My handy hubby has built several things over our seven years of marriage, but this latest and greatest project takes the cake for me…it’s our wall of wardrobes in the new master bedroom!
Even before moving, we had discussed the idea of ditching dressers in favor of some more upright vertical storage, for a less-cluttered-with-furniture feel in our bedroom.
We certainly aren’t the first to incorporate the IKEA Pax wardrobe system into some built-ins, but the plan that Page put together was entirely new from anything else we saw online and perfectly fits our needs in the new room.
After drawing up some initial plans and armed with the bedroom blueprints, we hit IKEA back in late summer to load up on all the pieces, selecting two of these frames in white and two sets of these doors as the backbone for our plan.
With a wardrobe designated to each of us, we used the planner system in the store to pick out every shelf, drawer, basket, hook, and tray as we separately planned a layout that made the most sense for each of us. We both THOUGHT we had a pretty straightforward idea of what we wanted going in, but this step took over an hour in the store just to figure out – there are WAY more possibilities and combinations to think through than I was prepared for!
Fast forward to December, when the drywall was complete at the house and it was time to put these bad boys in. Here’s Page building the wardrobe frames…
My preggo contributions at this point were limited to unboxing all the smaller pieces, and swooning over the doors…
It was hard to get the size to translate in photos, but in person, we had a moment of WHOA these are going to be huge! We planned accordingly for our higher ceilings in this room, and by the time these 93″ frames would sit on a base, they were going to be eight feet tall!
Once the frames were put together, Page built bases to go underneath them, so that when the baseboard trim went in around the room, it could seamlessly wrap around these, completing the “built in” look.
Next up, he went about building the center portion shelving. (The one alteration he ended up making from his original drawing was to do two rows of three cubbies at the top, as opposed to one row of four.)
It’s so crazy to me how much he had to keep straight in his head as he went, making sure not only that these pieces would work out the way he had measured, but that they’d fit among the many factors in the room – existing windows and doorways, the ceiling heights, the baseboard height, etc…no wonder he was making notes like these on the boxes as he worked! 🙂
I was able to help a little with the puttying of the finish holes, and Page gave everything a final sanding. At this point, the plan WAS for Page to prime the wood pieces, add some shaker trim around the top, and and wrap the IKEA portions in plastic, just in time for the painters to arrive the following day and paint the rest of it to match our trim. As it turned out, my water broke the day he went over to do this, and our trim carpenter GRACIOUSLY stepped in to finish up for him and keep things on track. It takes a village!
By the time we were ready to be out and about the week after Crew’s birth, paint was nearly done (we are firm believers in Sherwin Williams’ untinted trim paint “Extra White” – it matches Ikea’s white well!) and we could swoon at the latest:
The last steps were to put together the drawers and other interior pieces, and install them in the configurations we had worked out months before. This was a fun part and one I could help with by unboxing everything to make it go that much faster.
Page built and installed everything inside, hung the doors, and voila!!!
In just a few days, I’ll be unpacking and organizing these, totally geeking out…I’m counting the days and will share some pics when they are fully loaded!
Like a lot of mamas-to-be, I found myself reading birth stories on the blogs of some of my favorite authors, and on pregnancy/baby blogs, to get a better feel of what I might expect when D Day arrived.
If nothing else, by reading a variety of birth stories, you solidify your understanding that there is NO way to know what will happen, and that each birth is truly unique. I think it’s easy to do TOO much reading, or psych yourself out about all the possibilities. I read some, and then quit reading them as the time got closer, focusing on the best possible outcomes, and keeping a flexible, open mind (we didn’t have a birth plan) that it would go however it would go, when the time came.
All that said, I want to share my story because it was, in all, a very straightforward and happy story delivery – don’t get me wrong, still painful and had its crazy moments and surprises, but in all, about as “easy” as can be. I think it’s important to read stories like those, to remind you that it’s not always guaranteed drama and scariness and emergency c-sections. I appreciated reading stories more like mine happened to turn out, and focused on those, versus the scarier versions. To each their own of course, but that was how I kept myself mentally ready and positive going into this!
