BEFORE: (Zach's cabin)
AFTER: (Now Naia's cabin)
We basically emptied every. single. thing. out of the guest cabin in the port hull and either tossed it out, donated to charity, or re-homed it somewhere else in the boat. It was quite the chore because the guest cabin has become the convenient dumping ground for everyone's "stuff". Then we did the same routine for Zach's cabin. every little bit out. And my boy is quite the collector, so it was also no small task. All of the stuff sat in the bubbled in cockpit over winter so we could slowly go through it all. Dock cart after dock cart load went to the trash or the car to donating or recycling. I kid you not, when it was all said and done, our waterline raised 3 inches. Whoa. That's what a decade on the same boat + 2 kids will do.
Then we moved Zach into the larger former guest cabin. I would show you photos of his new room, but not only is it a typical little boy mess of Legos and stuffed animals and books, we really didn't do anything special in there. He really wasn't keen on any decoration or even new sheets, so it's the same old thing, only larger. And he didn't want me taking pictures of his "private space".
Doug and I got nostalgic that first night he slept in there. Doug looked at me and said, "He's in the other hull. He's away from us for the first time. It's kind of sad." But then we realized that although we have to walk through the boat and over to the other side to get to his room, he is actually sleeping head to head with us sharing a wall. So far away, but close. Zach loves his new bigger space, mostly because he gets his own bathroom and he's close to the fridge.
All of this was of course to move Naia out of our cabin where she has been sleeping since birth and into her own big girl room. There was a little bit of damage done from 5 years of Zach living in there. Namely, that the chalkboard painted locker doors were trashed. They were pretty much beyond repair, so I came up with another solution which was to sew little cloth panels and hang them on elastic stretched between some eye bolts. Behind are her books in one spot, and toys in the other.
BEFORE:
AFTER: (with curtain partially open)
The fabric matches her new quilt and pillow cases on the bed. Nautical, and light, and neutral... all good things.
I also sewed a new book sling to match everything as well. She loves having all of her favorite books right at her reach in bed.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The rest of the room is a work in progress still. I wanted to make it look pretty, but resisted doing too much because I realize as her personality emerges more and more she will want to make her own mark on her space.
In the back room, which once upon a time was a head (toilet), and a storage space, and a little "office", and a Lego room... I created a little girl cave. Basically I sewed a bunch of extra large pillow cases that would hold 2 pillows long ways, and stuffed the floor with them to make it soft and cozy. Then i hung play silks all around and we plan on installing some LED twinkle lights in there too. Just a fun little space for her to hang out, and slowly make into her own little corner.
Now the only thing left... is to convince her to sleep in there. Actually she is willing to try most nights, and usually makes it about half way through the night before coming back in with us. And I manage to get her to nap in there when she graces us all with a nap.
The first night we had our bed to ourselves in a long, long, wow that's been a long time... Doug was so excited that once the kids were asleep he set this up just for kicks. It's not permanent of course, but it was fun for a night to watch an adult show on a big screen while in bed just like a land lubber. (excuse the bad camera phone shot.)
Lap top projector + a sheet = Sherlock on the big screen!
