Beginning the Transformation of our Guest Bedroom into a Den
Transforming our guest bedroom into a den. The continuing saga of the snowball effect that is now messing with three main rooms of our house and causing us quite a bit of manual labor. The space to blame is this totally innocent little guest bedroom. I loved how this room turned out and you guys might even say I’ve lost my mind for changing it at all. (We finished it together a few years back.) So why on earth am I picking on this space when I don’t even use it? Why on earth has this space bothered me silently for years?
If we had just shut the door on this bedroom to wait for the rare guest I would have happily left it alone – which was the case for quite awhile!
We’re the only two people living here so why not make it exactly customized for us even though it may be a bit unconventional?
Ok, maybe not unconventional, but it certainly feels like we are quite spoiled lol.
It wasn’t just that this room was no longer working for its purpose it was also that I literally just finished MY VERY OWN ROOM which I made entirely, perfectly, just for me. I work there. I play there. Hell I’ve even slept there on a number of occasions and have most definitely napped there.
It is my room customized to me in every sense of the word and I totally love it…
Meanwhile…
Lodi and I both game often. Its one of our favorite past times to play online together with his kids, my nieces and nephews, my dad and my brother not to mention lots of friends and family.
(Guys I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent with my family that never would have happened without online gaming. It is amazing to hear them every day and to hang out with them even when one of them is over 2,000 miles away!)
There was no place to set Lodi up to play except in our guest bedroom. So I’m feeling rather guilty over here enjoying my room while he’s over there “making it work” around furniture we don’t use.
One thing my room gave me was the chance to be surrounded by all of my keep sakes.
I have pictures of pets long gone in there, many little things I’ve saved over the years for no reason besides sentiment. My horse’s halter, who I lost last year, hangs on a shelf… all of my childhood books are in there as I still can’t bare to part with them.
Most of Lodi’s keepsakes are either boxed up or being seen by no one in the basement.
So, first thing is first, everything has to get out!
Does he REALLY need a TV that big? No, he doesn’t lol in fact we just had to replace our living room TV and had planned to put that new, smaller TV in here and put this one in our living room.
Unfortunately, the screw holes to hold a TV mount were in the wrong place for the mount that I purchased (bummer – yeah that was my fault.) This TV is only a couple of inches bigger though so we both agreed it wasn’t worth the trouble of getting a different mount and sending the other one back…
So, Lodi gets to keep the monster TV.
And he’s going to continue playing in the closet because there really isn’t any other spot in this room to put a TV that isn’t weird.
When he first moved in (and we weren’t playing near as much as we are now) we had set up all of his electronics in the basement but he doesn’t like it down there and I don’t blame him.
The basement is set up as a detached studio apartment. Going down there feels like leaving the house and its absolutely ridiculous that that space hasn’t been our “guest bedroom” this whole time.
This room is going to make that happen.
Lodi has a table and chairs and two leather sofas in the basement. We might not be using them but he spent a lot of money on them and is rightfully attached. So, measuring tape in hand, we were shocked to find out his biggest (nearly seven foot!) sofa will fit up here just fine.
Beginning the Transformation of our Guest Bedroom into a Den
We completely emptied this room and went on to donate the bed, all of our full size bedding and one rocking chair. I’m really excited for Lodi even though I know he had to force himself to do this for me…
(Why fix it if it isn’t broken?)
Like all good husbands though he tried real hard not to bitch and followed my lead because I couldn’t do this without him – it was all mostly his stuff and totally his room.
The day we did this was actually a really hard day for us.
When I say his seven foot long, steel framed (and motorized) leather sofa weighs a TON I’m not kidding around. The weight of it is pretty much my limit when it comes to what I can pick up and carry. I really thought after a couple of “tests” that I was going to have to phone in a friend on this one but we decided to give it a real try first.
With me at the bottom and Lodi at the top we got it out of the basement and then, somehow, with many many breaks, back into this room as well.
My poor body complained for days afterward and I understood more than ever why I had to talk Lodi into this.
Besides hauling that heavy thing out of the basement, this chore also included some dreaded purging on Lodi’s end. We all have stuff and crap and things that just accumulate that we are all guilty of procrastinating on…
But it is so gratifying and feels so good when you’re done!
Beginning the Transformation of our Guest Bedroom into a Den
This was on of those days that we flat out ran out of steam! More and more things came up and moved around that I never expected.
It always amazes me how things change as plans meet reality which is why you’ve really got to stay fluid.
I had thought the end tables and lamps would stay in the basement to go on either side of the bed but they fit up here great with the sofa. (Still shocked that giant sofa fit up here with room to spare.)
I thought the rug and the coffee table would come up as well but the coffee table was too big and the rug smelled like death (yes the one in the pictures) and went directly to the trash.
I thought Lodi would want to replace that little desk with his book case from the basement. NOPE. Turns out, he much prefers the desk and we donated the book case.
I thought the corner cabinet in the basement would be staying in the basement. NOPE. I thought Lodi liked the dresser that was here in the closet and that it would be staying. NOPE.
I didn’t realize it but that corner cabinet that was in the basement was actually an entertainment center and exactly what he needed up here. Its also a lot smaller so it doesn’t swallow the closet like that dresser did so it made the whole room feel better!
We’ll be hanging his guitars up, maybe adding more shelves, installing a new light fixture, getting a new rug and we have more decorating to do too.
A lot of Lodi’s personal items are in the basement and they’re all coming up here. It made no sense for the things that he loves to be in a space we never spend time in.
It was a big job but I can report that Lodi is happy we did it!
Beginning the Transformation of our Guest Bedroom into a Den
Beginning the Transformation of our Guest Bedroom into a Den
