Making room for creativity

Last photo taken of what used to be the boys room: beds weren’t made and a few toys were left on the floor, but at least the room was clean.

Over the holiday break, I spent a lot of time cleaning, getting organized, and clearing clutter. During the gift-giving season there is often more coming in than going out. Where does one put it all? This is always one of our biggest challenges as a large family. Especially considering I have a saving (hoarding?) problem, combined with a house that is always under construction, which constantly forces us to shift items from room-to-room to make way for work to get done.

We had gotten to the point that behind every closed door there was a box of stuff that I was supposed to “get to later.” Well it was time for “later” to be “now” so I put on comfortable clothes, rolled up my sleeves, and sent the boys outside to play in the snow for a few days (thank you, Mother Nature : )

Meanwhile, I methodically sorted through closets, boxes, drawers, under beds – looking for items that were no longer played with or needed, could be donated to charity, or recycled. Special items worth saving were put away for safe keeping. My goal for January is to redistribute the items we don’t need. I have a small problem with throwing things away ; )

All that sorting was hard work, but well worth the effort. The end result? First, a sense of relief mixed with a tiny bit of pride. Clearing clutter is a great way to achieve home-makeover satisfaction without actually spending any money! Second, and more important, by reducing the amount of objects in each space it was that much easier to shift some rooms around again (it is just what we do around here!)

Now that we finally moved the master bedroom up to the third floor, two of the boys are moving into our former room. I was going to turn their small vacant bedroom into a boys game room, but, you know what? Virginia Wolf must have been whispering in my ear, because I started to think about just how much work I do from home (whether I am sourcing items for decorating clients, creating graphic design, writing about design, doing paperwork, etc.) and I figured it was time for me to step up and claim some real estate for myself! Bottom line ...

I now have a *room of my own!*

While it is not completely emptied of its previous owners possessions, I have moved in and made this sunny, backyard facing room my new office! Meanwhile, all four of the boys are in one bedroom (we were able to fit the bunk bed between a set of two twin beds) while we have some floor sanding done in what will be the new bedroom for two of them. Fortunately, they are all getting along pretty well, as they have come to look at this time together as an extended sleepover.



Unfortunately, I brought a lot of filled boxes with me into what was a cleaned out space, so I will have to start the sorting and de-cluttering once again. Even so, I am very excited to finally have a room that I can decorate as girly as I want in this home I affectionately call “Boys R Us.”

The view outside my window.

Click here to read why Honeysuckle is
the chosen color of the year for 2011.

What will the new room look like? Will it include the Pantone color of the year, Honeysuckle? Hot pink has always been a decorating favorite of mine (take a look at my last three design show spaces: The Summer Nursery, A Decorators Before & After, Tea for Fairy & Me). Pink on the walls would certainly communicate “no boys allowed,” although, I have to admit, I truly enjoy the daily visits from the guys, who come in to share stories of their day and check in to see what creative project Mom is working on.

Sometimes they still leave some toys hanging around, but I am okay with that : )