Nesting in the Den

I’m getting that nesting feeling, you know, the one women get soon before they plunge into full-blown labor -- not that I’m close to that yet, although I’ve been attacked with Braxton-Hicks up the wazoo lately. I’m ready to hunker down and start getting our little boy’s room ready. My sister-in-law Carol said, “What? His room’s not ready yet?” when I told her we’d be turning the den into his bedroom, and it’s kicking my rear-end into half-frenzied gear here. Really, though, as an old third-timer, I kinda feel like saying, “What’s the big rush? He’ll be sleeping in our room, on my side of the bed for the first few months anyway.”

But actually, I am looking forward to making the den into a more useful part of the house. Right now it acts as Esther’s nap room and not much else. It doesn’t share space with the rest of the house at all, but making this unusable room into another playroom/nursery for our kids will definitely open up the unused square footage. The one problem, however, is the fact that it boasts a large, rocky fireplace in the corner, and I hate the idea of my little boy sharing a room with a fireplace, but unfortunately, that’s where they put the darn thing in this circa-1970 house. It really makes almost no sense toward usability either. How are we going to build and enjoy a fire in the smallest room of the house? So we’ve used the space as everything but. It’s gone from being our office to our office/guest bedroom to guest bedroom/Essie’s bedroom to solely Essie’s nap room, and now it’s becoming our son’s nursery. It’s what we’ve got to offer him in this two-bedroom-with-a-den home, so I guess he’s going to have like it.

[So I am including some before photos, hoping to do a post on the den after it's done up right, including the after photos as well; aren't you excited?]

I’m excited to really do it up right, though. Bookshelves align one entire wall. They are packed from end to end with my husband’s seminary books, and unfortunately they will be taking up residence in storage, but what can I say? A baby needs his space! So my first order of business over Christmas vacation is to box up all of the books and put storage baskets up – soft, cute cloth-bound baskets that match the faded primary colors of his room (or something similar). These will store his already-brimming-over layette, replacing the lack of much-needed closet space in this closet-less den. These baskets will take up the middle-shelf region of the bookshelves. The lower shelves will be storage for kids’ books and toys. The top shelves will hold the breakables, like pictures and model airplanes (airplanes will be the theme of the nursery; can I just say I’m so excited to be decorating in a boyish theme around here!!). Adjacent to the bookshelves, over in the corner by the window, where the piano currently resides, will go my current rocking chair. I was really hoping to replace the uncomfortable beast with a plush rocker/recliner of some sort, but I don’t think that dream’s going to come to fruition any time soon, so the rocker will just have to do for now.

Across from the bookshelves, where the trundle bed and end table are now, will go the crib on one wall and changing table on the adjacent wall. Over the laminate pine flooring we’ll throw a large taupe-colored shag rug, something soft and comfy for dimpled knees and elbows.

The biggest problem in this nesting project will be disguising the fireplace somehow. Even now it is a big, dirty, no-no distraction to my two older ones who are always climbing up and into it. We basically need to scoop out the ashes and old logs and then board it up somehow.

But how do we make the useless monstrosity disappear without taking a sledgehammer to it? Any ideas?