Chronicles: Infant to Toddler Room 3 Tools You Should Use

After many days and quite a few trips to the local home improvement store, we are finally finish changing our daughter's room.

Some really helpful tools we used were:

1.) Paint edger; This was so helpful. Painter's tape can be very helpful, but a tool like this sort of eliminates the need for so much of it. It's an awesome way to paint right up to the edge of the wall, ceiling, or outlet neatly and efficiently. I recommend it a kajillion times over.

2.) Command hooks / strips: We used these to avoid putting holes in the wall for the "picket fence", hanging curtains, and dress up corner. They are convenient and will make any changes to the room or any moves we have to make that much less stressful because we didn't have to drill any holes in the wall that will need to be repaired.

3.) Contact paper: Covering flaws that will inevitably come when any kind of wear and tear happens to the furniture is as easy as pie with Contact paper. We used a wood grain pattern to keep in line with the enchanted forest decor. We used it to cover the toy box and clothing dresser. It worked really well. But, keep in mind there are countless possibilities in styles and things that can be done with it.

Before:
We were working with an infant room that our daughter had seriously outgrown.









With a crib, rocking chair, infant swing, changing table, and diaper pail, it was clear she had outgrown her space and it was time to make a change.

So, we planned to move everything out, touch up the paint, and adjust it all. After running into a problem with the paint "touch up" and fixing it with a full paint job, it was smooth sailing.

After:

We added a toddler bed.

We added many storage areas.

 The toy box went through a remodel of its own, as we added Contact paper to each side to make it feel like a log in a forest. The three tier cube storage was fairly inexpensive and really easy to put together. It's holding legos and building blocks, along with some of her favorite toys. That way they're easily accessible and she won't have to pull root through the toy box to find them. We discovered that most of the messes kids make comes from having to empty out the toy box just to find the toy they really want. This way she can get to it easier and keep it neat.

 This storage box is stackable, so if we need to add more later we can. Right now it's only housing the tons of stuffed animals that she falls in and out of love with regularly. They are easy to put away and look neat when they're not on her mind. It's as easy fix to having them all over the room.

 This dresser was a changing table before. We took away the changing pad and covered it with wood grain self-adhesive Contact paper to help it blend into the decor more readily. Since she had written on it with orange marker it was clear it would either have to be repainted, or somehow covered. Contact paper became a life saver in this instance. Not only did it cover the scribbles, but it added a decor element that makes the room even more fun.

The storage on top includes a yarn spool that's holding her wrap around barrettes. She has many colors and sizes so this sorts it really well. The other organizer is for the barrettes that clip onto the end of her hair. There are so many of them in so many sizes, shapes, and colors that we needed a way to store them and keep them sorted. This way hair care time is quicker and more efficient.

We also added many decorative elements that help make this room enchanting and fun, as much as it is efficient. There are many decor choices that make tie into the enchanted forest theme. 

The curtains are from the decor section of a local department store. When I saw that they were leaf green and deep brown with lots of leaves all over, I was sure they would fit in perfectly. They were also economical since two panels were sold together instead of having to get each one separately.

Chronicles: Infant to Toddler Room How To Convert A Graco Crib

The transition from an infant room to a toddler room is coming along. So far, we've removed everything from the room and repainted gooey walls. Now it's time to work on the furniture in the space.

Our first challenge is to convert the infant crib to a toddler bed. Fortunately, we had this very milestone in mind when we purchased a crib that grows with the child. We've learned from experience that it can be pretty expensive to buy a new size bed every time your child grows. This bed converts into a full size bed later. For now, we are making the conversion to a toddler bed.

This model is a white Graco 3 in 1 transition crib.

1.) Take the front panel off of the crib. This was quite simple. Of course, it means we had to remember where the hex wrench was to unscrew the screws from each side. *In my tool kit I keep all the hex wrenches that come with different pieces of furniture in one place so it's easy to find when we need it. You can also store them in plastic sandwich bag. Once we took the panel off we also removed the mattress slat to lower it. 

The advantage of a toddler bed is that it's lower to the ground. As toddlers learn to sleep in a space that doesn't confine them, they may fall out of the bed a few times. The closer to the ground they are, the less scary that inevitability will be.

Once we replaced the mattress slat, the bed was ready to dress and be slept in for the first time without any confinement.

The bed is dressed and ready for a good night's sleep. The cover on top is a fleece no-sew kit that only took about 20 minutes to make. Since it went so well with the theme of the room and didn't have any characters it was a perfect fit for the room.

