Trading Spaces

Or the room merry-go-round with 3 kids and saying goodbye to our crib.

Almost two weeks ago, LAS and I hunkered down for two very full days to swap our kids rooms around. I felt like I was on Trading Spaces, in the best way (I miss TS—is that where I got my compulsive furniture moving thing from? Maybe.). I had a real vision for the rooms and also fantasized about that moment. You know the one. Where the recipients of the new room are waiting outside the door and we open it to reveal the new look. And y’all. WE DID IT. It was so exhausting but also so very fun. It was something that made me feel super connected to some of the deepest parts of me. Did anyone else use graph paper to layout rooms as an elementary student? Just me? OK.

There were so many emotional components to this, it was a lot to process. Unsurprisingly I got very caught up in the planning and aesthetic and my feelings and realllly underestimated the actual, tactile, transition of getting a 2 (nearly 3) year old to stay in a bed.

First up, we said “thank you for your service” to our crib. A crib that I bought WHEN I WAS 25. WHAT?! I’m pretty sure using the same crib for 10 years ins’t totally advisable but we all made it through. I can tear up just thinking about the way that silly crib served our family for a decade. Mostly I think about early 2019 when we broke it down and I thought we would get rid of it only to have my husband say, “let’s keep it in the garage, just in case.” One pandemic later, we pulled it out for the last time to make room for baby Graham, the sweetest little boy who has brought us so much joy and filled our home with so. many. cars.

Then there was the ‘giving our biggest girl her own space’ of it all. I was crying off and on the second day the whole day as these rooms came together. Mostly for Sadie who was getting her own space. Patient, sweet Sadie who never asks for much of anything. And also for separating the girls and having Reese be the big sister in her space. I’ve never been more grateful for a husband who shrugs and says “things change, time moves on.” to counter my wildly fluctuating emotions.

And lastly, it felt really good to use the space and things we already had to switch things up and give our kids new spaces. Like so many people we are in a house we thought would have sold by now but are waiting for interest rates and housing prices to drop (please stop moving to Florida, thankyousomuch). But as I wrote about in the Fall, we actually have everything we need. And purging the excess and organizing the new spaces made me even more thankful for our home and the creative, thoughtful ways we continue to make it work for us.

After two long days*, I got my big reveal moment and it was so satisfying! The kids were so excited and Luke and I made some memories working together to give this to them. Mission accomplished!

*Shout-out to my in-laws who kept those children for two full days over the holiday break. Without them this would have been wholly impossible.

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Bedroom Sources

Sadie’s Room

I actually made a mood board for Sadie’s room which I will share below. Sadie loves to be cozy and had been dreaming of a room with dark paint and cozy textures since the fall of 2021 when we first considered renovating our family’s farmhouse (spoiler alert, we didn’t.). Her paint color is by Behr and called Bubble Turquoise. Her bed was from Amazon and I found these neutral leopard sheets made by Splendid at my local Marshall’s. My parents got Sadie this pillow and neon sign for Christmas and Luke’s parents got her this desk. I really think this leopard rug will finish out the space and I’m stalking it on Target’s website to see if it will go on sale. We re-purposed a cube storage unit and a neutral comforter we already had, as well as a dresser that fit *perfectly* inside the closet. She still needs a bedskirt and window treatment as do Reese and Graham but those will be coming soon.

Reese and Graham’s Room

I loved planning this brother, sister room! I think on the surface this might seem tough but I found it to be really fun and easy to find things that spoke to each other in terms of colors and decor. The loose theme of this room was old florida: Blues, greens, sea life, quiet beach vibes, etc. We use Behr’s Nature’s Reflections for the paint. I honestly wish it was a little bit lighter and greener. It reads very blue in their room, but the kids like it and it works. I’m not a person who is going to spend days and weeks pouring over every shade of blue/green. I just can’t. When I’m ready to work on something I want to get going!

I’ve always loved the look of two twin beds in a kids bedroom and this room has made all my twin bed dreams come true! I was worried we would sacrifice a lot of play space by foregoing bunk beds for twins but the under bed storage is AWESOME and there’s still room to play. The beds are from Amazon and we re-used our bunk bed mattresses and dressers. This adorable rug is from Target, as are Reese’s mermaid sheets. Reese had a pink quilt from her old bed that worked perfectly and I got graham a mint green one that coordinated with his fish sheets and Reese’s bedding. In here we also put Graham’s kitchen and repurposed a cube storage piece for books that was previously in his closet. Oh, and the art! Both kids have print from Jellypress which I am obsessed with. We have their Florida State Parks Checklist in our living room and we love discovering new parks and checking them off the list. Reese has the Weekiwachee print and Graham has the NSB Inlet one. (I think I will end up framing these with mattes but again, we had these wooden hangers so I used them)

Thank you for following along on this fun project and all the encouragement you shared on Instagram. I hope you enjoyed hearing a little bit more about this undertaking and seeing all the different pieces that made it come together.

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Thanks so much for being here! If you like what you read, share it with friend. I would love to see you in the comments and as ever, you can find me on Instagram, @betsykstorey.