The Ever Shifting Home

I love to rearrange. It's what I do when I'm stressed, or bored, or feeling uninspired. It happens often. Scott is very supportive as this rarely involves him and keeps me busy. Until it involves the kitchen, then both he and Dagny (one of my very favorite people) both spew words of frustration at me. You know you have found a lifelong friend when they know your home so well that rearranging the kitchen throws them off their game. ;) And yes, that means she cooks for me....and my kids...and Scott...or just for herself.
Now I'm off track, back to rearranging. Whenever Scott is out of town I try to complete some sort of home improvement project. This time it was creating a true desk space for the girls in their rooms. I also like to engage my thrifty side and be creative in how to complete my vision without spending a noticeable amount of money. Ikea was the answer for this project. 8 years ago my MIL bought me cubby shelves for the baby room. These shelves have been moved countless times and been used in so many ways that I would feel lost without them. Now, with the help of some inexpensive hardware and materials, they are the base for the desks I put together.
The addition of a purposeful desk space makes their rooms seem so grown up. There are still plenty of toys to trip over and poke you painfully in the foot in the middle of the night, but the focus of the room is shifting. Part of how the shelves needed to be arranged in Kate's room meant exposing the back side of the shelf. On a whim we grabbed some leftover scrapbook paper and decorated the unattractive backs of the cubbies. I suggested she tape pictures to the papers and she immediately grabbed the school photo of her BFF and stuck it on there. That made it feel like she is even closer to her teenage years.

Kate got to build her first piece of Ikea furniture. She was so happy I finally found a bedside table for her. Shh, don't tell her it's supposed to be a garden table.