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Sunday, January 4, 2015
We’d spent our morning lounging in bed with coffee and HGTV (like we need ANY more house project inspiration right now!). Page headed over to the house to work on our wardrobes a little before 2pm, and I pulled a bunch of clothes out of the dryer to fold. I was standing there in our living room just about to get started when suddenly…gush. I thought I had peed my pants! I hadn’t had any bladder issues the whole pregnancy, and I was instantly annoyed to think I most certainly had a couple weeks to get through yet, and now I was full-on wetting my pants without any notice? How would I go to work (or even walk across a room?!) if this were to be my life for the coming several days?
I changed my pants and went back to the laundry. Again…gush! Hmm, okay. Could this possibly be my water breaking? I wasn’t at ALL uncomfortable, or having contractions. So I called the nurse line (of course it was a Sunday and my doctor’s office was closed) and tried not to be annoyed with the nurse receptionist, who first asked me the reason for my call (um, I think my water broke but I’m not sure?), but then four questions later, asked me if I was pregnant. (Seriously?!) This exchange was one of the only negative experiences, but it was certainly not the way to start out for a first time mama unsure if she’s in labor ha!
I was told to go to Labor & Delivery downtown to be checked out and have the fluid tested. I called Page over at the house, who excitedly told the carpenter in the background, “Her water broke!”. I immediately hissed at him not to tell anyone, because I was still sure I just had an accident and didn’t want to sound the labor alarm only to admit later I didn’t know the difference between water breaking and peeing my pants!
We debated bringing our bags (and thankfully did) and drove to the hospital around 4pm. I mentioned to Page that my lower back was suddenly bothering me a little. We checked into a triage room and waited to have the fluid tested, while they hooked me up to a contraction monitor and heart rate monitor for baby. Boom. I was at four centimeters, it was indeed amniotic fluid, and the monitor was showing contractions — I just couldn’t yet feel them. We had a silly moment of “so…do we stay here or go home?”. I think the nurse tried not to laugh as she said, “Oh no, we’re getting a room ready for you right now. You’re having a baby today.”
“you’re having a baby today”
As we waited for our room to be ready, the backache became more nagging and came and went, as I started feeling the contractions. It was manageable and we got settled into our room and texted the parents that it was game time…by sending a pic of my hospital bracelet, and this funny picture of Page:
It’s go time!
From 7 to 9 or so I worked through the contractions on my own with Page’s support and our FANTASTIC nurse, who was there from start to finish. I was trying to get to five or more centimeters before asking for my epidural (not for any strong reason, just a personal goal). I was told it was a slow night on the floor so when I was ready, it likely wouldn’t take long for the anesthesiologist to show up.
By the time the contractions made me stop talking and close my eyes to get through them, I asked for the drugs. As it turned out, (full moon that night!), two emergency c-sections took place during my request, and then a second-time mom arrived nearly ready to deliver. (I know first-time moms don’t progress as quickly…but don’t tell us someone is jumping the line in front of us – ha!) At any rate, it was over two hours before Rockstar Nurse nearly bullied them into sending another on-call anesthesiologist and that we were done waiting. I remember her asking me to rate my pain on a scale of one to ten and I asked if ten was wanting to jump out the window, and if so, I was at an 8 or 9. I was holding onto the bed handle with a death grip to breathe through the waves of pain when the anesthesiologist walked in, still taking off her coat as she talked me through what would happen.
Page watched the whole thing but because my ligaments were especially tough, it took a few tries to get the epidural in just right, at one point putting it down a vein. Ouch. The whole time, I was hunched over and told not to move, even through the contractions. I’m still not sure if it was my anxiety or being hunched over for so long as they tried to get it right, but Crew’s heart rate dropped drastically and I remember the room suddenly having more people in it, as they rolled me onto my side and started putting more monitors on me. He recovered quickly and the scary moment passed, as my epidural started to take over. It was nearly midnight, I was at seven centimeters, and we were wiped. We were told I’d be checked in two hours and to try and rest. I think we both passed out within seconds.
Two hours later, our nurse came in to check us, and asking if I was feeling any pressure. Um, yes. She was preparing me that it could still take a bit, but after the check she laughed and said, “oh, you’re ready to push!”. It was at that moment that I freaked a little…everything to this point had been manageable, but something about this final stage made me super anxious. It was almost 4am, and Page grabbed a quick cup of coffee as the room was transitioned into a delivery room.
time for coffee!
