Talking about a renovation

Ole's finally made the long-planned move to his very own room. We had a few renovations to make first--to bring our house one step away from death trap.

First we tackled the staircase. The wide gaps between balusters and the long drop to the basement stairs was a childproofing nightmare. I shopped around for nets and screens and easy solutions, but adding additional balusters actually turned out to be the simplest and most attractive. Here Alex is screwing in trimmed and stained 2x2s.

Next I gave the stairs a fresh coat of a paint, and then we installed a padded runner rug down the stairs. Now Ole can slide down the stairs on his belly, every kid's dream. I also added a kid-height railing on the wall side, not pictured here.

Onto Ole's room. Here are a couple before shots...pretty boring.

BEFORE

With wood walls and a deck overhanging the south facing windows, the room is dark. My goal was to bring in some bright colors to lighten it up. I used turquoise, white, and shades of green. Also aqua and yellow (I had trouble focusing!). I've been waiting for a bright sunny day to snap some photos, but I can't seem to coordinate sunny and tidy, so I opted for cloudy and tidy.

AFTER

He'll move to the big-boy bed when he gets older, but for now it's a place to read and hang out.

I added white cubes to the closet for storage, and just a short closet pole for hanging clothes.

 Ole inherited my collection of Golden Guides--adorable pocket-sized nature guides.

I am pretty much in love with this curtain fabric aptly named "Windy Day."

So there it is so far, but there's still more to do. I'd like to brighten it up with some better lighting and a fluffy rug. I think he likes having his own space, though. Here he is snuggling with friends before his nap.