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In the “Year of the Bedroom,” I’ve finished the second bedroom in our house for the year! The “Heavy Metal Cat Party” room worked out very well for our second pre-teen, and it’s a far cry from their sibling’s “Dinosaur Garden” bedroom. I love how their personalities shine in their own spaces, and how their individual needs are able to be met. I did start this one a little early in my original timeline, for the One Room Challenge, I had planned on completely revamping my sister’s primary suite. For the first four weeks, we completely redid her closet, and then I shifted back to my house while she wrapped up her Master’s Degree. To see where we started on the bedroom, head here! And don’t miss the other wrap ups for the One Room Challenge. Big thanks to the ORC sponsor, Apartment Therapy.  While I didn’t make structural changes in this room like I have in the other bedroom here, the closet at my sister’s, or the little kids’ bedroom… I did underestimate how much work it would take to shift this room so drastically…. It turns out, preteens aren’t the cleanest people. So, there was a lot more cleaning than I anticipated (so many Legos! And rocks! Why so many rocks!?). Add in the wallpaper fiasco… and it filled the whole four weeks easily. Now, we have the cleanest room in the house, a happy cat, and an elated kid. I really tried to make this a space that would work well for now, but can adapt in the future too. 
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When I first did this room, I was 5 months pregnant with my little twins. Mistakes were made. The drywall isn’t super even, I used pre-mixed drywall mud, and the wallpaper wasn’t the right quality level for a peel-and-stick that is really removable… Still, the “before” of this room worked really well for my big twins for four years! Now I’m getting back in and using what I’ve learned in the last four years to make it better. One thing I’ve loved about editing these rooms is seeing how far I’ve come. And I’m giving myself some grace for a 2020 pregnancy. To be honest, when I did this four years ago, I knew it wasn’t a permanent arrangement for this room, so meeting my skills where they were doesn’t bother me. The big things -electrical and egress window excavation and installation- went to the pros. To see more of the goals, head here! We have been making progress, and I posted a tutorial for painting our cat exercise wheel -and other laminate furniture- earlier this week! Since most projects in the One Room Challenge are much further along than I am, and are working on more realistic timelines, head over to see this week’s progress on other projects! Big thank you to Apartment Therapy for sponsoring the challenge!  One of the funnest things I have for the cat/kid bedroom is the cat exercise wheel. While I bought it for function, it wasn’t quite what we needed for style. Luckily, there were some easy ways to adjust it to meet our needs. I ordered this Cat Wheel from Vevor. The first step, of course, was to assemble the wheel. It was fairly simple unboxing it and following the instructions in the packaging. The wheel itself is divided into three parts, and getting each segment put together was a little like putting together a stair bannister. Lots of finicky work.  This week, I really focused on working with the kids to get the room cleaned! While challenging, they got a lot done, but weren’t super motivated to get the trash and accumulated junk out… It’s amazing how much got lost under the beds when they were bunked! Since it was a shared bedroom, I really wanted them to work together to give the kid remaining in here a fresh start. I worked really hard to get my things out of the old office, so it was only fair to have them both work together on a last big clean out of this room. Even though this room was a little bit of a mess, I’m still confident I can wrap it up in the next two weeks! Even though I really just jumped to this project last week, there have been a lot more going on through the One Room Challenge, which is already on Week 6! Head over to their Week 6 progress posts here. Special thanks to the One Room Challenge sponsor: Apartment Therapy. To see where we’re headed on this one, check out last week’s post. It’s going to be the perfect haven for a boy and his cat.  Last week, I wrapped up the closet in the primary bedroom at my sister’s place… and am shifting away from her house for the rest of the challenge. Seeing her research presentation and watching her work toward completing her Master’s has been wonderful! I’m glad that can be the focus of her life for the next few weeks. So, I’m shifting to fixing up my other big kid’s bedroom! I just finished one bedroom a few weeks ago, and I’m so excited to be moving next door. One of the funnest things about kids’ bedrooms is the opportunity to change things as their needs change. While I’m sure there will be shifts down the line, collaborating with my ten year olds to make rooms that work for them and can shift for the future has been really fun! The basement bedrooms have been on my mind for a while, and with one done, I was able to refine what we’re doing in the second bedroom. I really only have three weeks left, but I’m confident this is a room we can power through! Unlike the first time I did this space along side the ORC office back in 2020 or their siblings' room this year, the structures are all there! I have no drywall to install or doors to change, the furniture is all here, and most will stay in the room (I am swapping out the dressers), and I’ve been stocking up on materials for a while. While I’m basically jumping in with a new project, the One Room Challenge has been going for weeks now, and we’re just getting past the halfway point! Don’t skip on folks progress from this week! Big thanks as well to the corporate sponsor for the challenge: Apartment Therapy.  |
Katie SwansonI am a parent, creative spirit, and old house lover. My big passions are sustainable design and preservation. Bringing these together is key to moving existing homes into the future. * By subscribing to the monthly newsletter, you consent to receive links this month's blog posts and other relevant blog updates, a round up of things I love, and as a throwback to my DIY days, I may toss in an exclusive knit or crochet pattern of mine. Archives
July 2025
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