A Better Use of Space

When I started to register for baby items, I was very sure that I would not let our house be taken over by plastic crap.  I registered for as little plastic as I possibly could and tried to stay away from "baby" patterns and colors.  We have a small space as it is, and the addition of lots of pattern and color would have been too much.  I didn't want it to be blatantly apparent that a baby lived in our house from the first moment you walked in the door. 

Well, as it turns out, you need things for the baby and that just can't be avoided.  It also turns out that I did a pretty good job registering and that the mellow colors and lack of pattern have turned out to be a good decision since the things that the baby uses end up staying in our living room permanently.  It's just not realistic to store them away and get them out again since we use them everyday.  So, although I try to keep the baby stuff organized and only have out what is needed, it does claim a bit of space in our place.

For a long time, I was a bit in denial about this and our living room felt crowded and disorganized because I always wanted to treat the Pack 'n' Play and bouncy chair as temporary.  But I finally woke up to the fact that though they are temporary in the sense that we won't always need them, we will need them for awhile longer, and I am certainly not wishing that time away!  It was time to make other adjustments and fully welcome them into the room.  

And I always love a chance to redecorate a bit...  

This is what our living room looked like before, except in this picture, the Pack 'n' Play is put away.  When it was out, it was in front of the bookcases, making it very crowded and hard to maneuver around.

So after weeks of trying to think through how I could rearrange the room, this is what I came up with, and I think it's perfect!  It feels much, much more open, organized and pleasing.  Everything fits, everything has a place and it feels very relaxing.

I am positive that there will be a time in the future that I miss having "baby stuff" all around my house.  It's nice to find a way to make it all work together and be proud of the fact that a baby really does live here.  After all, that's my favorite part about our home!