Adelaide's Room: Finished!

I'm finally done with the little girl's room! I put finishing touches on it this morning, and breathed a sigh of relief knowing that whenever she decides to come, I don't have to worry about working on this room anymore! I am absolutely in love with every bit of it, and now I just wish that all our rooms looked this good! :)

[Entering the room. Rug from IKEA.]

[Bookshelves made from a vinyl gutter. New vibrating seat was a $5 Goodwill find!]

[Bamboo blinds from Lowe's. Curtains from IKEA. Wooden bike from Goodwill.]

[Shelves I've had for years.]

[Dresser from IKEA, with new knobs and changing pad on top. Cloth diapers, covers, handmade wipes, etc. are in the top drawer, while clothes are in the other two drawers. Wet pail to the left of the dresser. Tall mirror hung low so Adelaide can use it when she gets older. Dandelion decals from Target.]

[Mobile I made, inspired by the one found here.]

[This will be Adelaide's view when she's getting her diaper changed.]

[Closet doors, and door into room.]

[Martha Stewart alphabet cards. I love the vintage feel.]

[Knobs on closet doors, found at Hobby Lobby.]

[Gulliver crib from IKEA. $0.99 sheet from Goodwill.]

[Crochet blanket was a gift from a friend. I made the owl years ago, and the kitty is IKEA.]

[I made this bunting that hangs over the crib. If you flip it over, the other side says "I love you".]

[Closeup of the bunting. Both of these fabrics are being used in the quilt I'm making her.]

[Crib/bookcase corner.]

[Frame collage over bookcase. I made the paper collages in the five gray frames using scrapbook paper.]

[Hubby and I made this bookcase out of birch plywood. We put it together using dowel rods and no screws! We are very proud of it. It's very sturdy and stable, and will last years.]

[$5 piggy bank from Target, no longer sold.]

I can't wait to put little Adelaide in her room! I think it's made well enough so that it will grow with her. The crib converts into a toddler bed and will most likely stay where it is. The bookcase of course can hold so much more than it is now (we just don't have many toys yet). Books can be switched out in the gutter bookshelves. The changing pad can be removed and little girly things can be placed on top. And the closet is still practically empty and can hold tons.

I'm so happy with the way this room turned out! Total cost was around $500, but that includes all the big furniture, the wood to make the bookcases, and the tons we spent in paint samples! Not bad for a room that started off beige all over and completely different!

This book's going in the gutter! (Gutter bookshelf, that is...)

While working on Adelaide's room, I was trying to figure out what to do with a wonky-sized corner.  The wall facing the doorway has a window, but the window is not centered (drives me nutty!).  To the right of the window, we have the dresser and wet pail.

To the left, we had a 3-ft span.  I was originally wanting to do some sort of corner bookshelf/bench/cubby thing, but I realized when doing all the measuring and figuring, that the vent would either have to be covered up or blocked.  It is the only vent in the room so that's not an option.  I don't really want Adelaide to freeze in the winter or burn up in the summer.

So, after seeing lots of examples of this on other home/mommy/school blogs, I decided to make some bookshelves out of gutters!  I loved the idea for the simplicity of the look, the easiness of the project, and the cheapness of the whole thing.  

For $20, I was able to purchase the 10-ft vinyl gutter and 6 endcaps (3 left and 3 right) to create our three 3-ft long bookshelves.

After cutting them to size, with a bit of scrap left over, I sanded the pvc-like edges clean and attached the end caps.  I caulked along the inside of the caps to make sure they adhered really well and let them dry overnight.

The next day, Kevin and I measured exactly where we wanted them on the wall and found the studs so they would be nice and sturdy.  We predrilled holes in the gutters, and then screwed them into the studs, with a couple of other screws on the ends to add support.

Ta-da!

Adding books makes them look so fantastic, right?!  And the idea behind these gutter bookshelves is that Adelaide will see the fronts of the books, instead of just the spine, therefore being more interested in reading the books.  The first is only 18 inches off the floor, so definitely in her reach, when she gets to moving around.  Nicer books will stay on the top shelf, and Moma will have to pull those down for reading to her :)

We still plan on making another bookshelf/cubby piece of furniture out of birch plywood, but that's still a work-in-progress and will go on the wall to the left of these bookshelves.  This child already has a lot of books, and will surely collect many more (just like me!).