Making Space for Chloe

Recently we moved rooms around to make a space for Chloe. She is growing, shifting into a nine year old body. This girl never liked princesses or "girly" things, and has always worn mismatched socks. We talked about paint colors and de-cluttering, Chloe has so much stuff!

Not wanting to wait we sort of just dumped her into our old room, the largest room we have, took out the closet for extra space and threw her stuff into it. A disaster unfolded. A pure mess was how she was designing it. I know that for me to keep a space clean, I need it to work, to make sense and to look beautiful.

Mission make-over Chloe's room began. My mother started with her little nook, the former closet space and surprised her with it while we were away for a few days. She loved it. I needed to find a way to make the little nook and the rest of the room come together, and I noticed how the curtains in the nook mismatched the ones in the room. The theme was born.

Mismatch delight.

I spent very little, re-purposing things from around the house. The quilt and sparkly pillow were bought just for her and nothing matches, which makes everything go perfectly. I added chalkboard paint above her bed (ran out, so it is a work in progress) and used an old frame to make it stand out.

Her art wall is string with mismatched clips. I used some beautiful papers from Pearl River and she can add art to it as she creates and or discovers along the way. Some of her canvases made for a nice mismatch of their own above the art clips. She wants to fill the space with more, yes, that would share her mother's view of decorating. More is more.

The most difficult part of living in a small space is sharing one bathroom. A tiny bathroom. So I gave Chloe her own mismatched funky towel with her own hook behind the door and I will add a shelf for some grooming items soon. Sort of like college. We all survived sharing bathrooms and this family of 5 will too.

Making space for Chloe meant that while we are saving for our soon to be attic makeover Patrick and I moved into the dining room. Yes, the room that I only recently gave a makeover to. It was fun for us to shift space around, I like having a new temporary bedroom. And the red doors are quite romantic! I continue to dream of expanding this house someday as we move to the upstairs which is my favorite part of this house, though net yet liveable.

Chloe is so excited she even made her bed this morning and put her dirty clothes in her hamper.

We'll see if that one lasts. She had all of us taking turns laying in her bed last night just looking around. It was like star gazing but at the walls around our little girl who is finding her own space in the world around her.

Goodnight room

goodnight moon

goodnight cow jumping over the moon

goodnight light and the red balloon

goodnight bears goodnight chairs

goodnight kittens goodnight mittens

goodnight clocks and goodnight socks

goodnight little house and goodnight mouse

goodnight comb and goodnight brush

goodnight nobody goodnight mush

and goodnight to the old lady whispering "hush"

-from Goodnight Moon