Setting a Record I Hope to Never Break!

Once the holidays are over, many people begin the process of cleaning, organizing, and decluttering their homes. I am no exception. Besides working on some new ideas and finishing up my daughter's new room (more on these later), I have been cleaning out unused objects and trying to come up with ways to better maximize the space in all the rooms in my home. I will have to work a little harder on the cleaning part though.Although I am happy with the way my son's room looks - simple but perfectly functional for a boy his age - I knew I could do better in helping him display some of his ever growing collection of art and awards. Anyone who receives the Pottery Barn catalogues is probably familiar with their Stanton Collection square magnetic chalk boards and cork boards. I find them to be a great way to dress up a wall in a kid's bedroom. I also like them because they give kids a chance to express their creativity by deciding what types of things they want to display.My son had six of these hung above his long dresser (also from Pottery Barn). After looking at the size of the wall, I decided I could increase his display space simply by adding two more cork boards and mounting a small shelf below. It was a fairly easy process - take down the existing boards, rehang all eight boards higher and hang a shelf below. Here is a real life picture of how it turned out.

I was tempted to style his room but thought it better to just show the room the way it really looks. The blog world is filled with beautifully perfect pictures and I find it refreshing every once in a while to see homes the way people actually live in them - half made Legos on the dresser and floor, pictures hung crooked, baseballs with no cases yet, etc.

So what is the record? I am now the proud owner of a wall with 30 (yes, 30!) holes. The original six boards had twelve holes, the new ones sixteen and the shelf two. Total of 30. I am hoping he will never out grow these boards as I will have many holes to patch.

Note: I have been absent the past few weeks due to computer problems. I am trying my best to catch up on everything I missed. Thanks for your patience.