Fear not, loyal Bowdenisms readers. Our beloved guest room will stay intact. The nursery will be located in what is currently serving as my "dressing room". Having a room all to myself for the last 3 years has been an incredible luxury...one that I have taken full advantage of by filling every inch of space with clothes, accessories, and anything else that caught my fancy. And as excited I am to have a baby, I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a least a little bit sad about losing "my room". Now I'll have to relocate all my wares next to Dustin's stuff, and get used to how the other half live (and by "half"I mean pretty much everyone, except for maybe Mariah Carey.)
So before we say goodbye to the freedom and beauty of a childless home, (and hello to cute cute cute time!) let's remember what once was.... But before I show you the most recent "after", you have to see the true before....
That's what she looked like when we first moved in. We affectionately called it the "four seasons room", as each wall represented one season of the year. The dad of the little girl that previously inhabited the room painstakingly painted it all by hand, including the clouds on the ceiling, and the rays of sunshine on the fan (yes, seriously he painted the fan). Immediately and unceremoniously we painted over every inch of the room (about 8 times...thanks to all of our helpful friends!) to erase any seasonal touches...Sorry previous owners!
So after days of sanding and painting and painting and painting, we had a clean slate to recreate a room, and while it's never been my favorite room in the house, it was 90% free and 100% mine. Here she is in all her glory....
Not too shabby for a room that started out like the set of a kid's movie (about magic fairies)!
Just in case you are getting jealous of me having a room all to myself (you kind of should be...I'm even jealous of former me) I should clarify that when I say 90% free, I mean it. We spent little to no money decorating this room, trying to rely on things we already owned to pull it together. A lot of the items were things I've had since childhood, or at least high school/college, which explains the overly feminine theme. I'll admit it's a little cheesy-girlie, but hey, it's a dressing room. That's half the fun, right?
The bed was mine from when I was a little girl (a gift from my uncle- a man my husband loves, but silently curses every time we have to move the 500lb frame...), the guitar, keyboard, and tambourine are pieces I've been collecting in preparation for the one-woman band I'll never start. The bedspread purchased for our previous apartment (where we had 2 bedrooms! Which after living in 400 square feet in Cincinnati, seemed absolutely indulgent!) The sole purchases- the rug, some pillows, and a bedside table. (Lowe's, Ikea/Pier 1, and Target, respectively).
The posters were leftover from my college dorm days...A must for every fashion major!
On the other side of the room we have half a dining room table that came with chairs we purchased from Craigslist (we did not need another dining table, but it splits in two independent pieces, which has worked out splendidly!) In the corner is a mirror from my high-school days, and a coat (scarf) rack I got from work.
My jewelry table is one of my favorite parts of the room. (I recently mentioned the phrase jewelry table to my boss who was utterly shocked that someone would have an entire jewelry table...and I was shocked that people live without them!)
It grows piece by piece over time, now housing 3 necklace stands, jars for bracelets, rings, and hair doo-dads, a container for earrings, a tray for miscellaneous stuff, a box of secrets (mostly receipts) and a couple mini-dress forms and frames I've received as gifts.
I love it even more close up!
And just for fun, here's a closer look at approximately 1/8 of my scarf collection. It really is getting to be a problem. (the good kind of problem).
But don't fret...in addition to all these accessories, I do have actual clothes. There's a closet full of stuff (which is in NO shape for photos), but the majority lives in an armoire that was a hand-me-down from friends who couldn't take it with them when they moved out of state.
I mean- I'm baring my soul here...showing you what's behind closed doors (literally)...And while we're at it, I might as well show you the biggest perk to being married to a bra planner:
See? Now you totally think you're at Mariah Carey's house...
