Good morning! I hope your weekend was great. Mine was pretty busy. Saturday, I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon, and then spent the rest of the day lying on the couch, surfing Pinterest, and eating chocolate. I'm pretty sure that's exactly how experts recommend recovering from tough races. Sunday, I spent all day continuing to fix all the damage I did on Friday, when I opted for a game of musical bookshelves. In particular, I worked on West's room, and though I wouldn't call it "finished," I thought the occasion was a good one to show you how his room is looking these days. It's pretty different from how his nursery started out. Wanna take a look?

Let's start with the bookshelves, since that's where this party started. I brought them in from the dining room (see the before pics here) and painted the backs and shelves white. (Eagle-eyes might notice that I still need to paint the bottom-left shelf white). This weekend, I bolted the shelves to the wall (safety first!), figured out the best configuration for all these toys, and re-labeled as necessary. I should note that these toys largely started out as Louisa's - including the trucks and balls and such - that we now store in here. We don't think of these as just West's toys, or even this space as just his room; it's here for Lou to play in, which she does all the time, just as her room is open to West. We respect personal space as well, but only for very special objects or projects.

Anyway, though the wall-o-toys looks a little overwhelming, even to me, I remind myself that it encompasses five full years of toy collection, which we've (believe it or not) purged carefully. The kids get a lot of joy out of what's left, much of which was given lovingly from friends and family, so it's staying and I'm not going to feel antsy or guilty about it, even if it makes music or is made of plastic or looks like a lot.

Almost everything fits neatly on the shelves themselves, thanks in large part to the fact they are positionable. The space next to the door holds overflow, including West's Radio Flyer wagon and basketball net (both previously Lou's). In the wagon - board books. West loves books. Like loves them. Might be second favorite toy to stove knobs. I was thinking about how to keep them accessible to him, and it dawned on me that the wagon was just sitting there empty anyway. On the door, some favorite costumes hang from an over-the-door hook, along with a pool noodle I sliced to serve as a door stopper. West's third favorite thing to do is shut doors in your face, so I made this little finger saver, which can hang neatly on the hanger when not in use.

Meanwhile, the bones of the diaper-changing area have stayed consistent, but there have been a few cosmetic upgrades.

Now that West is One, he allows 3.5 seconds per diaper change, and his hands are drawn, magnet-like, to his nether regions the moment even a suggestion of air reaches it. To combat this, especially when poop is involved, I've got a bunch of distractions lined up over here. Books, balls, fish. Sometimes the nasal suction thingy is the most entertaining. You never know, and you have to be ready for all of it. The struggle, as they say, is real.

I know: This dresser needs some help. It's on my list. I am looking forward to repairing and painting it. I go back and forth between black and kelly green - feel free to leave your pref in the comments! - but it'll happen one day. I have some amazing new knobs, too.

You can see the trashcan on a hook on the dresser; having it hang right there is not only super handy for dirty diapers and such, but, for the time being, renders it West-proof. We have made the switch to disposable diapers - more on that in another post - and I prefer not to use a diaper pail. They're big, they're ugly, and they're still smelly. Instead, I use this tiny guy and empty him frequently. #Worksforus. I love the Moroccan-style IKEA laundry bin so much I'll probably buy another one for Bret and me.

Here's a shot of the reading nook. The rocker was a Craiglist find. You may remember it from our family room in days of yore. Big plans for it, too, but I'm not sure if I'll just paint it or have it reupholstered. The barn was a thrifted purchase when Lou was wee, and she and I painted it together while I was pregnant with West. I know - gray is not a typical barn color - but I wanted something a little soothing to cover up the really bad red paint job I'd done before. It's possible it will revert back to red at some point. The kelly-green Pendleton blanket was a huge score at a vintage shop for $15; the starry curtains were on clearance at H&M home, I think also $15 for the pair. The blue star wall is still my favorite feature, though I wish it was lower sheen, higher contrast. Dare I actually repaint it? I've considered it guys. I don't know if you know, but I take this stuff way too seriously.

I don't have too many shots of one of the biggest changes in the room - this striped rug. It lived in our dining room once upon a time (but I can't find any pics to prove it) but it's much, much better in here. I have it layered over a bunch of Flor tiles to provide a little cushion. It's indoor/outdoor (from Overstock), and it stands up pretty well to abuse. It and the striped pillow + the starry accessories led to the title of this post, obviously, though I don't think it feels themey in here. I think it feels cute! Fun! Kid-friendly. I know my kids love it in here, so that's a good sign. Oh! And that pouf: I was going to recover it, but now I have plans to make my own, smaller, one. It's on the list. The long, ever-lengthening list.

As we approach Once & Future Home's 2nd birthday, I'm doing my darndest to update our home tour. I'll be going through each room in detail and updating the home tour page as I do, so we'll call West's room the first in that endeavor. I hope you enjoyed the photos, and if you have any questions about sources or projects, let me know in the comments!