• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We’re hopefully a little less than 3 months out from meeting baby no. 4, and figured it was about time to give our girls a room upgrade. They had been sharing a tiny room (8′ x 9′ … basically a closet) for the past several years, and it worked well for that season. But they had outgrown the space (especially considering we have plans to throw Jojo into the mix in a month or two). Our guest room is about twice the size of the girls’ old room, was used primarily for needs-to-go-into-the-attic temporary storage, and sorely neglected. So we decided to move the kids into our former guest room and make the girls’ old room the new guest room and a tiny office for Joe. It just made so much more sense for our immediate living needs.

As I mentioned, the old guest room was just neglected. We’d never painted it (and we moved into our home nearly 6 years ago), never updated the lighting, never did anything. And unless we had houseguests (which is not all that frequent), the room was a forgotten space that accumulated STUFF. Most people who had visited our home never even knew the room existed because we never showed them (minus the occasional overnight guest, and then the room would frantically be “cleaned out”). It was that much of an embarrassment. AND, when your entire home is only 1,150 square feet with 5-almost-6-inhabitants, you really shouldn’t have neglected, unused space like that. (Before photos are at the end of the post…and this was after emptying out half the stuff! Crazy how this room ALWAYS accumulated so much!) I’m so grateful to our partner Tuesday Morning, who made this transformation super fun and simple!

Here’s what we did to update the room and make it ready for the kids:

1. Empty room of contents (sounds basic, but it took awhile because it was so full and we had to decide where to put everything, ha).
2. Remove the quarter round. I detest quarter round, and we’ve been removing it from every room in our home as we’ve gone through and updated over the years. Sorry if it serves a purpose, but I like my furniture as close to the wall as possible.
3. Paint room. We used a custom color that we’ve slowly been spreading throughout our home. It’s a delicious cement-y white, and I love the way it looks in all lighting. The walls are matte, and for the trim, we used Sherwin-Williams Pro-Classic Acrylic-Alkyd Semigloss in Extra White.
4. Paint bunk bed. Joe built this bed a few years ago and it’s been incredible. It uses toddler size mattresses, which is a super space-saver. For paint, we used the same custom color as the walls, in Pro-Classic Acrylic-Alkyd, and for the primer, we used Killz Original Stain Blocking Primer.
5. Upgrade play kitchen set. We simply painted over the red paint with a dark grey (Sherwin-Williams Pro-Classic Acrylic-Alkyd Semigloss in Peppercorn).
6. Replace overhead lighting. We had these ugly fixtures in EVERY room in our home, and as we’ve gone through each room, it’s always the first thing to go. Does anyone actually like these lights (you can see it in the last “before” photo below)?
7. Pick up a few new details from Tuesday Morning. Because the new room is about twice as large as the old one, we needed a few pieces to help with storage and to pull it all together. Details for these pieces are included below, along with the prices so you can see the awesome savings!
8. Vacuum and dust. Neglected rooms accumulate lots of dust, ’nuff said.
9. Put room back together. We reused everything from their old room, and just added a few small details from Tuesday Morning. We repurposed their old bunk bed, dresser, kitchen set, and cube shelf unit.
10. Hang pictures on wall. I’d been collecting art for their walls for YEARS, and finally had a wall big enough to do what I wanted. I love the muted color story and am just really pleased with how this wall turned out!

Here are the details for the new items we picked up from Tuesday Morning:

1. Wool & cotton blend woven rug: A rug was on the top of my list. We have hardwood floors, and needed a large rug to help pull everything together and make a comfy play area. I adore the rug we found (and so do the kids – they love walking on it barefoot)! It’s all natural fibers (a must for me), is incredibly soft, and is perfectly neutral. It was $169.99 (compare estimated value at $299.99).
2. Acacia wood bedside table: The room needed a small detail next to the bunkbed, and this table did the trick! Zoe loves her bedside table, especially the drawer. She loves keeping her special things within arms’ reach when sleeping (what kid doesn’t?), so it’s perfect. It was $89.99 (compare estimated value at $140.00).
3. Rush basket for storage: You can never have enough storage and organization in a kids’ room (yay for everything having a designated place), and this basket is the perfect size. And I love a basket with handles…so much more practical. It was $19.99 (compare estimated value at $40.00).
4. Throw pillows: The girls picked these out, and I’m so happy we found them! We wanted a pop of color on the beds, and these pillows provide just that! They were $14.99/each (compare estimated value at $39.99/each).
5. Faux plant for dresser: I love having plants in the kids’ room, but it’s not 100% practical (especially with a curious toddler…and I want him to be able to play in there unsupervised). So this faux succulent is great, and adds a fun pop of green. It was $12.99 (compare estimated value at $21.99).
6. Mirror: They’ve been asking for a mirror in their room for ages, so they can put on makeup(?), and this little corner was just begging for a little detail. Now the girls can put on “makeup” to their hearts’ content. ha! It was $29.99 (compare estimated value at $59.99).
7. Hape city building block set: What’s a new room without a new toy? They’ve already spent HOURS playing with these blocks (we all have), and I have a feeling it’s going to remain popular for a long time. Tuesday Morning has the best toy selection; I can always find great toys and activities from Hape, Melissa & Doug, and other favorite brands, at a fraction of the cost! It was $39.99 (compare estimated value at $69.99).

I’m AMAZED how simple (but not without some work, haha…) it was to completely transform this room with a few uncomplicated updates. Our new pieces from Tuesday Morning truly made the biggest impact, especially the rug. It automatically pulled the room together, created a play focal point, and added “so much cozy” (in Zoe’s words)

I encourage you to take the time to update a space in your home (guest room, front porch, laundry room, etc.) or in the home of a loved one. A few simple, affordable upgrades (paint, rug, bedding, fresh towels, etc.) can completely transform an overlooked space and truly communicate how much you appreciate those who will be spending time there. And don’t forget to check out your local Tuesday Morning; I’m always so pleasantly surprised by the savings and unique items I’m able to find at my store. I never know what I’ll find, and I think that’s my favorite part (I love the treasure hunt)! They have items for every single area of the home, so you can really revamp any space!

In the few few days that this bedroom has been finished, the kids have spent so much time playing with each other. Just last night, all five of us played for a few hours, building a sprawling city on the floor. We didn’t have the space to do this in their old room. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to turn the forgotten guest room into a space in which our children love to spend time, and will create memories for years to come.

(Here are some of the before photos, and this was after emptying out half of the clutter):

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Sponsor Note: Although this post was sponsored by Tuesday Morning, all content, words, and ideas are my own. Thanks for supporting the partnerships that help keep this blog running.