Au Pair Room Done!

It is 3pm on Friday, March 8th.

Our Au Pair arrives at 8pm.

I JUST finished the room.  It has been mostly done for weeks, but the workers were going in and out to finish painting the exterior of house and I didn't want to start cleaning the bathroom and finishing the floors, making the beds, until they were done tramping in and out.

I spent a long long time decorating, planning, and spent about double our budget to get this room together - a room I won't see again for many many many months.

Just so you remember where we started:



When we moved in...



Starting work to build the rumpus room...


Halfway there.




It lived like this for awhile.


We played down here a lot on rainy days and grandparents slept down here regularly.

Then mama got knocked up, we found out about the Au Pair program, and decided to invite a total stranger to come live with us in our tiny 2 bedroom apartment.

So...here it is!


This isn't the most glamorous entrance, but it is her own.


I imagine that rug won't be white when we get the room back in 18 months, but it was SO cheap I don't care.


It would have been nice to iron that slipcover, but this mama's very pregnant and was so not doing that.


We got her a netbook and a cell phone so she can watch netflix and skype and get some privacy from our crazy house.


View from the bed.


View OF the bed.


The bathroom, finally clean.


Frosted the windows with contact paper so she could have some privacy.


A white orchid makes everything look pretty and put together.


Her "kitchen" - I filled it with snacks, tea, a couple cups and plates.  She also has a microwave and a fridge/freezer.  She can use our kitchen anytime, but our house is SO small so if she wants friends over I want them to have a place to hang out and have some privacy, drink wine, and have some snacks.


There's no closet in her room (that wall of doors are the water heaters and furnaces).  I bought these from ikea to hopefully act as a closet for her.  Not fancy at all, but hopefully it will work for her.

I'm a little nervous about having someone come live with us, but this adventure starts in just a few hours...