Now, about a year ago we moved Zach out of his little cabin in the aft section of the starboard hull and into the port side "guest room". And we transformed the little aft cabin into a room for Naia who had been sleeping with us and didn't have a room for her first 3 years. At the time we concentrated solely on making Naia's new cabin awesome so that Naia would sleep there. We succeeded in the awesome part, but failed on the sleeping. She still sleeps with us. Every single night. And we're cool with that. She's the last kid, and she's my teddy bear, so it's all good. But we never did anything more than unceremoniously dump Zach and all of his belongings into the guest cabin.
Until now.
Naia and I took apart the room completely. every book, every cubby, every single item in the room came out.
Aside from culling and organizing books, there was just too much stuff. And garbage. Actual literal garbage. Mind you his bedroom door is like 4 feet from our galley trash can. Sigh, boys. Five huge trash bags later, we started organizing things back into the room... and then started to decorate. And here's what it looks like now!
My boy is a certified Britofile. His taste in movies, literature, humor, and history all lean very English. So a huge Union Jack to cover the bland beige head board seemed to suit the room perfectly. Then I sewed a Doctor Who pillow (my first time sewing piping, don't look too close, it's a little rough around the edges.) And added a small Union Jack fabric panel to cover the Lego cubby.
Oh the Lego cubby. That was like a whole day of organizing. My kid falls in the free form build from your imagination school of Lego. If he gets a set as a gift, he might build it once, but then it goes into what I call "the heap". Inevitably he ends up not being able to find "the piece" needed to create whatever is blooming in his head. Not surprising since the Lego cubby was a swirling mass or chaos. We bought some plastic bins and I took advantage of my girl who LOVES to sort little things, and got to work. Minifigs in one bin, random pieces in another two bins, accessories in another. Eventually the fabric will be held in with bungees and eye bolts to make the cubby secure, right now it's just a touch of velcro to hold it in place and cover the Lego mess.
Other cubbies have oversized books with his extra quilt for cold nights.
And magazines along with his natural treasures in a special bin, things like rocks and feathers and shells and bits.
On the wall by his bed I put up some hoops with embroidery and fabric of favorite things, a Harry Potter quote, Star Trek, and a Tardis.
And then there's the closets. Oh man that was a chore. I bought some hanging things that I think are to store pantyhose and jewelry, but I put his odds and ends in there. Works perfectly! And his clothing, well I organized as best I could knowing it would be undone the first time he got dressed.
His door, well... he did his own decor job on that when he took over the room. Duct tape. Yeah, it's trashed, but it's his. One day if we ever sell this boat, we'll have to seriously refinish or replace that door.
And finally there is the head, or bathroom. I added a Doctor Who tardis shower curtain, and a friend gave Zach the tardis mug which is perfect for tooth brushing items. Behind the shower curtain is a small bath tub, which is where we store some off season items and also where we throw our dirty laundry. The tardis makes the perfect cover.
Now I just hope he can keep it this neat and tidy. Please.
