Jake's Room...?!?!

I find being a stay at home mom is rewarding because your boss (kids) are ones you love (mostly) and the work is steady (until they fire you).  As if turning 9 wasn't enough, I feel like my term of employment is ending soon with the oldest.  He's got his own room.

Old Guest Room

Pardon this super old, pre-reno, spring-in-the-window-is-mocking-you picture of the guest room.  This is the tiny 3rd bedroom we have on our 2nd floor.  It's next to the bathroom, to the right at the top of the main staircase.  It's the room my parents stay in when they visit, but otherwise it's empty. 

(I can't believe I didn't have a real "before" picture of this room taken after the reno.  I feel like I've photographed every inch of the finished project to death.  I searched!!  But, to be honest, this room changed the least from before to after the renovation.  A new window, new light fixture and a few throw pillows are all that were different.  There's your visual.) 

Empty, until one night when the 3 boys sleeping in the same room wouldn't fall asleep. 

Me: That's it.  Jake, sleep in the spare room.

Jake: No!  I don't want to!!!

Me: I'm sorry, but you have to do it.  whisper: I think you might like it.

And then he kinda moved in.

While I appreciate all the details you can see in this picture...his toddler bedspread, his old pillow, alarm clock, hats, sports stuff and random picture taped to the wall...something more permanent had to be done. 

So we hit IKEA.

Now, Jake is my son with a mind of his own.  We didn't walk in cold turkey.  That would mean the first item he saw in each department would come home with us.  Oh no.  I had a strategy.  And that strategy was browsing the catalog first.  When I turned the page to a dresser, I pointed one out to him.

Assembling

He loved it.  Then we went to the store and he searched for it.  He helped me put it in the cart, load it into the car and put it together (mostly) until I fired him for slacking.  Actually, he heard the Spongebob opening song on the TV downstairs and disappeared. 

So Far, So Good

It's a nice pop of color in the corner of the room.  And the dimensions are perfect.  Plus, he's a kid and I need furniture that's not precious.  And bedding that's not precious...which he also picked out.

Because those pictures move everyday and I don't want to care where that tape ends up.

Which is my next challenge for this room...!