Would you redo a room for someone who no longer lives in your house? I did, for my daughter, now 19, and a college student in Wisconsin. The revamped room was a surprise when she came home for Thanksgiving.
I got the idea from junk style diva Ki Nassauer (www.junkrevolution.com). During an interview, she mentioned transforming her own college student daughter's room as a surprise. I filed that thought, and it bubbled up when I entered empty-nest mode myself, a few years later.
My daughter's room really hadn't suited her for some time. When we moved into our house (she was 6), she picked out a white metal bunkbed that we found on clearance. It clashed with the room's dark, traditional woodwork, but she liked it and the price was right. A few years later -- during her periwinkle phase -- we collaborated on a two-tone paint job using the "Wooly Roller," then used a cut-up sponge to create a border of stars.
Gradually, she grew up. The room didn't. It still looked like a little girl's room (and kind of an ugly one), with its childish paint job and hodgepodge of mismatched furniture. I always intended to update it, but never got around to it. When she was in high school, I suggested we at least shop for a new bed. But she, ever practical, declined. "Why waste money on that? I'll be gone in a year and a half."
I felt empty when she said that. I felt even emptier when she left for college and I confronted her sad, lifeless room. It didn't look like a place a young adult would want to even visit, much less live in for a whole summer. I decided to change that.
Money was tight, with college costs now in our budget, but IÂ had time to hunt for bargains. The white bunkbed was replaced with a bronze-y iron daybed. New occasional tables and wall art added some grown-up flair. I repainted the room in hottest pink, her favorite color.
Working on the room was therapy for missing her daily presenece. And when she came home for the holiday, IÂ couldn't wait for her to go upstairs. She was shocked, then thrilled. "IÂ can't believe it," she kept saying. The next morning, she posted a picture of her new room on Facebook and sent it via cell phone to her friends.
Maybe some day we'll turn that room into an office or a craft room. But for now, it's hers. Finally.
What did you do with your kids' rooms after they left home?
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