To my surprise, the next phase was very calm and quiet – just our nurse, me, and Page, doing the initial pushes to the timing of the contractions. To Page’s surprise, after we had discussed him staying near my head when delivery time came, he was asked by the nurse to grab a leg and that he had work to do! In retrospect, Page said it was terrifying in the moment, but now he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I remember being SO hungry and tired at this point that I’d do a push, then close my eyes and nearly sleep between each one. After about an hour of pushing, our nurse called for the OB on call. She came in and asked me to do one practice push as she gloved up across the room. I had to laugh when her eyes went a little wide and she said, “Okay, never mind, stop pushing!”. She got into place and two pushes later, our world changed forever.
meeting my new love.instantly in love.
We are so lucky and blessed that all in all, it was a smooth delivery and everyone is happy and healthy. We still can’t believe this little peanut is ours to keep!
Between the holidays and counting down to baby D-Day, it’s been a quick month with lots to catch up on, but we’ve made it to 2015…and our closing date is in sight, just over a month away! When we last left off, drywall was in.
We started off 2015 quite literally ready to make this move, signing all our rate-lock loan documents first thing on January 1. Come onnnnn, closing date!
Outside, our siding has arrived. It won’t be painted until spring (this color), and sod/landscaping won’t go in until then either, but we are more than happy to get even “half-finished” on the outside. They’ve also added our gutters since the above shot was taken (on a drive-by visit over lunch!).
Inside, trim and doors were delivered and the amazing trim carpenters have been working their magic. It’s so fun to start to see elements that will be visible when our home is finished, as opposed to all the steps that happen BEHIND the walls!
It’s awesome to see it all start to come together from the baseboards to the window and doorway trim as our (yet to be painted) doors are hung, as well…
In other fun news, I’m doing a happy dance for our cabinets starting to go in, here in the kitchen…
…and in the bathrooms…
I’m so happy with the color and am loving the soft-close feature…perfect for little fingers! I’ve been measuring them all like a crazy lady so I can plan my organizers to get everything just where I want it. OCD, much?
Page has been working alongside the crews, starting on our wardrobe wall in the master bedroom…
This wall will deserve a post all its own, but above you can see a sneak peek of the two Pax wardrobe frames (which will be filled with drawers/dividers/pull out trays and closed off with these doors)…
…and here, the shelving unit he is building, to put between the two wardrobes. This will hold our TV and components, and create additional shelving for decor and storage. When everything is installed, the whole thing will be painted and trimmed to match the room. I can’t WAIT to wake up to these every morning!
A LOT is happening — and more to come soon! With five weeks until closing, this last month-plus of progress is a welcome distraction as we wait for the tiniest new tenant of this home to make his arrival!
“Papa Rosie” and Baby touring the new house | 38 weeks
How far along: 38 weeks
Gender: BOY
Weight gain: up 28 lbs…the past few weeks I’ve been hungry ALL. THE. TIME. Clearly the scale is reflecting this, sheesh! Baby has been having his final growth spurt, for sure!
Maternity clothes: The more comfortable and easier to step in and out of, the happier I am. 🙂 I’ve completely ditched heels and boots as of this week – if it doesn’t go with my Uggs or my Toms, I’m not wearing it!
Stretch marks: I think I’ve spotted a mark on the underside of my bump, but hard to know for sure until I can get a better (post-delivery) look! Otherwise, so far, so good!
Belly button in or out: flush, and the top is popping out a bit.
Sleep: Still waking up multiple times a night to use the restroom, but while my lower back has stopped giving me fits, now the pain and discomfort has moved into my pelvic floor. How’s THAT for TMI? 🙂 It feels like every ligament in my groin and inner/upper thighs is stretched to the point of snapping, and if I move the wrong way in my sleep, I am instantly awake because of the pain. Thank goodness we are nearing the end…
Best moment: My last three weekly appointments have revealed consistent progress on the dilation front (again, TMI?!) but I’m just happy to know we’re roughly a third of the way there as far as centimeters! 🙂
Worst moment: My 37 week check happened just as my head cold was coming on, which may or may not have had to do with my blood pressure spiking that particular visit. I was suddenly swelling in my ankles as well, and my weight had jumped more than the weekly pound or so…all out of the norm for me. The nurses had me all nerved up about the changes, but the doctor assured me it was all fine as long as I started taking the order to “drink water” very seriously, which I did. By the next week, all the numbers were back down and normal, but it was a less-than-fun visit!
