Progress

Well, the painting's done. At least the portion I was working on. We have moved the educational efforts upstairs. I'm still not overwhelmed with love for our new digs, mostly because I'm still feeling cramped. I do have some ideas to spread us out a little bit, and I can't blame feeling frazzled only on the room. Homegirl and Thing Two are doing plenty to frazzle me when it comes to school. I'm sure we'll adjust in time.

So here's what I've got so far. I haven't done much in the way of decorating yet. I've been focused on just getting things organized for now.

I made this from scrapbook paper and yarn.

Forgive the double watermark. I'm learning a new photo editing program. I don't have the patience right now to fix it.

I have an idea for this long hallway space that would help us spread out a bit. Thinking of a built in counter-ish type desk along the wall over those storage doors, big enough to work on but small enough to not overwhelm the narrow space.

I also have some ideas for this plywood wall we built to keep children from falling over the balcony. I'd like to cover it with something, maybe wallpaper, fabric, canvas, chalkboard...haven't narrowed it down yet.

There's still more to paint over the stairs. There's always more to paint. This will probably be the hardest section.

So much orange. And there's always stuff on my stairs. I hope I'm not the only one.

So, that's the progress report. It's getting there, and I am thankful that the landing at the top of the stairs is big enough to work with.

I'll leave you with some shots of the flowers Seth got me for Valentine's Day. Love the coral color, and I thought my oversized jar would make a really cute vase. 

Gotta get working on Homegirl's new room. After all that horrible attic painting, it will feel like a piece of cake!

This is the project that never ends.

I'm going to be painting my attic till I die.

I usually don't mind painting, but this is one project that just seems to be going on forever. It's complicated because it's not just nice flat walls I'm slapping paint on. It's boards and grooves and angles and it's really, really dark wood.

Maybe I see a light at the end of the tunnel, but mostly I have that oh-good-grief-I-am-so-over-this-crap stage.

But it needs to get done, the sooner the better, so we can move our homeschool station up there.

Looking at these photos though, I'm encouraged. It's come a long way and we're in the home stretch.

Not very long ago, it was full of crap. Then lots of purging happened.

The difference is crazy. Everything feels bigger and brighter.

Here you can clearly see the difference. L-R: Paint, primer, and original wall

As far as inspiration for this little space goes, I'm going to have to be creative. We're going from a bedroom sized school room with lots of wall space and storage to a nook sized school room with mostly angled walls. My goal is to make it snug, but not cluttered feeling. Here's some things I've pinned on the subject:

Source: Pinterest

Gonna try and find some narrow tables for the boys to work on since their desks would swallow up too much space.
Source: Woman's Day

I'll need streamlined filing and organization systems like this.
Source: Better Homes & Gardens

I think this is the light that we'll hang over the stairs. It's cheap, but I chose it because it has the longest cord I could find. The plan is to hardwire it where that ugly little round light is and then dangle it over the stairs. This one's from Lowe's. There were also a few on Home Depot I really liked.


I've been working on the laundry room too. Hopefully I'll have an update on that soon!