Bright and organized bedroom

I’m always amazed by how much you can change a room in just a couple of hours — no painting walls or replacing linens required.

When my friend Lisa asked us to take a look at the bedroom of her eight-year-old daughter, Katie, I knew a few simple changes would have a huge impact.

Katie is our son’s age (they even went to preschool together for two years), and was using a small desk that wasn’t large enough for her hand-me-down computer, keyboard and recording system. So we suggested building exactly the same two desks he has in his room right now — except his are used for his Lego collection.

We’ve built quite a few of these desks so far, actually. My handy husband whips up a simple frame out of 2x4s, which is then painted or stained. (For Katie’s room, we went with a crisp white — Picket Fence by Fusion Mineral Paint* — so it didn’t clash with her pretty hardwood floors.)

Then he cuts a sheet of white melamine down the middle, trims the ends, and fits it on top — using a couple of brackets underneath to keep it in place. (My job is to take the long plastic edging strips and click them over the raw edges of the melamine. It’s sort of fun.)

Because we did two separate (identical) desks, instead of a huge L-shaped one, Katie will be able to move the desks into different configurations if she wants. Our son sometimes pushes his together to make a big rectangle, or puts them end-to-end so he has a full wall of Lego-playing surface.

What else did we do to Katie’s bright and organized bedroom? Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …

What else did we do to Katie’s bright and organized bedroom? Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …