CH-CH-CH-CH-Changes

After the massive IKEA trip on Saturday, we spent the day putting everything away and re-arranging the house. I wouldn’t say that the entire house has been drastically transformed. A lot of the rooms (kitchen, guest room, living room, dining room) look pretty much the same, just cleaner. Frankie’s bedroom, playroom, and Matt’s office, though, are all quite a bit different. In all of those rooms, we moved furniture out, added some of our own décor, and ran major de-cluttering projects. I don’t think we’re going to be on HGTV’s “Design Star” any time soon, but it’s definitely much better (and more functional) in here.

First, here’s Frankie’s revised bedroom. It actually looks like a girl lives here now!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now, here’s the biggest change… the playroom!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The hallway is now totally de-cluttered:

And our bedroom has new a new (non-squeaky) bed and new linens:

Most of the rooms just have minor changes, like this bathroom where we covered up the sketchy carpet with a new rug:

Matt’s office is actually much different. Before, you could hardly walk into the room. There were two enormous, overstuffed armchairs from the 1980s in here, which we took out and swapped for the organ. (Matt loves organs!) We got rid of the junky foosball table (which Frankie, mercifully, seems to have forgotten about), added a rug, added a more modern lamp, and moved out boxes and boxes of clutter. I know that it doesn’t look like much from the pictures, but trust me… It’s 1,000 times better in here. It’s actually very pleasant to read a book or sit by the fire in here.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

So, it’s feeling much more like *our* place now. For me, one of the biggest reliefs is finally having the house reasonably kid-proofed. With all of the clutter in the drawers before, I was somewhat panicked at the thought of all of the dangerous things that Frankie could get her hands on: Knives, matches, chemical solvents, decanturs of brandy, wire cutters, hammers, you name it, it was in an easily accessible toddler-level drawer or cabinet. I feel much better now about letting Frankie loose in the house. Matt even kid-proofed the window in her bedroom, a hazard that literally give me nightmares the first night we were here. (Who, I ask you, puts a kid’s bed against a second-story window with no screen or lock? Madness!)

With all of that accomplished, Frankie and I are treating ourselves to a lazy day today. Don’t know how the heck Matt manages to go to work and concentrate on all of his clients and projects after all being all of these long days of sorting, socializing, and planning things at home. At this point, I can barely summon the energy to make a sandwich, let alone organize nuclear cleanup. He’s amazing.