Small Space Makeover: From Reading Nook to Desk Space

Recently (while I was busy looking the other way) my younger daughter (my baby)  turned into a big girl.  

Suddenly she's in the third grade.

And learning things like multiplication.

And cursive.

And the commutative property.

(I swear I didn't learn that one until I was in middle school.)

And with all the learnin' going on, she decided it was high time she had her own desk.

That's the desk in the picture below.

But just two days ago, this space looked quite different.  

We called it the "reading corner."  

Tucked behind her bunk bed, the reading corner housed a bookcase, a cozy chair...

...and about 150 stuffed animals.

(Who made reading, or even standing, in the reading corner a little difficult.)

And I wish I had taken a picture of what the reading corner looked like back then but I didn't. (Picture a fraternity party, but all the guests are purple and furry.)

You see, when she said she'd pare down the animal collection in order to make room for a desk, I didn't even stop to get my camera.  

Oh no!  That would have given  her time to rethink the decision.  (And this is not my first rodeo!)

Therefore, what you see below is the pared-down version of the reading corner, which still wasn't quite the big-girl work-space she was hoping for.  

So this past Monday while she was at school,

(learning her multiplication and cursive, etc.)

I was at IKEA, doing a little math of my own.

(Like how do you fit a desk into a 48" wide space?)

(The answer, if you're wondering, is to buy a 47.25" wide desk and pray that you measured correctly.)

Then (after the all the math and the praying) I went home and assembled the desk.

And the clear chair (clear, so it wouldn't make the 48" space look even smaller).

And put together the cool lamp (which was kind of like a geometry problem, now that I think about it).

And hung the buckets for pencils and markers.

And rehung the bookcase to accommodate the desk.

And assembled the cool cart for her craft supplies.

Then, just for good measure, I took a little time to decorate:

I find that an empty frame hung on the wall makes a perfect display.  Just switch out pictures or certificates of achievement as they come rolling in.

(And I fully expect them to come rolling in now that she has a desk at which she can study.)

(The lanterns and pom-poms are just eye candy.)

Learn how to make the light pink flower petal lantern HERE.

Needless to say, this little project left me exhausted (both mentally and physically).

But the note you see below made the exhaustion disappear.

(She wrote it at her very own desk, I'll have you know!)

Now the only thing left to do in her room is paint.

(As you might imagine my big girl is kind of over the soft pink color that so thrilled her when she was three--back in the glory days of the reading corner.)

Of course in order to paint, I need to figure out how to move this:

And that's a problem I am just not equipped to solve for the time being.

(Maybe she can figure it out at her new desk!)

l

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