audrey is adoring the ‘makers space’ we created.  i love gifts for children that encourage open ended creativity & play and support their natural gifts.

so, this room is across the hall from her bedroom…and people have asked, “how did you keep it a secret?”

truthfully, it really wasn’t all that hard!  this room is a bit cooler in the winter (because it’s above our garage) so jason mentioned he was going to shut and lock the door so we didn’t have to heat it…we rarely used it so audrey didn’t think anything of it!

i tried to keep the window open so she wouldn’t smell the fresh paint and we did everything when she was at school or asleep.

there was one evening when we kept coming up with things to do after school so the builder could finish the desk…we went to the bookstore, pet store (to see if any of the dogs were getting haircuts), target…and that was a little comical :)

a few details:  the armoire on the right side of the photo has a pull-out shelf that holds her keyboard and a place for her ukulele, making it an ideal music center (brilliant idea thanks to sarah who i asked for advice on setting the room up right from the start).  past the armoire there’s a white sofa with a furry throw and a curtain rod with clips mounted to the wall to hold a revolving art collection held with clips.

unpictured is a long closet lined with shelves to hold bins of various things (i wanted her to be a big part of organizing it because she actually loves that!) and a drop-leaf table from jason’s great-grandmother that’s currently holding a lego eco village (no joke, audrey even had the windows open on all the homes, a farmers market and people riding bicycles #loveherheart) with this quote framed above it (my most favorite part of the room).  sweet alexa color-matched the paint on the opposite wall and created a new version of the print.

the wall above the desk is painted with chalkboard paint…did you know benjamin moore can make chalkboard paint, any color??  love that!!  it’s not visible in the photo but jason and i chalked snowflakes, lollipops and some frames for her to sketch her next creation in :)

we all love hanging out in here!!  my one worry was that she wouldn’t ever come out but gratefully, she does!

project notes:

when the idea started

her reaction on christmas morning 

we’re pretty simple about christmas – we’ve usually done a variation on “to wear/to read/to play” along with a stocking so when audrey woke up and saw the door wrapped, she said “oh mom, i love the new christmas decoration!” ;)  it’s so fun to be a parent.  #nothingbetter

wishing you every good thing in 2016, -melanie-