It's Monday, so let's take a look at some decor, shall we? Although we worked pretty hard on Lou's tiny room right from the beginning, as often happens, we decided to reevaluate after living with our setup for a month or so. We shared our to do list here, and I'm happy to report that we've checked almost everything off of it. This is where we were, progress-wise, about a week ago.

And this is how we're looking today.

For a room I thought was well on its way, it took a fair amount of elbow grease to bring things up to where we wanted them to be. We tried not spend any money above what we'd already spent on baskets and bedding (and were almost successful) and we had two overarching goals: a) Use every inch in the most efficient way possible, so we could hold a lot without overwhelming the tiny space; and b) Make things as accessible to Lou as we could. Hidden, hard-to-get-to toys don't get played with, and aren't worth keeping around at all (with the exception of things you deliberately rotate out, which I'll get to). It took a lot of mulling on the issue, some switching of furniture, and excessive use of Command hooks, but I think we accomplished our goals. And then the third thing: bring in all the art and awesome stuff we've been saving up to really make this Lou's space. Some of the individual organizing projects and gallery wall will get their own post, and the rain gutter bookshelves are here, but for now, here's the quick and dirty:

1. Play Zone. The first thing we wanted to do was make more floor space. We did that by moving out the side bench on the left hand side (really the third component of Lou's storage/platform bed, which for now we're using on two-thirds to make it preschooler size and save some space), which had provided some good toy storage but ate up a lot of space in return. Moving it out and made a huge difference. To make up for the lost toy storage, we brought in a tall, narrow bookshelf - the Ikea Kallax that had been serving as our coffee table - and stuck it beside Lou's bed.

Then we turned to the wall we'd freed up by moving out the storage bench.

2. Dress Up Zone. We also needed to come up with a solution for Lou's dress up clothes. The clothes had hung on a coat tree I'd positioned beside Lou's bed, but that wasn't working very well. Even standing on the bed, it was too hard for Lou to reach all that stuff. Plus, we'd taken the space with the new bookshelf. So we reevaluated. Lou's dress-up collection is pretty intense, but I'm loathe to cull it too dramatically. She gets a lot of joy out of it, and I love seeing what worlds open up for her when she dons a thrifted fur vest and a tiara. So, on the wall against which the toy bench used to sit, I hung up a ridiculous number of Command hooks at Lou's height, and loaded them up with her stuff. The locker storage units in the corner are magnetic, so I made use of them with magnetic hooks and Ikea spice tins to corral the rest of the accoutrements Lou requires for special occasions.

3. Art Zone. Above the dress-up magnets, you can see that we made more use of the magnetic sides of the locker by hanging art supplies on a magnetic rack. On the top of the unit, I placed things I don't mind Lou needing help to get - big markers, play dough, the like.

Of course, in addition to the materials, you have to have a place for the masterpieces.

4. Art Display Zone. In our last house, I used a group of Command clips in an empty frame; here I hung a curtain rod and used drapery clips to create a quick change display. And I hung it at Lou's height, so she can be in charge of what goes up. She's a fan.

Then came time for the art and such, and I'm thrilled.

5. The fun stuff.  We threw down the manhole cover rug, which we actually just found this weekend at a Brooklyn holiday market. Lou happens to be obsessed with manholes - no, really - so when we stumbled upon this, even at about $50, I we had to have it. Lou chose the one that said Manhattan. If I were any smoother, I might have made it a Christmas gift, but it was a little big to smuggle out with Lou standing right there. Then, we hung up Lou's alphabet garland, a trio of roly-poly animals we bought from a street artist last summer, and the Wall of Lou. Seriously, I hope I'm not creating a megalomaniac over here. I think she's taking it all in stride.

The nitty gritty behind the organization, the culling, the use of the wall, the accessibility, and the special meaning behind all the stuff on the gallery wall is all coming. For now, we couldn't be happier with this room.  You may notice that neither the walls nor the locker units are painted, which I've threatened to do, and I hope you're proud when I say we're just so over it for now. Have a great day!