It’s Time… We’re Moving – Sort of

For a long time now I’ve been thinking about our home and our family and how much everything has changed in the last few years. Most recently, my oldest son, Alec, graduated high school and spends the majority of his time working several jobs, including helping on the farm with his dad. His bedroom at my house is rarely used these days, and while the thought of one of my babies flying the nest is a hard pill to swallow, I know he’s ready and needs to go out into the world and pursue his passions and dreams. 

Earlier this summer, I was having a conversation with my youngest son, Wyatt, about his bedroom and how he wishes he had more space for his friends to come hang out. I’ve always wanted our home to be an open space where the kids want to be and want their friends to come over too. But now that Wyatt’s a teenager, his small, awkwardly shaped bedroom just doesn’t accommodate him as well as it used to.

One day I got to thinking… 

How can we move rooms around to give him a little more space?

What if I turn Alec’s old room into something else, but put a guest room somewhere so he’ll still have a place to stay?

I could probably fit all my office stuff into Alec’s old room… but would I want to move my bedroom from the second floor down to the first floor?

I love my bedroom… that would be a difficult decision.

But if I move downstairs into what is now my office, then Wyatt could have my old room, which is much bigger. Plenty of space for him and his friends to hang out.

And Wyatt’s old room could become a guest bedroom for when Alec or friends or family come to stay…

One thing you should know about me is once the wheels start turning, it’s full speed ahead until I either bring my vision to completion or come to the decision that it’s not a good idea. And the more I started thinking about swapping literally EVERY room in this house (minus the main living areas), I got more and more excited about the possibilities. This would mean my bedroom would be right next to the only bathroom in the house vs. being on two seperate floors. I would finally have central heating and air in my room (the two rooms upstairs are still baseboard heaters and window AC units). Wyatt would have plenty of space for him and his friends upstairs, and we would no longer have an unused room that made me a little sad every time I walked by it. Letting your babies grow up is hard – I’m sure many of you can relate. 

It took me a couple weeks to get up the courage to start this massive summer project… moving every bed, dresser, piece of clothing, and a million other things that have been shoved in closets for too many years. Painting each room before moving in, because they all desperately need it. Purging, donating, and selling SO. MUCH. STUFF. And figuring out where to even begin took a lot of mental energy. 

The “Great Room Swap of 2024” feels daunting, to say the least, but I am also really excited to completely change the way our home functions, decorate 4 brand new spaces, and clear out a lot of the clutter that has accumulated over the years. 

The Plan:

• Clear out Alec’s old bedroom first and move my office over – both rooms currently on the first floor
• After the old office is cleared out, move my bedroom downstairs to the front room 
• Once my bedroom is moved, switch Wyatt’s room from the smaller to the larger bedroom upstairs
• Then turn the smaller bedroom upstairs into a guest room 

Once my mind was made up, I got right to work moving furniture, clearing out closets, and selling things we don’t need anymore. I’m not a fan of having projects left unfinished for long periods of time, and quite honestly my mental health really suffers when I have undone projects and a mess everywhere. So I powered through weeks of very long days and nights of painting, cleaning, purging, organizing, and moving all our stuff around. It’s true what they say – you really don’t realize just how much stuff you have until you have to pack it up and move it. But the more I let go of, it almost became addicting to rid our house of all the things we never touch anymore and just take up space. The time for designing and decorating will come eventually, but first I had to do the hard, crummy part of getting the space cleared out and ready.

And boy, did it pay off when I was finally able to start moving things in to my new office…

What’s Next:

Over the next several weeks, I’m going to be sharing the entire journey of swapping these rooms around, creating little daily episodes I’ll share on social media – so be sure you are following me on Instagram and Facebook if you aren’t already!

I have a ton of work ahead of me, but I know it will be well worth the effort in the end. Here is the moodboard I created for my office to give you an idea of the direction I’m heading in… I can’t wait to show you more!

SOURCE LIST

L-shape rotating desk | cream shearling barrel chair | lamp
black bookcase | white filing cabinet | wood cabinet with drawers (similar)
wood/marble plant stand | round white vase | upholstered cube
lumbar pillow | black urn vase | bust statue
wicker basket with lid | black tabletop easel | vintage art prints
vintage caster wheels | wireless phone charging stand

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