Yankee Drawl

Posted By jayna on July 27, 2011

Moving as often as we have, I seem to have developed a habit of attempting to give E (and now MJ) a spectacularly decorated new room. Sort of a reward, for having to be uprooted and drug away from each place just as soon as they get comfortable. This house has been no exception. Weeks before we actually moved, I began scouring the local stores for the perfect set of matching quilts, as this room would be the first time they really shared on a long-term basis. Visions of stripes and flowers and adorable white beds danced in my head as I began to collect bits and pieces. The day our belongings arrived at the new house, I could be heard squealing with glee that the paint in the room was already the perfect shade of yellow.

The husband was heard squealing with joy that he had one less room to paint.

Slowly, over the last month, the room has been coming together. Most of the space that we gave up in downsizing to this house had been a gigantic basement playroom, and we have been re-organizing upon re-organizing in order to neatly find places for all of those things that once lived in the (now non-existent) playroom. Every single piece of furniture has to have a really, really good function. So far, we’ve found a few things to put in the attic or sell, and we’ve added a few things that were much needed. Eventually, it got to the point where the only big things left for their room were beds. Real, mattress off the floor, girly-girl beds.

There is nothing less finished-looking than beds on the floor, to me, at least.

Off to Craigslist I went, scouring the listings each day – usually twice. I searched in all the surrounding cities, and as far away as Ohio (just in case). Searching and searching for a matching set of twin beds. Weeks later, I found them and pounced. The husband valiantly drove a total of three hours round-trip to pick them up in Richmond, thanks to a bit of misleading by the seller on their location. He grumbled and grumbled. And then grumbled some more as I went through can after can of white spray paint. Now that they’re finished and being enjoyed by the girls, though, he’s done grumbling – saving it for the next crazy, paint covered project I find.

They started like this . . .

And then transformed into this! The exact vision I’d been pulling together for months, shockingly. All for $135 (bed frames for $40, new rails for $60 and 7 cans of spray paint for $35). That is a welcome and far cry from the multiple hundreds we could have spent on brand new beds from a local store.

The walls are still bare, with more ideas ready to go to remedy that, and there are bedskirts to find and boxes for under-the-bed storage to hunt down, but for now, I’m pretty darn happy with the way things are turning out.

And, most importantly, the girls are as well. The first thing they did was tuck themselves in bed, and have been enjoying the heck out of climbing up and down and jumping on and off all day.

Categories: She's Crafty
Tags: Making It A Home, The Girls' Bedroom