The front of the crib becomes a "picket fence"

FUN IDEA: The front slat of the crib was headed straight to the closet until I came up with a more fun idea. The closet will already have quite a bit of baby gear we simply don't need. So, I thought, why not use this to add some charm to the decor.

The crib slats give the impression of a picket fence outside a charming cottage in an enchanted forest. It's all about make-believe in a toddler's room.

Chronicles: Infant to Toddler Room Transition Forever Paint

As you know from Part 1 of this series, we are transitioning our daughter's room from being just right

for an infant to being the ultimate toddler destination. Our goal is to keep a basic neutral color palette. Staying away from characters and trends will help keep you from having to remodel every time your child grows out of a fad. Our colors are pastel pink, brown, and tan, with pink and brown covering only the smallest walls. They are the most personal and will be easy to switch should the need arise. Of course, we had this bright idea the first time around, but we didn't clean the walls well enough or use a strong primer. Lesson learned, we'll do it right this time.

We had to begin by clearing just about everything out of the room or pulling everything away from the walls so we could paint.

Painting added $80 and one full day to the overall allotted time and money. This is why it's important to know whether painting will be a part of your project or not. Paint and supplies can be a costly addition to any project.

Before painting: residue is visible

Initially I use "Goof Off" to get rid of the residue left over from the posters and charts on the walls. This was okay, but the chemical faded the color of the wall. This meant that I would absolutely have to prime the walls and repaint completely rather than simply touching up in places.

First, wash the walls and baseboards. This is important because any dust will derail your ability to get a smooth finish. Also, if you use painter's tape it won't stick very well to dusty walls and baseboards. Put down plastic or old rags to cover furniture and floors to avoid getting unwanted paint in those areas.

After repainting the residue is gone.

Second, use a heavy stain blocking, sealing primer on any walls you will cover. This step is especially crucial if the wall is already covered with a darker color. It will also ensure that any residue left after cleaning will be covered. *Many paints have primer built into them, which is very convenient when you use the higher quality versions.

TIP:  Instead of using a flat finish paint, use a satin finish. This is extremely important in homes where there are young children, or homes where you will need to clean the walls for any reason whatsoever. Flat finishes won't forgive smudges and fingerprints, leaving a messy, greasy appearance. Also, some flat finishes wash away or stain when you try to wash them. A satin or semi-gloss finish will prevent these issues.

Third, paint the walls using rollers. When you approach the edges use an edging tool. It works wonders if you follow the directions on the packaging to ensure you don't get paint in areas where you don't want it to go. I've found that painter's tape isn't necessary when using an edger. They are actually effective.

BONUS: Since you're painting anyway, this gives you a chance to fix a décor issue you've been wanting to adjust. We changed the color. Since the walls had a deep, peanutty tan, I chose to lighten this to coffee ice cream. It still blends really well with the pink and brown, but reflects the light better making the room feel larger and brighter.

Fourth, recover all paint supplies so leftovers don't dry out. Avoid removing the rags or plastics you used to cover everything until the walls are completely dry. Once the painted areas are dry, clean up so you can move on with your project.

Chronicles: Infant To Toddler Room Transition

Transitioning with our children from milestone to milestone is definitely a cause for celebration. As they grow and change it's our job as parents to be there to help them. One really big transition is growing from infancy to toddlerhood.

That said, our family is currently living through this major transition as our daughter is turning 3 years old. Among other things, one really big part of the transition is the room remodel. She's still sleeping in a crib and has a changing table. From her rocking chair to her diaper pail, several changes will need to be made to her room so that she can more comfortably navigate this stage of her development. There are also several things happening in her room that need adjustment or repair. We'll be taking advantage of this opportunity to address some of these things. Join us in a four part series as we share tips and tricks to help the process run smoothly.

Before:

Right now the room is a typical nursery... 

There's a crib next to a rocking chair for storytime and an infant swing that she's too heavy to use anymore.











The changing table is no longer of use because she's potty training. There is also some scribbling on the drawers of the changing table, which we plan to convert into a clothing dresser.

Current nursery

When decorating the nursery, we kept the colors and decor somewhat neutral to ensure there wouldn't be a need to change anything significant as she grows older. This would have been a great plan had we scrubbed the walls more thoroughly and used a primer the first time we painted.

The nursery used to be the

homeschool classroom.

Since her nursery used to be the homeschooling room, there was residue left over from the tape used to post charts and posters. It bled through and is now highly visible on each of the walls. So, we will need to fix these imperfections.