Big Girl Room Progress Report

Today is day 2 of 7 posts in Conversion Diary's Challenge.

I've given mini-updates in my bimonthly Bump Watch Updates, but I haven't really tracked the progress of the Great Big Girl Room Make Over process as promised. 

I posted the inspiration for her room back in September.

The status of her room was manageable.  We had an easy time line of September - November to get the room done in time for her Second Birthday.

But during that time my parents cleaned out two of the storage areas in their house and brought more of my stuff (that I didn't even know I had!) along with all the bulky baby gear we had in their attic while we moved.  

The task to get the room made over became OMG more daunting.

Work season piled on stress and business and the room sat untouched for almost three months.  Really, until about 2 weeks before Christmas, a month after our initial deadline.

But it was do-able. We booked a weekend to organize all the junk. And get started on painting the walls.

We chose two shades of grey by Sherwin Williams. (I'll list all the details in another post)  My mother did most of the painting since the odor was really strong, and apparently pregnant women aren't supposed to be around paint fumes.

A few days later, once the walls were good a dry, Eric took all the furniture apart.  My mom and I estimated a quick coat of primer in the morning and a thick coat of trim paint in the afternoon and the furniture would be done.

However, as we finished the first coat of primer we realized we needed a second coat.  After reading the directions it said to wait 2+ hours between coats, but that wasn't enough.  So we put the project on hold for another few days....

At this point it was two days before Christmas and I knew the project wasn't going to be finished before our modified deadline of Christmas morning.  My heart was broken, but such is life.

Everything sat for a good week before I could get to what would end up being two coats of paint.  All the holidays, a destination wedding and flu included, I was able to get the furniture painted, cured and assembled by January 6.  Not too bad!

Evie was getting increasingly curious about her new room.  She really wanted to sleep in there, but I wanted to see how potty training went before we also moved her room.  I also wanted to have the whole room perfectly completed before we moved her in there.

But potty training was a bust.

Some time in mid January Target had a big sale on their pillows (we needed 5 for her bed) and on the rugs for kid's rooms.  SCORE!  I found a rug that works perfectly in her room.  So late one night Evie and I went to Target for these things and she was JUST SO EXCITED about her big girl room that she asked to sleep in her bed.

And I let her.

The first two weeks were really rough.  She wanted to go back to her Tiny Bed (as she called the toddler bed) most nights some where around 2 or 3 am. The first week of February we devised a new plan.  The only way Evie couldn't go back to her tiny bed was if her tiny bed was actually a crib again.

Eric had the brilliant idea of making Evie "help" with the bed transformation. He talked to Evie about how the crib is now ready for Sister to sleep in.  And that she can't sleep in a baby bed, but rather had to stay in her big girl bed!

I wish I could say it was smooth sailing after that, but it was certainly a good step.   We introduced Evie to the pillows and I got all the linens ironed and put together. Her bed looks great!

After two months of lamp shopping (my goodness, why does that suck so much?), I finally settled on the over priced ones at Pottery Barn Kids.  Fortunately I randomly had a gift card that took the edge off.  And honestly, I really love the lamp and I'm glad we splurged.

So here's what we have finished ---  It's ADORABLE!

I love that it's sweet enough for a 2 year old, but also something she can grow into over the next several years.

So what's left:

• I need to secure this dust ruffle. Waiting for it to be on sale or at the Pottery Barn Outlet. Or to find something similar elsewhere.

• The coordinating bean bag chair for her room is on back order, but should arrive soon.
• Finally found a bookshelf at IKEA for the reading area. Need to make the trip to pick it up.
• I have one final coat left on some wall shelves I need to finish
• Mostly waiting on my parents to return from their month in Florida so my mom can help me decorate the walls. 
• We're going to make some canvas art work with Evie's name on it to personalize the wall over her bed
• I need to find a tie-back solution for the curtains. There's only 1.5 inches between the window frame and the wall. 
• I'd like to replace the bamboo curtains (they look like sushi rolling boards) with white wood or faux wood blinds, but this is a low priority item.
• I'd also like to find a second set of sheets for her bed while lavender and grey are such a popular colors. Again, a trip to the PB outlet is in order.

I cannot wait for this project to be completely done. I hate that I still have a paint tarp out, and that the walls are empty, but we'll get there!!

The goal of Evie being comfortable in her new room well before Sister arrives was met. That's all I can ask for!