A Reading Room

Before moving into our current house, I was adamantly against a story and a half or cape cod home. I hated the sloped ceilings and cramped niches. When we walked through our current house I actually liked the 1/2 story because it made good use of available space. The 2 bedrooms were actually large and spacious.

My son's room as it was when we moved in, I need to update on his big boy room!

My daughter's bed, still plenty of room to stand up and tuck her into bed! I have even taken naps with her and do not have to worry about sitting up in bed and bumping my head on the ceiling!
Though the ceiling sloped downward, I was able to arrange the furniture in the room so that the room was functional for the kids as well as adults. I was also excited for the possibilities with the landing at the top of the stairs and a large niche outside one of the bedrooms.
The previous owners left behind a small sofa that was absolutely covered in cat hair. I cleaned it up and tried giving it away on Craigslist. Thankfully I didn't get a single bite. I had a lightbulb moment and thought that the sofa would be the perfect addition to the large niche. Being right outside the kids bedrooms, it would be the perfect spot to snuggle up and read a bedtime story. I bought a slipcover for $50 before I attempted the slipcover on this chair. I'm so mad at myself for being so hasty and buying the slipcover rather than making my own, especially since the slipcover was so easy to make!
Once I had the sofa in place, I placed a small bookcase in front of it to contain the kids ever increasing library. Finally, I spruced the whole area up with a letter wall that I was inspired to make after seeing one in a Pottery Barn magazine (unfortunately I do not have a picture of my original inspiration to link to) where they covered a wall with letters made of various materials and in different sizes and finishes. I thought it would be a cute way to decorate a play room while also being educational for the kids. I began collecting wood letters and objects in our house that looked like letters of the alphabet. Finally, I found a set of three white shelves on clearance at Kohls'. I ended up making the A and Z out of scrapbook paper as I wanted a large letter and I was unwilling to pay the price for wood ones. I used the height of the largest letters to determine the spacing of my shelves. The shelves were hung in a snap as they were the self-leveling kind, ingenious! Finally, I filled the shelves with the letters I had collected.

I ended up using some magnets, puzzle pieces and cookie cutter letters to fill in for ones that I have yet to collect, but I love the way that it turned out! Here is a close up on each of the shelves:



It's not an exact replication of the Pottery Barn wall, but shows how you can use inspiration to make something your own!