th bedroom! These rooms were getting pretty bad, actually. I had done my best to repair the walls when I removed all the paneling and wallpaper, but I had no idea what I was doing. Micah’s friend through work is a professional when it comes to drywall, so he helped us. I can’t believe the transformation. When that was done, and the walls were painted, the next step was to remove the nasty old carpeting and add laminate flooring. It seemed like the best choice for the lower level. We went with DuPont’s Montreal Gunstock (Real Touch Elite line) with premium underlayment.

I am embarrassed to show this, but here’s a glance at the walls and carpet that once dominated these rooms:

Ick!

A quick preview of the rooms after:

The rest of the photos are in the slideshows for Molly and Mia’s room and playroom.

The girls got a “new” dresser, mirror and nightstand (a craigslist find – $100 total!) and the baby will get their old dresser. We also found a full size bed for $100 on craigslist, which we set up in the baby’s room.

Up next: The baby’s room!

We sold the crib and changing table, then decided to put the money toward a new sofa. I wasn’t really prepared to part with the changing table, but people were only interested in the set.

The futon in the family room was broken, so our old sofa went down there. The only problem there is that the walls, sofa, and curtains are exactly the same color. It wasn’t planned that way (the curtains used to be in the dining room, and the wall color was chosen when I found the oops paint). My plan for the family room is do do something with an accent wall or accented areas, get new curtains and toss pillows. I am thinking of using dark brown for this, but I haven’t decided.

Back to the living room. The new sofa is very comfortable, and I don’t feel the need to change the wall color to go with it. I added a couple of neutral, striped panels to the windows. The toss pillows have a design similar to the black candle holders I added to the room, with a foreground that matches the roman shades. I bought pillar candles in different earth tones for the holders. It all pulled together nicely, and the whole thing was very affordable! I will update the living room photos during daylight, after the railing has been installed, and sometime soon I’ll add a few things to the family room. In the meantime, here’s a photo of the sofa:

Lastly, the kids have a few new things in their rooms. The twins have new Disney princess comforters, and Will has new toddler bedding and a “thinking chair”. I creeped back to eBay and found some really good deals on Blue’s Clues items for his room. He already loves that chair! I got it for $25.00 with local pickup (a steal even by eBay standards), but I read that it originally sold at FAO Schwarz for $400.00!

It has been an incredibly long weekend. We started out doing some wiring in Molly and Mia’s room. At this point, their chandelier is in the ceiling, but the wiring in the attic isn’t finished. I am not sure if we will be able to get any of that done tomorrow. There was no ceiling fixture in that room, so we had to start from scratch.

We also put down some cedar mulch and planted a few shrubs in the backyard. The biggest update, of course, is the fence. The whole thing took about 15 hours. My Dad was the only one who could handle the auger. That thing was pretty powerful. I have a sunburn, despite the 50+ sunblock, and my hands are still sort of numb. The end result was worth all the work!

A look back:

May, 2006
Note the overgrown trees on the side of the house, peeling paint, overgrown garden area and exterior light:

I decided to pull the carpet back in Molly and Mia’s room. There, in the corner, were the hardwood floors I had been itching to see all along. They didn’t appear to be in bad condition, either. 20 Minutes later, there was no turning back. I had folded the carpet and carried it down to the garage. This horrified Micah, who could barely lift the thing. It’s about time I got some credit for my physical strength. That was when I noticed the floor was not in very good shape. There were a lot of scratches and water stains. There was no way I was going to wait a while before refinishing them. Micah went out to Home Depot and rented a really good sander. I don’t care how useless it would have been in the long run. I would have bought that thing in a second if I had the money.

Step one: Remove staple from carpet pad. Repeat this step about, oh, twenty thousand times.

Step two: Realize that despite its flimsy appearance, smoothedge is very hard to remove. Curse the fact that it’s nailed down every 6 inches. Keep pulling back with the end of your hammer, watch out for the nails and try not to hit the wall (I meant that literally).

Step three: Begin sanding.

Step four: Pause in sadness. The big stain will never really go away. Regret that you didn’t at least buy wood bleach.

Step four: Admire your sanded floors and bruised knees. Bring your spouse over to see it and listen to compliments.

Step five: Wake up early, apply polyurethane, and manage to keep three kids and three cats out of there all day.

I think it turned out well. It was definitely worth pulling the carpet. I haven’t taken a peek at Will’s room, but I will resist the temptation.
He will be moving to a toddler bed in about six months, so I’d like to keep the carpet there for a while to keep it padded and warm. Maybe it
makes me a little crazy (or, dare I say, scary), but I really enjoy doing these things myself. I can’t wait to tackle bigger projects.