Dora the Explorer!

The room isn't quite done, but little Sydney has been living in it for about 2 weeks now.  I did kick her out for a couple days to paint.  We decorated with Dora the Explorer wall clings tonight.  Sydney loves her new room!

The chalkboard is a popular feature, as is being able to look out the window easily.

At some point, I will build the shelves for the cubby-hole on the left.  I'll also add doors to the little caves, but my girls are small and are having too much fun playing in them to put doors on right now (safety).  There are some small finishing touches to add: curtains, robe hooks, bedspread.  I'd like to change the lighting.  But for the moment, I'm mostly going to let it sit and let the girls enjoy it.  Oh, and then I can catch up on umpteen other things too!

Almost there

The trundle drawer this whole design was based on had some issues and needed to be reconstructed.  It still needs to be beefed up some before being loaded up with toys, but it stays together and rolls now.  I needed that to be done so I could place the bed frame at the proper height.

The bed frame has been constructed.  It is simple framing, like a wall, except horizontal instead of vertical.  Over top of the framing is a piece of 1/2" thick MDF cut to size.  I've stood on it, and right now my monkeys are "testing in" by all three of them running over it at the same time.  Sydney is the one in the middle, between her two sisters.

The girls are excited that they can see out of the window without stretching and straining.  They are also happy that they can finally use the chalkboard.  It is a niche made out of ordinary drywall, painted with Rust-Oleum chalkboard paint, custom tinted to "Schoolhouse Green".   It took one coat of primer and three coats of the chalkboard paint.  This specialty paint needs to be applied with a foam brush or roller and needs at least 3-4 days to cure before being written on with chalk.  Smart mommy finished the last coat a couple weeks before doing the bed frame, so the little monkeys can have at!


Spring break is one week away.  My goals are to complete Sydney's room and finish painting my kitchen cabinets (about 70% done over last spring break).  I promised my hubby I will finish these projects, and, uh, a few others, before I start on any more. 

Visible Progress

Today, I made visible progress!  I sanded the entire second coat of drywall, but there were a few spots that really needed a third coat.  Mostly, these were on 3.5" wide walls with two corner beads.  The corner beads that close together create a dip between that takes a few coats to fill enough to look good.  I bought some quick-dry drywall compound and did some touch ups.  I was planning to sand that tonight and be done with that part, but I ran out of steam.

While I was waiting the 45 minutes for the mud touch ups to dry, I primed both of the little caves and the chalkboard area.  These areas will be different paint than the rest of the walls.  Inside the caves will be good 'old ceiling white like our closets.  I really have had enough of crawling into those little caves.  I'm sure the girls will play with them lots before they turn into storage, but I am bigger than the three of them put together.  I actually looked into getting a drywall guy out to finish up this project for me, but then figured that whomever I could find probably wouldn't be able to get in there and I'd have to do it myself anyway.  One more coat of paint in those holes and I should never have to crawl in there again!  I actually enjoy painting, so I'll be happy to get this done!

The chalkboard will be old schoolhouse green.  Lots of shades of green for my Sydnye! :)  Another motive for jumping ahead with the chalkboard painting: it requires two to three  coats of the paint and several days to cure before chalk is used on it.  Having that done sooner will require less explaining to the girls on why they can't use the chalkboard yet. 

I still have tomorrow off before I have to go back from work.  Tomorrow, my plan is:

• Sand the drywall touch ups
• Super-clean up all the construction dust
• Paint the inside of the caves
• Put down the new carpet tack strips
• Put the carpet down
• Cut the 2x4 pieces for the bed frame
• Get the trundle unit put in the room

I will have to wait for Patrick to get home from fishing tomorrow to get the trundle in there.  I want it in (the bottom is removable) so that I can be sure I get the bed frame height correct with the carpet taken into consideration.  If I get the bed frame up, yay me, but I want to get them cut to take advantage of this warm spell.

I must get this project done before I start anything else, but I found plans for a cute little library cart that would fit perfectly into one of the caves.  Maybe this summer.  It is a much smaller project than this room though!

Slow, but not forgotten...

No, the room isn't done yet.  No, I didn't forget about it. 

Between my last post and last week, I managed to apply the first coat of drywall mud.  It took me several 1-2 hour sessions to get that done.  That still doesn't add up to four months, but if you throw in ragweed session, cold and flu season, my new role as a Girl Scout leader, on top of my usual life as full-time employee, wife, and mother of three little girls ... yeah. 

I've been on vacation this week, yay!  Between last week and this, in addition to Christmas and a trip to Great Wolf Lodge, I managed to sand that first coat of drywall mud, apply the entire second coat, and have started sanding that coat.  I'm hoping to get the sanding done tomorrow and put the carpet back in place.  Possibly I'll even do the bed framing itself.  We've hit a spell of unseasonably warm weather here in northeast Ohio, which means I should think hard about doing those cuts in the next two days.  I also have Monday off, but then it is back to the same old, same old.  Sydney could sleep in her room even if I don't get to the painting.  That, and use her dresser and closet, all of which would make her big sisters happy. :)