Open House: Master Bedroom Tour

I’m participating in the Open House hosted by the
4 Moms, 35 Kids. Starting in August, they have been giving their readers a virtual glimpse into their homes, and how they manage things for their larger-than-average families. So far, we have joined with them and given you a tour of our:

• outside yard and entry
• kitchen and dining room
• main living areas
• children’s bedrooms

This is Bedrooms, Part 2, also known as (cue dreamy music) Our Master Bedrooms Through the Years.   I promise to give you a glimpse of our current master bedroom at the end.

My favorite bedroom was in a farmhouse in New York – we rented the top story right after we were married in 1994.  It was simple and quaint.   I slept next to the wall, and quickly learned not to sit bolt upright when I was scared awake by snow sliding off the roof!

Let’s fast-forward to 1998 – the year we moved into our current home.  I spent a pleasantly large amount of time today going through old photos, trying to find master bedroom pictures.  There were hardly any – probably because we were too busy having babies every year or so.  Below, we had just welcomed Samuel into our family on November 4, 1998.  You really can’t see much of this room, but look at that cute newborn boy! This is actually our current boys’ room.  I meant it when I said our boys sleep in the room where two of them were born!

Here we are a few years later in 2000 – the year that God blessed us with our Y2K baby, Nathaniel.  When he moved into a big crib, we tried 5 children in one room for a week, then decided it was too cramped.  (Oops – I forgot to mention that we were sharing this house with my parents, who had the real master bedroom at that time.  It’s ok if you’re confused.) So we moved into the garage – ahem, I mean the converted 2-car garage.  It was also our laundry room and family room (the tv is behind the custom curtain).  Our daughter Elizabeth was born in this room, and we love to see the looks on people’s faces when we tell them one of our children was born in the garage.

For those of you who are still trying to figure this out – this room below is currently our library/schoolroom.  The shelves on the wall by the curtain are on the wall where my teacher’s desk is now.  The look on my face tells me my husband probably surprised me when he took this picture.

Now we are going to take a flying leap into 2006.  This was and still is our living/dining room, and yes, there is a king-size bed in the living room!  We were no longer sharing the house with my parents – they had built a house next door.  Ours was being completely remodeled, starting with our bedroom – so Dave and I moved into the living room for 2-3 months.  The children’s strongest memory of this time was Daddy sleeping on the bed during the day wearing headphones.  He was working 2 jobs at the time, with odd hours, so he would snatch a nap whenever he could.  I was pregnant with our 9th child, so there was a bit of daily hubbub.  He was able to sleep with the music playing in his ears.  (The cutie-pie in the high chair is one-year-old Miriam.)

Here’s that glimpse I promised of Master Bedroom, 2010 Edition.  Let’s petition the 4 Moms for another Open House series next summer!  I should have our bedroom juuuust the way I want it by then.

Hey, here’s something that’s worth focusing on – my husband’s favorite verse.  Strength and patience are something we all need; yes, even in the “everyday” of home organization.

NEWS FLASH!! After this post “went to press” I found a few pictures that show the basic layout of our bedroom in an uncluttered state!  This is in 2008, not too long after the remodeling was completed.  Our homeschool cubby shelf lived in here for a while – I think we tried it out as a dresser for a short time.

The lovely free drapes hang over sliding glass doors which lead to the screen porch and pool.  We keep the blinds shut 99% of the time because my parent’s house is right across the pool.  The dressers shown here are still in our room now, with the addition of a DVD shelf and nightstand on top of the long dresser.

See you next week!  Be sure to visit all of the 4 Moms, 35 Kids to see their living areas:

• Smockity Frocks
• The Common Room
• Life in a Shoe
• Raising Olives