Home Reno III: The Bedrooms

Having moved into this house 8 months pregnant, there wasn't much I could do in terms of the house before we moved in or even soon afterwards. When Spring came, the backyard was a priority so I could send the kids outside without me. Then when we realized the toilet was leaking, the upstairs bathroom became a priority last summer. I was relieved not to need to do any renovations last Spring, but I have disliked the walls of the house since we moved in and wanted to sand and paint something.

When, in August, Thomas catapulted out of his crib, we realized we would need to seriously consider the sleeping arrangements and, after some careful measurements, I realized we could fit all 5 girls in one room, give Thomas his own room and get our bedroom back to ourselves. Our walls are very bumpy, so much so that when I rub up against them to close or too hard, I can scratch myself and even bleed. What possessed the previous owners of choosing such walls I'll never understand. It is hard to hang the kids artwork on and it collects more dust. So I knew I would sand the walls first, then wipe them down to remove dust and then paint them, priming beforehand when necessary.

Beginning September 1st, Teresa and Cecilia lost their bedroom and began sleeping on their mattresses on the floor in other rooms while I got to work on Thomas' future bedroom. The walls were already white.

And then they were a beautiful blue! I moved in his crib, a nightstand, his future big bed, my rocking chair, and eventually my grandfather's dresser with hutch for his clothes.

 And then hung his name above the bed and my grandmother's Teddy Bear Family above the crib and got the crib crucifix up. We hope to get Thomas his own crucifix for his birthday with a Benedict medal in it!

 That got Thomas settled in his own new room and, by the second week of September I was on to turning James' office into our bedroom, but I seriously underestimated how many coats a dark red required.

 One coat, even on the palest wall left lines everywhere. It took 3 coats to get the deep red we wanted without all the lines.

 And then we moved in our furniture. (I did hang pictures up after I finished the 3rd bedroom, but I don't have pictures of our room with them up. Sorry.)

 Then, with 10 days left in September, I began working turning our former bedroom into the girls' room. It had yellow walls, so I did have to prime, but it came out very well.

 Then we (and James had to help me with the bunk beds) moved all their furniture in.

 And finally I got all their pictures hung up! Now all four of the oldest girls have their Saints to look on! (And we will see if we can't get Brigid's Saints up there soon! :) )

 Needless to say, September left me pretty exhausted and it was no small chore to get all three rooms done in September. I'm so happy with how they turned out though!