Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Testoster-Zone... Or, The Boys' Room

I know, I know.  This is trivia, in the big scheme of life.  If you're not one of the extremely small segment of the population who likes this stuff, just pass on by and I'll see you later.  Okay?

But you know what?  I love to see into other people's homes... see how they arrange things, how they decorate, how they live.

And on the off chance that you have the same kind of curiosity, I give you before-and-afters of the boys' room. Clearly, Sunset magazine isn't going to come calling anytime soon... this is just real life.  And don't assume that they cleaned it.  Not so much.  They rearranged it.  (Moving furniture is almost as near and dear to my heart as cleaning and purging ;D )

Here's how it was before...

You enter the room through the door on the left, and the boys' dressers were lined up against the wall.

Very efficient and uniform.


Turning to the right, I spy Tate at the desk studying his science.  (Good boy!)


And the bunk beds, against the south wall, tucked in under the eaves.  Very efficient, yah?
Tate is on the left, Wyatt on the right, and Gunnar in the top bunk.  They used to rotate every New Year, because they all liked being on top (and sometimes we stacked both bunks), but now that they're older the top bunk isn't quite so exciting any more, and the older boys let Gunnar have it all to himself.


And finally, their closet, and a view across the hall to the school room.  (No, we don't have door trim, window trim, or closet doors.  Someday...)




I've rearranged the furniture in almost every room of the house, but always left their room alone because it just worked.  The sloping eaves are a bit of a constraint, but - as it turns out - not as much as I thought.  Gunnar came up with a plan.  They all still share the room, but each boy has his own space, his own corner.

The door is on the left, and Gunnar's bunk has moved over where the dressers were...


... with his dresser tucked into a cozy corner.  Jack (say hi to the goldfish) has moved out of the kitchen.  Maybe just while I have Christmas decorations up, but maybe for longer (!)


Tate's bed is in the same place, but his dresser has moved over to give him a bit of a secluded corner.  Of course, the tree is temporary... it holds all of the boys' special ornaments.  (Wyatt was still putting his up.)


Here's a closer view of Tate's corner.  I had just put on everyone's flannel sheets, so it's extra cozy :D


Wyatt is in the same corner he was before, but his bed is going the other direction, and his dresser is tucked in the corner behind the closet.


They're happy and I'm happy.  And for cryin' out loud, it's only furniture.  We can move it again, if and when the mood strikes.


And, to make up for what might have been a very boring post (!), a bonus pic of Wyatt decorating the tree...


 ... and some of his unique ornament stylings ;D


Do you recognize the little elf?

9 comments:

The Hibbard Family said...

I just realized I'm 16 posts behind on your blog. 16!!!! How have I not read blog posts in that long?! I'm going to have so much fun catching up this weekend, and this was a MARVELOUS starting post! I love the way they rearranged, especially the way they all found their own little corner. I also really like the tree in their room with their special ornaments. How fun! This is the kind of post I love the most!

Ruby said...

Oh for the space to move beds around like that. Love the sloping eaves, even if they make it tricky.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you. A photo tour of rooms always feels like 'stopping by'! :)

Love the use of space and that each gentleman gets a little of his own. Perfect!

Felicity said...

I love looking into others' homes too - I just never think of people being interested in mine!!

I love the way they rearranged their rooms. It must be a quite a large room to hold all 3 boys!

Anonymous said...

That is great! And I just love that you don't have trim on yet. We remodeled our kitchen, diningroom and livingroom about 3 years ago...still no trim! But in my husbands defense...he has had a heart attack, back surgery twice and horrible arthritis flair ups. I take comfort that I am not alone :) And the closet doors... I don't like them. Mine are all off....but saved for when we sell. I am weird...but it's okay...in my house I can be! Thanks for sharing!Diane of Salem way

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Well thanks, you guys (oops, "gals"). Yes, it really is a big room - plenty big for three boys to share. And they don't mind sharing, as they always have. (Although Tate is a bit of a noisy/restless sleeper sometimes...)

Diane, I'm cracking up with you. I kind of like NOT having the closet doors as well! But the trim would be nice... turns out the remodel cost more than we planned, so we're picking away at things as we can afford them. Like the flooring... we put that in about two years after the remodel. Until then, we just painted the plywood sub-floor white and it was just fine :D

Choate Family said...

I think it's great that they are old enough to take ownership for their room and rearrange it!

Vega said...

That looks like a great redesigned room! They're taking after their mom in every way! :D Seems like the boys are old enough to want their own personal corners (ie. territory), but it's encouraging that they still want to room together.

dlefler said...

I have to catch up. Oh, my. I am SO FAR behind with my blog reading! I am a horrible decorator. I must be missing a gene somewhere.. I love pretty houses, but I have no eye for design.

I love the fact that the boys created their own little private spaces. I also love the tree in their room - I might have to get a little artificial tree for the boys' room next year. They would LOVE it!