Extreme Makeover -- Here We Go!

OK, here is where it all started. Four years ago, when we were finishing our basement, we decided to build all three of our bedrooms downstairs. Renee, our DD, was turning four, and she wanted her very own "Princess Pink" room. SO we framed, boarded, painted, and now we have three very nice bedrooms -- including Renee's very very very pink room complete with the beautiful bed that Russ and my dad built for her.

When we were renovating, we had to rewire the whole basement...so we did. Except for ONE wire. In her room. This past December, she went to bed one Friday night, and when we went to tuck her in, there was a funny smell. Like burning. OMG! After a thorough look around, we discovered that the one single wire we did not replace was melting in her wall. Yup...close call!

We had to rip out the drywall in several places and rewire. She, of course, was a little upset because her nice room now looked like a construction zone. Not to mention all of her personal belongings were semi-packed up and shoved in the corner to make room for working. However, she did suggest that, when we decide to repaint, she'd like a green room because her favorite colour is now green and she loves dolphins.

We told her we'd think about it. And promptly started planning a makeover. :) It is Renee's birthday a week from today. And my parents and us are chipping in to makeover her room into her own personal ocean green paradise.

Mom and I spent the day shopping yesterday. We bought paint, bedding, curtains, accessories, shelving, and a bunch of other things to really personalize her room in the colours she loves.

And this is our version of Extreme Makeover, Renee's Birthday Edition! Enjoy!

This is what we are starting with:

Yes, it is disorganized and messy...but that is soon to change. We have some great plans for this room. And we have one week. We are hoping to have the family over for cake on Saturday and reveal the room to Renee that afternoon.

I told Renee this morning that the friend who is mudding and taping the seams of the new drywall needs the room unoccupied for a week, so she has to move into the playroom. Other than that, she thinks we are going to be repainting this summer. She has no idea what is going on. All the work we are doing has to be accomplished either while she is in school or when she is asleep. If we need some extra time, I have friends who might just ask her to come play. She's going to be a very busy girl this week, I hope!

So, today's goals: For me, I have to pack up her things into boxes and hide them out in the garage. That means her toys, her clothes, everything. And then get her walls ready for painting. All the posters have to come down and the walls need to be wiped down. Our friend is coming to finish up the mudding today sometime. I also need to disassemble the closet organizer and remove the handles off her drawers in her bed. This evening, I have to go to a friend's house and haul a weathered post out of her garage...I have an awesome plan for it! Today, my mom is busy getting the curtains ready. We bought one large panel, and she will be dividing it in half and hemming them. She is also painting some accessories: the sign for her door, a frame for a beautiful print we found, a couple of ornaments, some shelves, and probably a few other things she has planned. Hopefully tomorrow we will be ready to prime and paint.

Stay tuned!