One of many reasons for writing a blog is to bookmark family events and happenings so that at some point we can look back and relive the past. Kind of like a living photo album. So indulge me.
It's been a long time coming but with the advent of Dad getting a job, the big reno is underway. Tom (16) has a double bedroom down the back of the house but with a double bed, sundry drawers, consoles and stereo paraphernalia, its quite a squeeze. One that really gets my goat when i venture in, with trepidation, to find the dirty clothes and to change the bed sheets before they start growing mould.
As you can see the carpet has to go and also i don't think the buttercup yellow walls suit a 16 year old boy.
It was actually about two years ago, Tom's been quite patient, that we discussed opening up the wall to the bedroom next door and making one giant room. One that will allow him a small sofa bed for friends and room for all "his stuff". Presently it is in boxes and spread out all over the house. Oh, we have four bedrooms and only 1 child so with one allocated as an office there is one spare that gets filled up with junk when visitors arrive and never finds its way to being cleared.
The Pièce de résistance of the renovation is a wall unit that Tom has designed many times over. It takes up one wall leaving a gap in the middle to fit his bedhead (ie the bedhead is recessed into the unit).
Hard to see but is has spaces for just about everything including the fridge (bottom RHS) which he already has.
Actual measurements. He did all this himself. Its about the 10th version and he spends nights dreaming about it putting it on paper and then presenting it to us the next day hoping that it will get started soon.
﻿It has cubby-holes for just about everything, including cup holders, recessed lights, speaker ports, lots of storage for games, DVDs, CDs and hopefully in there somewhere is a few cavities for important stuff like baskets of socks and jocks. This will alleviate the need for drawers. I'm hoping that the misc models of cars and trains and football trophies currently taking up residence in my beautiful country wall unit in family room will make it into his room/s as well. Ive got my own stuff hidden away in boxes to pull out and use.
Can you imagine this filled with heritage platters and large ceramic bowls that will actually be used?
Actual Colour under bright light.
Tongue and Groove for easy installation. - this is the colour it normally looks inside and will go well with the merbau deck later on.
You might be wondering who is going to do all this work. Well look no further than the 3 of us. Its usually an exercise in family disharmony throughout the process but we do good work. Now that Tom is older he is taking on more jobs himself. Today he taped up the room to protect the stained architraves and put some filler in any holes. It just needs a light sand and tomorrow he will start painting. I've asked my sister over to be a friendly adviser and ladder holder (cause he's doing it himself, he tells me) and i don't imagine it will take more than a day to do the one room. He's not waiting for Dad to open up the second room as he figures he could be waiting another year. His focus is getting that wall unit built that he designed and the walls and floor have to be done first.
Important paint attributes for teenager' bedrooms - Exception Washability, Superior Stain Resistance, Highly Scuff Proof. Most importantly it is Vivid White - at times he was planning on Black with white splotches!
And so it begins.....﻿﻿﻿ I imagine this job will take a while and in the mean time he has moved all his stuff into the family room and looks quite at home taking up the centre of the house.
Only problem is that he is near the kitchen and i got in trouble at 5am this morning making too much noise while i was getting Dad's breakfast and making his lunch.
Where do these kids get their spunk from?