Miss anything: I’m very ready to have my body back to myself. To zip a normal, non-maternity coat up. To bend over and get what I need without lack of oxygen. To comfortably tie my shoes or shave my legs. You get the idea…
Movement: Busier at certain times than others, but yes lots of movement! He is officially head down these last couple of weeks, and tends to favor the right side of my rib cage to press his little butt and feet up against. Sometimes it’s just pressure, but other times it hurts and I either have to change position or actually push on him a little to let up – yowza, Buddy!
Cravings: Nothing specific, just lots of snacks. It seems every couple hours, my mind drifts back to hmm, what to eat next…
Queasy or sick: Finally kicking a head cold, but otherwise just uncomfortable.
Looking forward to: Signs of labor! There really is a reason this whole process takes nine months… we’ve gone from the shock of the news, to weeks of wrapping our heads around the idea of expanding our family, to final months of anxious anticipation, and finally now, to the “hurry up and get here already!” point. It seems so natural that this little guy join us, and I don’t feel scared of delivery, and neither of us is nervous about caring for this tiny person. We have both hit this super calm state the last couple of weeks, where we are almost bored, just waiting on him to start this next adventure!
When it came time to think about putting together our master bedroom, simply getting some furniture in there was at the top of the needs list. We were foregoing traditional dressers in favor of our built-ins, but I also wanted some oversized nightstands to balance out the room. I was done with smaller side tables that seemed dwarfed by our king size bed…and wanted whatever we did next to double as some real storage space. I never found anything I went head-over-heels for, but these pretties from Restoration Hardware were definitely hitting all the right criteria…
…But, at $865 a piece (on SALE!), these were not in my budget. Inspired by blog posts like this one, we got it in our heads to try our first ever IKEA hack. Don’t get me wrong, I love some Ikea goodies…but when it comes to the furniture, we pick and choose since some of it is so cheaply made. Once we read some reviews and learned these are one of the pieces made entirely of solid (real!) wood, we dropped the hesitation and decided to go for it.
We started these bad boys back in August, technically. On a trip home from Chicago, we stopped at the IKEA in Schaumburg and loaded up two Rast dressers, with plans to hack them later that fall. At $35 a pop for these all-pine little units, we felt more than okay to spend a little money beefing them up and tricking them out, knowing we would STILL come out way below the retail price of the several-hundred-dollar dressers of my dream budget. 🙂
Thanks to friends going out of town for the week (and loaning us their garage/tools in exchange for a little plant-watering!), Page was able to build the dressers as-is…
…add some trim to the drawer fronts to make them more interesting…
…fit them with some beefier tops and tricked out the bottom base with some additional trim.
Yours truly (and my tiny assistant) helped with some puttying of the seams and nail holes…
With many overlapping projects at the house that needed Page’s time/brain space, and having to relinquish our borrowed garage space back to its owners, we called it a stopping point. But not before Page drilled new holes for the different hardware we had opted for…
…and we moved them into our apartment garage space for a couple of months, where Page took advantage of a couple occasional warm days to stain the tops and prime/paint. We were SO close to done, but they needed one final coat. Fast forward to Christmas Day, a heated half-built house with no one around, and not much else to do with no travel or family hosting. The final coat of paint went on, along with the hardware.
Just in time for the final weeks in our apartment with a little one, we were able to move these in to our temporary digs.
Love the look and LOVE knowing how little we paid (after supplies, these came to less than $100 a pop, including the initial dresser investment).
I can’t wait to take some better photos once they’re in their “real” home in the coming weeks, and properly staged with decor that’s currently in boxes. But until then, I’m still swooning, and organizing them of course. I’m in love!
