The Big Switcheroo

My children are my life. Yes, I have lots of jobs but being Will and Maggie's mom is my top priority in life. I have always wanted to be a mom more than anything else and those two are my dreams come true and they are even better than I dreamed. It has been the thrill of my life raising them, my pride and joy and heart and soul. They are adults now--18 and 20--and, though it is bittersweet that they are no longer little, I am in awe of the young adults they have become and this season of being their friend and shifting to a role of "guide as needed." They are both in school and both have jobs and work hard.

Will lives with us part time and Maggie lives with us when she's not at her dorm in Lafayette and about a year ago Will approached me and asked if when Maggie goes to college we could switch their rooms. The reason for this is because of the bunkbeds. We had these beautiful full-size bunks built in to his room ten years ago. I wanted them to be a little nook where he could decompress from the world. Will is autistic and he has always loved a space that he could crawl into and be cozy and small. He likes dark, intimate spaces, so the bunks did the trick. But now that he's grown he no longer wanted a bunk bed, which I totally get. The problem is Maggie didn't really want them either, but I certainly wasn't tearing them out because they will do nicely when I have grandkids over someday--plus I just love them! But because Maggie is only home part time, we made the tough decision to switch their rooms. I wanted to give her something to look forward to, though. Mags has a great sense of style and the wardrobe to back it up, so I found a way to fit in a walk-in closet in the unused space in front of the bunk beds. Despite this new feature, I knew the new room had to feel like her and have some serious style.

So with all the decisions made, we waited and gave Mags a semester to get acclimated to college and then when the kiddos were on a Christmas vacation for two weeks with their dad in Europe, we set out to do the work of switching their rooms up and giving them the grown-up spaces needed for this new chapter in our life.

We started with Will. He wanted blue and he wanted a queen-size bed. He also wanted to keep the vintage ship art he'd had in his room since he was really little. I've always loved collecting them, so I was happy he wanted to keep them. We decided on Portsmouth by Sherwin Williams for his room color before he left on his trip. Everything else was to be a surprise. I ordered his bed (Wayfair) and rug (Rugs Direct) first to make sure I had the grounding pieces. I knew I wanted to paint every surface of the room (walls, trim, doors, cabinetry, ceiling) in the same color to give a super-calming effect and the way to tone that down is with neutral furniture and accents and the bed and rug fit the bill. I wanted to incorporate plaid as pattern in the room, which the rug did. I also took some plaid poufs from our home library and put them in front of the bed and they worked perfectly. The chair and desk/side table were both Facebook finds from friends purging things. The other side table was one I already had that I painted black and added a larger lamp that I also owned already to give it some height to match the other side. I love using unconventional things for nightstands and I love when they don't match--it adds so much character to the space.

For the finishing touches, most of the bedding came from Target except for his smaller throw pillows which I had seen on a recent trip to Walmart with a friend/client and loved. Drapes from Amazon and hardware from Lowes rounded out the small things. The books and decor on his shelf are mostly just things I already had in my house. A lot of the things I collect from vintage stores and antiques really worked well in the space. Don't forget to shop your own home when completing a room! It's free and fun to move things around! Here is a before pic, some during pics, and all the afters. I'm so pleased with the outcome! When he saw it, Will said "aw yeah, this is the good stuff!" I love that and I love him!

Next was Maggie. She loves Europe and leans towards a girlie, cottage-y look but I also wanted something that would easily be tweaked to be a room for my grandchildren someday. We kept the built-in bunks and added a walk-in closet where an old closet was and made the other closet into a little office nook and TV space. I saw a paint swatch at Home Depot a little while ago that just resonated with me and I had the crazy idea that I may use it in her room, but I also felt like that was a little crazy. It's a brownish red and very much out of my comfort zone or usual style, but I couldn't stop thinking about it and hey life's about taking risks, right? So I went for it. Cherry mocha. And I love it. And so does she! I knew the trick, much like in Will's space, was to pair it with some neutrals, but I did give her much more pattern to match her personal style. I found bedding I loved at Target (gingham for the win!), used the same Amazon drapes (still need a roman shade), a chair and ottoman we've had from Ikea for a while now (I'll probably change it out eventually, but it's so dang comfy!), and some antique pieces I found mostly at the Treasure Chest (the tall bookcase is my absolute fave and an absolute steal at only $175!). I shopped my house for most of the small accessories and added in Maggie's succulents, a gallery wall of found and new peices, and finished it off with the beautiful Polly rug from Chris and Julia Loloi that I've wanted to use for a while now. The result is a pretty Parisian flat-inspired space that my girl loves and that makes me so happy!

My children are everything to me. It has been so fun getting these rooms together for them and I have poured so much love into them that I hope they will feel in this new season of our lives that is so very sweet.