The Addition

Anyone who has spoken to me at all in the past two years has heard about our storage room conversion. We were lucky enough to purchase a large storage space right next to our condo and (after hearing about a neighbor's plan to expand) decided that we could use a little more space. The one bedroom condo we purchased in 2007 seemed like more than enough space when we were newlyweds, but had quickly shrunk as we acquired more stuff, a dog and then two kids. I was determined to find a way for us to expand.

It seemed like it would be easy enough. We owned the storage space and all we had to do was tear down the back of a closet, build a new wall, put in a light and some carpet and we'd have access to another 100 sf of space! It was NOT so easy. It turned into a year-long process of red tape. First it was our condo association board (this was by far the most tedious and ridiculous part). There were emails, discussions, and eventually lawyers but we FINALLY got their approval. Finding a contractor (Kris from KD Homes) was easy, and he was great! He expected it to be a 3-4 day job, but underestimated the difficulty he'd encounter obtaining the permits needed from the county. Because condos are considered to be "commercial" buildings it ended up taking six weeks (instead of 3 hours) and costing three times as much as it would have if we were doing the same thing in a single family home. I didn't care I had a toddler sleeping in my closet and was very pregnant with baby boy No. 2 when we found out how much more difficult it was going to be. I needed, wanted, couldn't-live-without the space. They started work over Thanksgiving, after DJ was born and while we had visitors (Mimi & Pops) and after about a week, we had a NEW ROOM!!!!!!!!

This is while the room was under construction. The tile is where the original closet was. The room goes back and then to the right. KD Homes was very professional and did excellent work. If anyone need a good contractor I'd be happy to pass his info along to you.

Beckett in his new room. There is plenty of space for a crib, dresser, drawers, toy chest, laundry basket, diaper genie, and a very tall, very full, bookshelf. That's my favorite part. His favorite part seems to be the toy chest. Go figure.

He had no trouble transitioning from his pack-n-play in the closet to his (relatively) spacious new crib in his very own (for now) room. DJ is still sleeping in our room, but soon he will be joining his big brother and mommy and daddy will (finally) get their room back!

See, he likes it!

This is the new entry way to the room. We went with a monkey/frog theme. I couldn't decide and in the end, I really just liked the green and brown combination. I can't tell you how much I am enjoying this new space. It makes our house feel so much bigger. It was a hassle to get it finished, but we are now the proud owners of a 1bedroom+DEN (a.k.a. nursery). Oh, happy day!