Room Tour: Happy Organizing!
by Apr 25th, 2011 // Room Tour
Room Tour: Happy Organizing!
Last week I had the great pleasure of meeting Peter Walsh at my office. Peter is Oprah’s organization and clutter guru and he’s definitely the inspiration for the gift of organization I gave myself this past weekend. Peter believes de-cluttering and organizing your life leads to happiness. I couldn’t agree more.
My meeting with Peter couldn’t have come at a better time, for the very next day these three guys showed up at my house to rip out all of the hardwood floors. The floors, which have been in the house since 1926, were shedding polyurethane in large unsightly chunks. Last year we did try to save them with some sanding and a new coat of poly, but it only held for a few months. When the baby started crawling, I began finding poly in her hands, on her feet and in her clothing. It was definitely time time for new floors.
Fun. Also, not so fun. I had to clear out the entire house for the floors to be installed, but my meeting with Peter had me determined to get each room in order as I began putting them back together. The new, dark wood floors came out awesome! We used pre-finished hardwood floor boards to minimize dust and maximize the amount of wear and tear they could take.
We bought new bins for the shelving unit (from Ikea), hung my kid’s lantern from his bed post for middle-of-the- night bathroom trips, and turned this metal pail into a customized Lego storage bin. We used stencils and paint from the department store to affix his name, and then let him decorate with stickers.
We hung a clothes line across the wall above his bed and used clothes pins to hang up some of his art projects. We used a few years worth for a little trip down memory lane.
My parents painted this old, beat-up Ikea kids table with glossy paint also picked up at the hardware store. My kid picked out the colors all by himself. Orange and blue! My alma mater would be proud!
And, of course we gave his flying V and amp (from my dear friend Kasey, who works for Gibson), prime real estate in the corner of his room. All and all, I’m quite pleased with how it all turned out. What do you think?
i think it's pretty amazing, great room for a great kid
It looks fantastic! I love how open and clean it is. The floors really do look excellent too.
Funny you should ask. We found that when the bins are lower the toys get put away. When they are higher, they don't. His favorite books are on a shelf he can reach. But, since we mostly read books together, it works out better having them high up rather than having toys everywhere.
i love it! can you tell me where you got the white cubed shelving unit? i couldnt find on ikea website…also the comforters? thanks! jealous about having THE peter walsh come in
These are pics worthy of a design magazine layout. I want that
JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO SO gorgeous Rebecca! Congrats. 
@mickb – Ikea calls it Expedit. Here's a link http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/400476… It comes in different colors. People also use it as a room divider. Oh and some other site I was on said they have doors for the shelves. People tell me Target has them too but I haven't seen them.
Love the room! But where are his clothes?
Eek! You met Peter Walsh? Awesome! What's even more awesome is the way this room came out. I adore the floors. They're gorgeous! Did you pick up the clothes line from Ikea? I wanted to do something similar in my girls' room.
yes.peter is a lovely man. i wish he could have come to my house! so glad you like the room. and the choice in floor color. i got the clothes line and clothes pins at the hardware store. i used screw eyes at either end to hold it up. note: you have to make it really taught because the pictures make it droop. don't be tempted to make it droopy to start!
looks really great rebecca!
awe, thanks amy! would love a tour of your kid's rooms. bet they are fabulous!
Go 'Cuse!
Looooooooove it. We’re about to embark on a room by room re-do too so this is great inspiration. Gus has an awesome room! Floors are to die for. Jealous.
the comforter is a duvet cover we got it from Land Of Nod. Here's a link: http://www.landofnod.com/boy-bedding/kids/robo-be…. the book shelves are from Ikea's expedit line. They still sell them and the baskets. It has served us well for years and years. Used to be a bookshelf in my husband's office!
Love, love, love the room! A fantastic job!!
Fantastic job but what did you do with all the clothes? .. ",)
Oh I love this! We're in the middle of setting up the artwork pegs at the moment! With 5 kids at home we need all the artwork storage we can get! Your floor looks fantastic too! We're facing renovations very soon and have chosen a dark stain for our floor. Looks very classy I think!
Job so well done!
Jac @ Commmon Chaos Chronicle!
I know this is a side line question but is [Imagine That!] on his table a book or a card that has been made?
I do like the room, the dark floors have come out well! I was going to say something about the books being too high but if it works for you then it definitely works
Beautiful! Do you find that the lego blocks get "dumped" because the bin is so big?
I hope you remembered to anchor those bookshelves to some studs in the wall. Bookshelves can be so inviting for boys to climb – if that big one tipped over on him it could mean serious injury or death! Anchor away!
AH – I just read the whole thread and I see you do have your bookshelves anchored. Excellent! So many people forget!
yes! i live in CA so i'm even more worried about earthquakes than climbing.
Yeah, books are high so that the toys can be low and put away by my kid. Low toy bins = good clean up. That book is a kid's yoga book that my kid loves. He turns the pages and tries out each pose. Super cute!
Thanks, Peter! You're a good influence!
The closets are fully built out with drawers and clothes racks. I cannot take credit (we bought the house that way) but I LOVE not having to have a dresser taking up space in his room. It's awesome. Highly recommend.
haha! at least someone noticed!
5 kids! that's a lot of art. glad you like the floor color. we're really digging it.
Well, there are several boxes of Legos in the room. There's the big bin. A medium sized blue bucket (you can see it on his shelves) and then several of those clear containers house his creations. It's kind of an elaborate system but the best I can do to keep them contained. We cannot have little Lego pieces everywhere with a baby in the house.
i LOVE it!!! we're just getting ready to embark on a room-by-room re-do/re-org as well and you've totally inspired me! gus is a lucky little dude. oh and the floors are beautiful!!! but i want to know…does he empty out the whole lego bin onto the floor? do you cut your feet on legos like i do??
takes one to know one
xoxo
Very cool! And so brave of you to tackle the floors…