Dining Room --> Play Area

So this weekend I finished some projects. It took a long time to get to this weekend and finishing. The superfluous table was taken away some time in July and our actual table was moved to the kitchen dining area. As were the bar and sideboard. (Before pictures can be seen here.)

Behold:


Which left a large empty space housing only a VERY dated (and completely not my style) light fixture:

I removed the glass pieces and Husband remarked that it looked better already:

I blame the drugs and the Lord of the Rings marathon for that opinion. (He had minor oral surgery Friday morning. Not to worry, all is well. He's healing nicely.)

Kipper helped:

A note about Crate and Barrel: they use a ridiculous amount of packaging. Which is handy for packing up things that you'd rather not have break.

So with that out of they way, and a plate in it's place, we suddenly had a nice open space through which a person can walk and not worry about loosing an eye/breaking a piece of glass with their forehead.

Into it went two Billy bookcases, the black chair from the guest room, the console table from the guest room, and a crash pad* - set up as adult floor seating and eventually to be used as a movement mat for Bunny.

Also - because I have serious aesthetic issues with molded plastic baby gear, we picked this bad boy up from IKEA:

The result - when books and a few animals are added to the bookcases - is a nice little area that will be able to grow with Bunny. I see a toddler craft area in its future with very little effort.



(The ottoman that matches the chair will find itself a more permanent home under the console table on the left, but right now it is still residing in the guest room to be used as a stand for the suitcase of upcoming visitors.)

Polly got in on the action, too. By sleeping:


* a note about this crash pad: it was purchased almost exactly a month before I found myself with child and unable to do anything that would result in actually using this particular new purchase (about which I was *very* excited.) I was having issues looking for a movement mat that I liked that I wouldn't feel like we would outgrow and have a hard time reusing or passing on to other new parents. Then I remembered this sitting sadly unused in the guest room and voila! Sometimes the perfect solutions are right under your nose.

Yesterday...

Well. Let's start at the beginning, really. A few months ago I got rather unexpected news. That's right folks - at the beginning of the adoption process and in the midst of infertility testing...I find myself knocked up.
3 months later I emerge from bed (morning sickness is SO mis-named) and start doing things to prepare the house for our child, whom we refer to as Bunny.

Meet Bunny...3 months ago :-)

So the dining area in the previous post has been rearranged, the superfluous table is gone, and bookshelves have been assembled. As soon as we recover from all of that I'll get it cleaned up and cutified and get some serious "after" shots up. Because we all love a good before and after.

But to tide you over...remember that weird little room that I turned into a walk-in for Husband because he's a clotheshorse? It had a bookcase (totally on it's last legs) on which to store his folded clothes. He unmentionables and jeans were kept in a 3-drawer dresser next to my side of the bed. This dresser used to be mine and will be Bunny's - after I make it over. At any rate - it needed to be freed up so I can fill it with baby loot.

So last weekend we headed to IKEA and picked up two more Billy bookcases (for the dining area) and a Malm Dresser:

Note: these things are a piece of cake to put together once you get the rhythm down. We had all three pieces up and running in a matter of hours. And I'm knocked up.

So bye-bye old not very attractive bookcase, hello nice sleek dresser! And to top it off, I moved in an extra chair from our office. He sat in there a lot yesterday afternoon just surveying his goods. I'm trying not to be bitter.

The ugly carpet is still there, but we're renting. We put a towel on the countertop and then stacked clothes there while they were awaiting transition and the minute the terry cloth went down the cats commandeered it. Then they watched with fascination as we changed the house.

Just to give you an idea of how spacious and inviting his closet is now. (The hanging side is unchanged.)

The perfect seat for a clotheshorse like Steve to sit in while he drinks scotch and tries to decide which of his millions of clothes he's going to wear today...

One day, not only will I have a fabulous closet, but I'll have enough clothes to justify it. Maybe.