operation make room for baby

If you live in a Baltimore row home (or any city row home for that matter), chances are space is a premium. Pat and I bought our two-bedroom, fully-rehabbed home as newlyweds, thinking it was a five-year purchase. It was all we needed at that point in our lives: vaulted ceilings and a walk-in-closet in the master bedroom, an open-floor plan on the first floor, a whirlpool tub with separate shower in the upstairs bathroom, a fabulous backyard space for the dogs, a garage with workshop space for Pat, and the second bedroom made the perfect office space.

One year later, the Bug arrived. I lost my office.  Now baby boy is headed our way and we are feeling the space strain…

Hence operation make room for baby has begun. This mission could also be called operation make storage space.

It started with redoing our front porch (100-year old front beam needed replacing… then we found out all the other beams needed it) and water sealing the roof with an elastomeric coating. Our attempt to water seal the roof led to an entirely new rubber roof — complete with ripping off the original tin and subsequent water-rotted plywood. {{Yeah, don’t you love when that happens?}}

We’re  finally tearing down the tin awning in the back that fell victim to recent storms, too. Not to mention it was ooolllllddddd… And not in a (cool) retro way.

With all of that happening outside, Pat and I have decided to focus on the inside. Beginning with our bedroom. I know, most people would start with the nursery, but since we’re turning our walk-in-closet into a baby space (oh yes, I DID say that), we need to find more storage space in our own room.

Here’s the space we are starting with: We already have some under the bed storage (which is staying). But the brown beige walls? They’re going… along with this tired bedding. I’ve had it since grad school. Time for a change! Curtain headboard is coming down, too.

No more office in the bedroom either. The computer and other work paraphernalia is moving to a newly designed nook on the first floor. Can’t wait!

As you can see, even though our master bedroom is a good sized space, it’s still a little tight with the large desk. It should open up a bit when we move the desk out.

Last, but certainly not least, here’s the “entrance-to-be” for the baby’s sleeping space…

So what’s first on our to-do list? Paint. Then we’ll be installing large wardrobes for our new closet space. We’ll wrap with new bedding, lamp shades, window treatments, and a few accessories… nothing too crazy. We’re going for a streamlined, cool and cozy vibe. Last Sunday, we loaded up on Sherwin Williams Duration Paint (read: washable and usually only needs one coat!) in Dewy. A light sea glass color. Trim will stay white but is being repainted. Little cosmetic face lift.

The room should be painted this weekend — stay tuned for updates!

Author Description

heather

Heather is editor-in-chief of (cool) progeny. When not scouting the best in everything kid and family, you'll probably find her running The Weisse Group or adventuring around town with her daughter (the Bug) and husband. Can be won over with a good glass of wine or something homemade. Addicted to Pinterest. Only pretends to know what she's doing with her SLR, even though she's got a fantastic lens on it. Thankful it does most of the work for her.