To make the girls room look more like a school house or room, I went to a school that was being torn down and purchased a large chalk board that was on wheels for $15. I took it off the frame and pulled out the second chalk board which was on the back and sold it at a yardsale making my money back. I then used the frame and the tray off the board and screwed them into the wall so they girls could have chalk and erasers on their board just like they do in school.
Over the years however, the kids climbed on the base holder for the chalk and it started coming loose. I took it off and hung the chalk in a cloth bag off the top screws so that the chalk would be contained. The other thing that the tray did was to catch all the dust from the erasers and chalk. In some ways that was nice, in others it wasn't so nice. I liked having the erasers but they seemed to create more dust than if I let the kids get damp paper towel and wipe the board clean. I put the erasers on a string hanging as well but since I don't have little one's using it right now, I actually put the chalk and erasers in the file cabinet until we either change out the room or have children using it again.
I found the white board for free from an office that was closing down that my brother-n-law worked at many years ago so that was nice. I have metal file cabinets next to the white board so I have a magnetic holder on them that holds the colored white board markers so that they are easy to find.
At the time, my daughter that collected "Snoopy" was in that room and so she had a shelf and had her collection on the shelf. Since then, she moved out and the daughter that collects "Sesame Street" is in this room. You can see many items in her collection including this cute picture one of them took for reflections of their sister with Elmo and our other Christmas stuffed animals.
Someone gave us red bunk beds and matresses so that was free and we had this red youth bed we bought as a display model so it was very cheap. Funny story about this. Since it was already made up, we tied it to the roof. My ex forgot it was on the roof and drove into the garage with the bed on the top of the car. It didn't survive the trip well. I ended up taking it down to the local welding place and had the frame welded together since the car top ride broke the bolts and made it unusable. It probably worked better welded than it would have just bolted. So, we were lucky to have the red beds and youth bed that matched.
I went in search of bed spreads that matched the light sky blue of the walls to lighten the room. It is a basement room and doesn't get much light so I wanted to go with the light blue rather than red. I was able to find three matching spreads at second hand stores or on the radio yard sale show. I don't think I paid over $5 for anything in the room.
The red curtains were from the second hand store as well as the curtains that I used to cover the shelves of the bookshelf we bought at an unfinished furniture place and the other book shelf we bought at a overstock sale at a local buisness getting rid of some of their office items. I just slid the wooden shelf into the balloon valence part of the curtain and left the part where the rod would go dangling over the shelf front. This keeps the tops of the books from getting dirty and dusty. I also liked the look it gave and tied in the curtain on the window and the curtain that I painted on the closet "window" so I could tie the red into the room that was on the beds. I just painted some waves in the window curtain on the closet so it would look more like the curtain in the real window.
The girls wanted books in their "school" so I put all the children'as book in their room. I have had to clean out several times as they get older and the books they like change. I have a friend that home schools and runs a preschool so I have taken many boxes of books over to her. The girls are good readers and they have introduced me to some good book as well as liking the classics which we have enjoyed.
Some of the decorations have changed over the years as we have added a few things. I used the wooden letters I have spoken about and put links up in other decorating posts, and put up "School" and also used some of the wooden shapes in the room such as stars to go with the sky theme on the ceiling.
I have also purchased some "boards" with sayings that went along with the room. Since the daughter in the room now collects Sesame Street, we have a "Rubber Ducky" board above the closet as you saw in yesterday's post and we have one on the "Sky" wall that says, "Now I know my A, B, C's." to go along with the school house theme. These were at an overstock sale. Where the red youth bed once was, now there is a black desk for Princess number 4 to study. We gave away the red bunk beds to a family in need and have a set we bought at the same unfinished furniture store back east where we got the book case.
Since Princess number four often has to share her room with Princess number 3 when we have company, we decided to leave the bunk beds in the room. We could take them down and make two twins but Princess number 4 wants them as bunk beds. It is funny as she sometimes sleeps on the top bunk and other times sleeps on the bottom. I always have to check both when waking her as I never know which bed she will be sleeping on.
When looking for shelves to put the Sesame Street collection on for her room, I looked at several shelves but I didn't want kids pulling down the items as some are VERY old. I decided that making a shelf the length of the wall would be best and so I went to the cull lumber and found some long boards and bought some brackets on clearance and used them for the shelves. I thought about painting them but since the bunks and the book shelf were all unfinished and natural, I would leave the shelf the same.
The collection is mostly original muppets now. She got rid of anything Elmo and stuck with the vintage items. You would be suprised at how much that is. As you can see, she has many items of each character. As the girls get older, they are more willing to let more and more go. It just gave them something to focus on when growing. I explained in past posts, that we used to get a Barbie or a stuffed animal for each daughter from each aunt every Christmas and birthday. We would end up with 10-20 dolls or animals each holiday. When I shared that the kids, "collected" whatever, they would get an individual gift that focused on something they enjoyed rather than another animal they wouldn't play with. They don't often play with the collection items either but at least it went with the room theme and they could sell it as a collection.
It has been fun over the years to see some of the things they have written on the black board and white board. They have gotten very creative at times and it has been used often for "playing school" when they have had friends over. The best part comes when I get to leave messages for them on the boards or they leave messages for me to find.
One day, I went in and found this on the baord. I was taking pictures of the room for a contest years ago and walked around the bed to find this waiting for me. "Your the best mom in the world!" with a heart for the o in world. And as you can see below, the girls have used it for a schedule keeper at times.
There isn't a time when they have friends over that there isn't something written new on the board. Just this week, I went down to help Princess number 4 finish going through some pants as they have all had a growth spirt and her friend wrote, "You are the bestest friend." to which my lovely daugher wrote, "I know" and then included, "You are my bestest friend too."
Perhaps that is one of the reasons she hasn't upgraded her room. It is still fun for her to write messages on the boards. I think over all, the black board on the wall works better than the blackboard paint I have seen used and makes it seem more like a school room. As you decorate your rooms, you really need to go with whatever makes you and your children happy. Find something they enjoy and make that the focus of the room.
For me, the garden is my favorite and that is why I did my bathroom "A secret garden" and the beach is another favorite of mine so I made my other bathroom "a beach bathroom" so think about what your favorite place to be is and make that the foundation for your next project. The bathroom isn't the most favorite room of the house but when it reminds you of a beach or garden, it makes the stay a bit brighter.
The girls rooms are where they spend most of their time. It should reflect things they enjoy and things that will make their day brighter. Tomorrow, Princess fives, Dress up room.
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