Storage storage storage!

My little baby is not a baby anymore! How did that happen??  Here's what his room looked like 4 1/2 short years ago.

His room looks tiny, doesn't it?? Well, it is. I have friends whose closets are bigger than this bedroom! 

To me, kids rooms can be the hardest rooms to keep up with. Their needs change, their stuff multiplies and a crib can no longer contain their little energetic selves. 

After the baby setup and before I settled on his current bedroom setup, we had a full size bed, an antique dresser and a bookcase in his room. BORING! It was really a better set up for a guest room, which was my main reason for setting it up that way, but when we realized he hated his room, I decided to give him a room he liked and just let guests stay in a hotel. 

My little guy loves green. I mean LOVES green. The first change in his room was the wall color. Yes, it's green.

I found this table herb container and decided it would be perfect for his collection of treasures! Added some hooks and hung it on the wall. The green isn't perfect so I very sweetly asked if I could paint it blue but he adamantly refused. I think he would run away if I painted it so green it stays! 

Almost everything in his room is from craigslist. The bed is a craigslist find that was originally a dark cherry color but it was too dark and heavy for the size of the room. Tried to paint it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint but it failed me miserably so I ended up spray painting it. 10 cans of spray paint and 20 new holes in the ozone layer and his bed looks great!

My goal with every piece of furniture in his room was to get additional storage. The bed functions as his dresser and even gives us additional toy/book storage. 

The storage cubbies were also a craigslist find. Thankfully Annie Sloan worked for me on the doors, which were changed from neon green to Grecian Blue.

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The storage cubbies are fabulous! They don't take up as much space as the Expedit systems but give us just as much storage. 

My little (big) guy loves his room now so I would say my summer project is a success. 

My final idea requires some help from grandpa. Start with a simple sheet of plywood and transform into a 5 feet tall rocket shaped, magnetic board for the  abundant artwork my little guy creates! What do you think, dad? Feel like pulling out your Skill Saw?

Stripes are in the Cool Crowd this year!

I have seen lots of companies featuring stripes so I thought it would be fun to show you

 some stripey options that caught my eye. There are so many ways to use stripes and whether your style is traditional or modern, stripes can be your new best friend!

Traditional Bedroom design by Other Metro Media And Blogs The Lettered Cottage

This bedroom may be small but they have used the space cleverly and it is very stylish and inviting. I tend to like horizontal stripes better than vertical and, in fact, my living room has horizontal stripe so this is a look I know I enjoy!

Tropical Bedroom design by Charlotte General Contractor Andrew Roby General Contractors

I love this room but can't really tell if the walls have stripes or clapboard. Either way, it is sleek and stylish!

Contemporary Bedroom design

Are vertical stripes more your style? Here's a pretty one but since the stripes are so narrow I would rather get this look with wallpaper than try to paint it!

Like the look of stripes but don't want the commitment of them on your walls? Here are some other ways you can be trendy and still easily move on when you are tired of it.

Sam Allen Interiors

This bedroom is great! I love all the different textures in the room and like how they did big stripes on the bedding but narrow stripes on the window shades. 

west elm

This chair has clean simple lines but the varying stripes give it a funky modern look that I really like.

An even simpler way to get stripes is to add a few pillows here and there. I love these from earthlinens

Think you'll add some stripes to your current decor? Would love to hear how you've worked them in!

One man's trash....is another's craft center!

Well, my resolution to blog more often fell flat on its face and is a little bruised and battered! Poor little guy. BUT, even if I haven't been blogging, I have been busy!

Last summer, my neighbor decided to get rid of a bunch of furniture and other stuff that she wasn't using. I was lucky enough to claim this little gem!

I know, it looks kind of rough but it was free and I thought I could slap some paint on it and use it in my 4 yr old's room. Once I measured, though, it was too big for his room so I just let this sit and sit in the garage.

We have been sick a lot so far this year and being cooped up at home so much has made me get antsy about a few organizing projects. The pantry, the half bath, the garage, my craft area... and several others...

I realized that by painting the dresser and using it in my dining room for craft storage it would set in motion The Great Shuffle of 2013, which would help me check off 3 areas in the home that have been driving me crazy.

Let the Shuffle begin! 

My dad built this for me last summer and I loved it in the dining room but I actually designed it to be a vanity in my half bath! So, out comes pedestal sink and in goes vanity. (Will have pictures soon!)

Arts and crafts that are in a rolling cart in the pantry AND the green box on the floor by table go in freshly painted and polyurethaned dresser!  Bins in the small drawers help divide markers, crayons, pencils, stamps and paints. The kids can find everything and, even more importantly, put it all away. 

It ALL fits! Plus, now I can walk into my pantry. AND, the dresser isn't taking up space in the garage anymore! Who knew one little dresser would be the catalyst for so many projects??

Now I just need to find hardware for the dresser and we'll be all set!