Nesting, Part 2: The Front Room

I'll give you three guesses as to what the above picture is. If you happen to say, "Well, of course, that's your china cabinet," then you would be right! At least it was. Until some serious nesting kicked in and some serious laziness got kicked out.

I'd been letting Lucy use the hutch of our china cabinet to collect her random crafts and coloring projects. It was out of the way and mostly out of sight. They seemed to be fulfilling the biblical command to multiply, yet any suggestion of throwing out or paring down was met with tears and protest.

But it had to go. Gradually. Each day while Lucy was in school, for about a week, I carefully selected certain pieces to keep and others to toss.

It inspired me to change everything in our front room. It used to be that you'd walk in our front door and be greeted by a plethora of toys and toy bins. The half of the room that is 'officially' a formal dining room was being unused because we only have one table. Unused, that is, except for the china cabinet. I believe you've met.

A few weeks later, and some stellar help from my oh-so-willing hubby, and we've got a room that has purpose, function, and is far more pleasing to the eye.

And look! My china cabinet is visible and is being used to display the things I want it to. That corner cabinet holds most of Lucy's craft supplies and projects, plus games and puzzles, and we brought up our previously unused table from the basement for her to spread out on.

And please notice my window mistreatments. Thanks to The Nester for permission to cheaply and imperfectly tack up some fabric to soften the room a bit without breaking the bank.

There's a fine line between the painting and piano and the toy bins and cabinets, but hey, that's life for us right now.

Don't you love my pretty green wall? 'Prairie Grass' also adorns the walls in our powder room, so I didn't have to spend a dime on this project. (Bonus: it perfectly complements the decades-old forest painting hanging above the piano and the fake tulips I used to stage our condo.) I love to paint, but John wouldn't let me paint while pregnant, so I did all the taping and prepping, and he got to do the fun part. This is where the china cabinet used to be, and now the toys are out of sight from the front door. Photos of family and friends remind the kids of who loves them as they play, as they sit on shelves that used to be in our condo living room. Joey loves to play closer to the kitchen, and I love that the only cash I spent on this whole project was for the yard of sheer fabric that I split between two windows and the irresistible big brassy B on the photo shelf. I heart Hobby Lobby's 50% off sales!

So as my nesting continues, it's great to feel like this room, which has bothered me for the year and a half that we have lived here, is finally how I want it to be... for now.