Loft/ playroom renovation

So when we bought this 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house, we weren't concerned about the 3 bedrooms.  As the listing agent clearly pointed out, it would be very easy to convert the loft into a 4th bedroom.  In fact, the sellers were offering to do so with an acceptable contract.  This was great news because we had already fallen in love with the house even though we were ONLY interested in 4+ bedrooms (we had recently converted our 1st house from 3 BR to 4 BR).  1) To be competitive (we were one of six offers!) and 2) thinking we'd enjoy the loft space for now until we needed the 4th bedroom, we opted to keep the house as-is.

So of course our favorite room in the house became the loft.  Especially once (surprise!) baby boy #2 was on his way and we needed a common place for the rocking chair and book shelf.  The loft was cozy and small (too small for a decent 4th bedroom when you consider adding a closet, it turns out), and we started and ended each day in it.  On the good, lazy days the boy(s) and I could stay up there for an hour or two at a time happy as little birds in our nest.

So with baby boy #3 scheduled to make his appearance soon, did we finally add a 4th bedroom?  No- of course not.  We renovated the loft into an even bigger, more fun (and more toddler/ baby-proof) loft/ playroom.  There was actually a lot of thought put into this- short-term and long.  Once Colby is big enough to need his own room (or ready to sleep in a crib instead of swaddled in his rock-n-play), he will get Brady's room and Anderson and Brady will share Anderson's slightly bigger room.  We figure that two of the boys sharing a room will last us at least 10 more years.  Ryan tells me they won't want to share when they're teenagers.  (This comes from the younger brother who didn't outgrow sharing a room, but he noticed that his older brother definitely did. ;-) )  Then as long as we can make it happen, we are planning on turning the attic into a 4th bedroom for pre-teen Anderson to have his own space one day.  That won't be a small project at all, but we're hoping it will be feasible and practical enough when the time comes.  Also, we love the loft now, as I have said, but we love the idea of a common area in which the boys can hang out, eventually have a TV, sleepovers, etc. separate from the main family room.  We're hoping that it will get a lot of use for years and years to come, and that it will be full of (stinky?) boys and their (stinky?) friends.

So with all of that said... here are some before and after shots.

Before (Like the day before; we had already taken all of the furniture out... not looking too pretty...)

This right here was a big reason we wanted to floor the loft all the way across.  Either wrestling little boys knocking into those wooden balusters or one of the older boys "helping" the baby go downstairs scared me to death.

And this yucky light, light carpet was another big reason we were ready for change.  

And in an effort to remember it in a better light, here it is a year ago being used and loved...

Messy (accurately so) but you get the idea.

Here are the after shots...

Almost nothing was purchased new for the space- the rug was the only major thing, and then the ruler and navy canvas (below) were fun Hobby Lobby finds.  Otherwise we just reused a lot of what we already had.

Coming upstairs (we have a little more painting to do on the stairs, so they're not quite "after" ready.)

So far a pretty effective way to store our bricks

This used to be in Anderson's closet- and rarely used.  We're all happy to have it someplace that we'll use it.
(Side note: Boys are so fun!  Labels include "cars and trucks" "animals and people" and "pirates".