Kai’s bedroom has been an on going project since we moved into the new house. It was the first room to be painted, and it was such an improvement that I haven’t done much in there beyond shelf set up since we moved in. Now that I’ve conquered some other pressing projects around the house, I’m planning on coming back to Kai’s room. This post covers what it looks like now, and what is and isn’t working for us. Hopefully, in a couple of months I can come back and show you the finished product.

Happily, both Kai and I still love the paint job. I also think that the wooden cube shelves are working well in the space. Pretty much everything else needs a little help. I want her to have a space where she can be independent and an environment that engages her.

Reading Nook

This is the reading nook. I really like having a comfy chair to read together in, and it will probably stay in this area. I’d like to replace the shelves here with some large cube shelves, that would allow me to put a few toys out for play on the bottoms and use the upper cubes for book storage. Those shelves are from my apartment in college and they really need replacing just on stability alone.

I’m also considering hanging narrow shelves on the small wall to the right of the chair for books. My main goal is to be able to shelve book face out so that Kai has an easier time finding what she wants to read.

Tea Corner

This corner is a problem, because we need to be able to open and close the closet door occasionally. The closet holds all of the baby stuff we are saving for the next baby, so we don’t need daily access, but we can’t block it entirely.

I’d like to replace the triangular table with a long rectangular table and two or three kid chairs. I think she needs more space to take things off the shelves and use them besides the floor. She also has long outgrown her cube chair, and needs something that is a better fit for her height.

Under her celestial sky poster, I’m hoping to put an nice set of hooks for her playsilks. I would also love to replace the mini blinds with something nicer.

Sleeping Spot

Kai has really out grown her crib. It is time for a big girl bed. I think it needs to be a twin for the space we have, and I’ve been looking at lots of different options. It’s so hard to find a bed and mattress that is in the budget and free of toxins! I also want it be a bed that will grow with her, so nothing too aimed at the toddler set.

I hope some day, she’ll even actually sleep in here!

Play Place

This is by far my favorite part of her room. The cube shelves are the perfect size for holding toys, and are just the right height for Kai to play with her barn. Once again, I’d love to upgrade the mini blinds to something a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Dress Up

The dresser used to be a great piece of furniture for us. It was the perfect height to put a changing pad and change diapers. I’ve mostly been hanging on to it because of that utility, and because Kai needed a place to put her clothes. Kai, however, has a hard time opening and closing the drawers, and it’s stopped being a useful piece of furniture for us (plus, the mirror is always dirty, no matter how much I clean it and its’ starting to drive me crazy).

Right now, I pick out two outfits the night before, and show them both to her in the morning to choose from. I would like to create a set up that allows me hang or place the clothes so that Kai can get to them in the morning, and pick her clothing without my help. It would also need to store the rest of Kai’s clothing, but since she has a capsule wardrobe, all of her clothing fits in three drawers of the current dresser.

Kai puts her dirty clothes in the little wire basket by the door, which is working well for us. She can even reach the light switch herself with it there.

So that is what Kai’s bedroom looks like today. If you have any suggestions on how best to achieve my bedroom goals for Kai, please let me know! I’m currently scouring thrift stores and the internet for the perfect pieces to make this room work for Kai.