Thursday, June 24, 2010

Simon & Talya's Youer Than You Room




Here are our Craig's List bunk beds, decked out in Ikea bedding... Talya has been doing a pretty good job of sleeping in the bottom bunk.




Rain gutter bookshelves, which I LOVE. The kids love them too. They are already smarter. (I hope you know me well enough to know I'm kidding.) Oh, and that's Charlie showing off his love for all things dangerous and electrical. Don't worry, he's safe, disciplined, and currently asleep.




I created this piece of "artwork" using some great photo transfer techniques I found at nonphotography.com/blog. It's a crappy picture, but it says "Siblings make the sweetest friends." I am loving how good of friends my kids are becoming.




Here's the little corner that shows off their heritage... Cimon Appachan who Sy is named after, and my mom, Grandma, and Auntie Kay who Talya is named after. Oh, and the Indian flag. I have yet to feel a need to showcase Buchanan Plaid, but whatev.



So, that's it... really bad pictures of a really cute room that is, are you ready for it? DONE!



(See Simon being smart.)

It seems like just yesterday that I spent a LOT of time and energy preparing a new boys' room for Charlie and Simon to share.

Well, that was fun, but sure didn't last long. Charlie and Simon did not make good roommates, and Simon ended up spending a couple of months on the air mattress - first in our closet, and then on the floor in Talya's room next to her crib.

Turns out, Simon and Talya make great roommates. I've had to adjust to them taking A LOT longer to go to sleep, but they are enjoying themselves, and their friendship during the day has really benefited from the extra bonding time post-bedtime.

So, we decided to turn Talya's pretty pretty girly nursery into a fun big kid room that both kids could enjoy. We also made the potentially stupid decision to coincide this makeover with Talya's transition to a big girl bed. Normally, I don't rush into these kinds of things, but we've got vacation coming up, and it would be a whole lot easier for us if we didn't have to cart around 2 pack n plays. (Isn't it great to base major parenting decisions on your own personal convenience?)

Since we'd just spent time and money on the boys' room, the goal was not to spend too much cash on this one. I think we did pretty good. There's a few little projects I still want to do, but I'm really happy with the results. Oh, and the white walls need another coat of paint, but I couldn't let that slow me down. So we're just kind of rolling with the bluish tint.

Here are some pics.

I based the room on this great decal from Single Stone Studios on etsy. It says, "Today you are You. That is truer than true. There is no one alive that is youer than you." (Dr. Seuss) Perfect for my very different boy and girl and their shared space.

11 comments:

Susie said...

oh my word, the technical difficulties I'm having. Blogger likes to take my first few paragraphs and move them to the end, and then I can't move it back. Enjoy the wild goose chase that is reading this post!

Unknown said...

Susie I LOVE their room and am entirely inspired. -beck

Amy S. said...

Hi, Susie. Love the rain gutter bookshelves, and I will now be stealing the idea. I'm sure my husband will be thrilled. One question - how did you attach to the wall? Thanks!

Kirsten said...

So cute. My kids want bunk beds, but they scare the bejeesus out of me.

LOVE the Dr. Suess quote.

Elizabeth said...

love it. it looks great. and you FINISHED it. now what will ben do?

Abby said...

Adorable! So much fun to see them growing into a little sibling friendship.

Kristy M said...

You are so great at this stuff - the room looks fantastic and it's good to hear that you have a working roommate situation! I only wish I could hire you to come out here and help me. I still have Hello Kitty drapes on Ellie's windows from the previous owner.

Susie said...

Amy, for the gutters, I bought the brackets. It was super easy - we just attached the brackets to the wall and popped the gutters in. We used 3 brackets for 5 feet of gutter, and it seemed to work well.

Anonymous said...

Darling, darling, darling! I would love to do to the raingutters, but these walls (concrete) are impossible. Maybe the next house.

Great job!

Anonymous said...

Cute!! Except for one...
Such display of the Indian flag may be considered rude.
Try to keep it upright and definitely not as a table cloth.
I know you might not have meant it and I may come off impolite, but they have been a lot of controversies regarding incidents of this sort. Thought you would like to know.

Rob said...

Love the "...youer than you." wall quote!

We just recently tackled our own rain gutter bookshelves and very happy with the results.

And Delhibound, I'll bet you could find some masonry anchors to hang stuff on your concrete walls. Check at your local Ace Hardware, Home Depot, or Lowe's.