Multi-purpose (mummy) nook

In our “rental, sweet rental”, space is scarce. As well as scarce, the whole floor plan of the flat is somewhat awkward with odd corners, walls and nooks. Perhaps our lifestyle is too different from an average Cypriot family who would find no problem furnishing such typical apartment, I have struggled decorating it for years. Only now, I think finally I am settling with some of the rooms…

This particular nook, 2.4m by 2.8m is meant to be a dining room with a table and six chairs. My needs could never be satisfied with a mere dining room. What about all my precious arts & craft supplies? And kids’ craft? Sewing machine? Starbucks mug collection? Calligraphy set? They all need an appropriate loving home!

It was a challenge to bring all of these together, but I think, for time being, this solution works.

The Multi-purpose (mummy) nook contains the following:

– Yes, a big table that easily sits 6, and can be extended to sit 8 comfortably.

– Four chairs and a DIY bench

– Two IKEA cupboards with glass doors

–  A TV (2″ or 3″ – it’s tiny)

– A DIY Chalkboard with two shelves above it.

My craft supplies have migrated many many times. They’ve been known to hang out around the office desk, sometimes in odd drawers in all parts of the house, and sometimes, oh so disrespectfully, in plastic craters tucked away. It was until I came to terms with my personality, and called things by their names – I admitted to myself, that it wasn’t a slip up, it wasn’t just that one time…. I am a CRAFTER!

It wasn’t the case of occasional crafts. It wasn’t just making some Christmas cards – it’s cheaper. Or making a birthday present for your niece – it’s more personal. Or sewing/knitting/crocheting clothes – it fits better. It was always about self-expression through creating. And that requires many many tools. Above you can see a whole cupboard dedicated to my many arts and crafts supplies, some finished DIYs and ever present work-in-progress.

My daughter also enjoys craft time. Mummy is very happy, even if it is just a phase. We use all media; paints, markers, colours, crayons, chalk, playdough, face paints and stickers. Craft boxes and colouring books are very happy here. My little ones know where to find whatever medium will help them express themselves best, pull it out, grab a chair and immerse!

The cupboard is a host to our Starbucks mug collection, too.

We needed a bench between those cupboards, and instead we had an Ikea small dining table.  I think every newly wed couple had bought one in the Noughties.

When we realised we needed a bigger table, we bought a beautiful solid wood expandable table. My dad did that thing that he does (often times a.k.a. the impossible) and turned it into a bench. Love it!

The Chalkboard is the last addition to this Multi-purpose (mummy) nook. This board is actually another Ikea piece of furniture that has outlived its useful life. Because it broke. Typical.

It is simply a bottom panel painted with black chalkboard paint and mounted onto a wall. It looked a little lonely, so I’ve put up two shelves above it with some of my favourite frames and pieces. Heart were cut out of cork sticker and glued thereon, breaking up all that black.  I love how my daughter completely embraced it and draws on the board without reservations – exactly its purpose.

Finally, there is my tiny TV, that’s on when I craft. I also found it very useful to keep kids in the same room with me when I am cooking to keep an eye on them.

I am happy about the direction this room is taking – apart from a few tiny tweaks here and there, like the picture frames above the TV. I am sure I will think of something and happily D-I-Wife it!

Pictures is this post show a few of my other crafts, links to which you can find here:

Boy’s Room

My Boy is growing up so quickly, it is time to change his nursery into something more grown up (perhaps even move him in with his older sister). Before it is dismantled, I decided to take a few more photos of his first room and share some ideas that made up his room. In a way – immortalize the memory.

I have posted about shelves in Charlie’s room before, and mentioned briefly how kids’  rooms are ever changing, adapting to new needs, both mummy and baby.

For now, this is Charli’s baby room.

From his older sister, Charlie inherited a red Ikea chair with a matching foot rest, a baby cot and a red stripy carpet. That’s a lot of red for a boy’s room. My solution was to add a neutral colour or a colour that would sort of neutralise red. Adding turquoise seemed like a good idea, and consequently, a theme started developing. I think it all became somewhat circus inspired.

