Costume Wardrobe and Nursery updates

I'm beyond thrilled to finally show you a project I've been waiting to finish for a while now. I've been to thrift stores, stalked Craigslist and local garage sale sites, and even toyed with making a cabinet to hang the girls costumes in for almost an entire YEAR. Since they share a room and a closet, and since they happen to have a large collection of costumes which probably stems from the fact that their mom has a degree in musical theatre, and since there was barely room for the real clothing, much less the make-believe dress-up clothes, we needed a solution.

Enter our local facebook garage sale site.

Enter the top half of an entertainment center, listed for $25.

Enter me, happy.

After picking up a curtain rod kit at Lowe's which hubs installed on the inside of the cabinet, we had ourselves one gawgeous costume wardrobe. The fact that it was only the top half was perfect since the two little gals who will be using this are, how shall I say it....vertically challenged? They have no problems reaching the costumes, it's the 'putting them back on the hanger' part they find challenging.

There have been a few other notable changes to the room in the past several months, so I put together a few side-by-side shots to compare. The angles aren't exact and it's driving me nuts, but I'm working to get past it.

We sold the double bed that had been in the room since it served as a guest room before it was a nursery. Now the girls can actually move and play in here. About time.

The chair moved to the man cave where it looks wildly out of place, and we put the girls tiny sofas in the corner to make a reading nook. Oh how I love finding them both in that corner with a book, which is quite often. (p.s.- for a tutorial on how I made those flowers on the wall, go HERE.)

The dresser moved to the wall where the changing table used to be, allowing space for the play kitchen. The baskets hold dolls, stuffed animals, etc. The round mirror from Ikea was relocated from above MM's bed to right above the kitchen so that the girls can see themselves twirl and cook in their costume finery.

And as of yesterday, MM finally has her name on the wall like her sis.

Another new addition to the room is this child-sized dresser which my parents found on the curb in front of their neighbors house.

Yes. You read that correctly.

Their neighbors were throwing this out.

As in, they didn't want it.

Throwing. It. Away.

Mum texted me a pic, explained that it was on the curb and asked if I wanted it, to which I replied, "duh".

Check out this gawgeousness...

The only thing missing was the mirror, which my dad had replaced at a local shop. Now we have plenty of drawers to hold tiaras and plastic clickety-clack shoes, and it's a beauty to look at, yes?

Yes.

Back to the hutch.

Here she is, in all her glory.

Love those carvings at the top.

Reminds me of another famous wardrobe...

I can hear her now,

"You'll look RAVISHING in this, my dear!"

That's when Belle tells her she's not going to dinner, putting all of the castle objects in panic mode.

I digress.

The spaces on the bottom intended for dvd players and such are perfect for hats, antlers, and 18 pairs of fairy wings.

And here's a drawer full of plastic clickety-clack shoes.

Gotta love that clickety-clack.

Here's a better shot of MM's name on the wall. There are several sites that sell the vinyl name decals, and for the life of me, I can't remember where this one came from. I do know that it was purchased on Groop Dealz, which is a deal-a-day site. Anyone else out there shop on Groop Dealz?

We sold our changing table, and put the dresser where it used to be. My costume drawings by Cecil Beaton (for the film My Fair Lady) stayed put on the wall, as did a few of the items already on the dresser.

That's a Scentsy 'tiara' warmer, and that spatula under the book?

Well that's a spank spoon, my friends.

The girls fear the mention of it.

And it lives right there on the dresser. Under the book.

Just thought I'd share.

So glad the kitchen gets to live in this room now and not the living room. I love having kiddos, but if you're not careful, their 'stuff' can start to take over every.corner.of.the.house. This is especially true of a house with no 'playroom', which is what our formal living room has been serving as for a while. There are still toys in it, but for the most part, they are containerized when not in use. Oh how I love containerization. Is that even a word?

Don't mind me.

Just trying on hats.

Here's what it looks like when I hold the camera high above my head and take a picture.

And here's what it looks like when I do the same thing with the cabinet doors open. Fab, right?

So glad to finally have this project finished and to have a space that's more suited to the needs of a 2 and 3 year old. So glad to have more space in their closet for the clothes that usually end up on their bodies in public. Not always, but usually. Also glad to take a break from constantly stalking the furniture listings on Craigslist. It's more exhausting than it sounds, I promise. It just proves that good things do in fact come to those who wait, and sometimes they have gawgeous carvings and a price tag of 25 buckaroos.

And also, I'm totally going to confess to you what was still on the dresser in this room yesterday when I went in to take pics.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who still had a bit of Christmas hanging around in January...