I miraculously found some time (with a toddler and a baby!!!) to paint a very simple triptych arrangement  of some bunting on blue sky. I also found a blue lampshade and decorated that with white felt cloud cut-outs. Another wall decoration was a cross-stitched Russian Alphabet. Love that!

An old moses basket (and when I say old, I mean old – it was not safe to pass on to another baby) became a toy basket and hid under a foot stool.

Some of my favourite toys made it to Charlie’s shelves – a retro radio tin, a soft stacking toy, Cheburashka, Elmo and some other treasures. A rocking horse found its place in the room, too.

For Charlie’s first Christmas I made him a beautiful triangle inspired quilt, a tutorial for which you can find there, too.

A sweet little room where Charlie and I spent many hours – laughing, crying (mainly Charlie) and bonding. I will miss this room, just like I will miss my little-baby-boy year. Now,   I will look forward to creating a fun-filled big boy room and all the fun memories we will make there.

If you liked this room, check out more here:

       

Book Shelves in My Girl’s Room

One of my all time favourite time-spending (or sometimes time-wasting) is hanging out in Lexie’s room. Sometimes with her, sometimes without her. I love all the little pieces that come together to make her room special. Some pieces I have been hunting to get (i.e. Tcheburashka), some pieces are quite generic, some are hand-made and some are gifts. Everything that comes in is appreciated and places with care.

They are appreciated and placed with care on this side of the room…

Opposite however is a really boring white wall. Ideally, if you are sitting on the bed, or facing the Toddler kitchen or the Doll’s house, you are not too bothered by it, but it is there – very bluh (I would try to think of a better word to describe the wall, but I got bored…).

It’s a difficult wall to come up with an interesting solution for. Its right above Lexie’s bed, which means putting up standard shelves would lead to a few bumped heads. Wall art would have been another great idea, but not as functional as shelves. My solution would have to be both functional and fun.

When I saw these book shelves for sale in Ikea, I was oh-so-happy. They were perfect! Exactly what I wanted. We bought them Saturday and Sunday they were up! Mind you, a personal first – I drilled the holes in the walls all by myself! I even used a “level” to make sure they were perfectly horizontal! I must say, I impressed myself. Therefore, I admit that this blog is not so much to share a brilliant idea (who doesn’t go to Ikea to buy shelves?), it is definitely a brag post. I did this ALL BY MYSELF! (I sound like my three year old!)

Very proud of the new book shelves!  Books are visually pleasant and are read a lot more when in sight. You are never alone holding a book!

Shelves in a small baby room

This is  Charlie’s room.

Shelves under the window

This is Charlie’s tiny room. Before Charlie moved in, it was used as my husband’s wardrobe. This 3m by 3m room has a very inconvenient layout. One wall is a wall of  built-in closets, one wall has a window and another has a door.  When we used it as a guest room, we could barely fit in a bed (without blocking the wardrobe doors). 

When converting this room into a baby room, I wanted to use every inch of the oh-so-scarce space.  A baby room for me is not just a place where a baby sleeps and midnight feeds take place. From experience with Lexie’s room, I like baby room to grow with the child, i.e. change it up every 6 months or so, to accommodate new toys, new furniture, etc.  The nursing chair needs to be in the room for the first 6 months, but not when the baby is cruising or toddling.  Likewise, in about a year, baby cot will have to be replaced by a bed that can fit into its space.  When planning Charlie’s room, I wanted a nursing chair/reading nook, where I could enjoy many midnight hours, reading my favourite baby books.  Eventually, “mummy’s reading nook” was modified, but only slightly.  The shelves don’t hold mummy’s books any more but are hosting lots of baby’s books and toys.  The baskets are now filled with plush toys and not muslin cloths and blankets. Eventually, the nursing chair itself will be replaced, too.  Any suggestions?

All in all, I like these shelves, they have served their purpose, and hopefully will continue to do so over the next few years.

Note: If you don’t have children,  you are probably thinking that only an insane person would think so much about shelves in baby room.  You are right.