The ever changing environment

Change is what I do well or at least often.  When I was young we moved a lot.  Almost every two years in fact.  We weren't on the run, my dad worked in construction for a while and we followed where the jobs were.   Even once he settled into working in Windsor we moved a number of times to upgrade in housing or to deal with the financial strain of when my dad became seriously ill.

We have not moved often in our marriage.  We lived in the home we built for 9 years and then to the home we have now when Chris was required to relocate for work.   I am used to change though so my coping method is to change my environment.  It could mean anything from moving furniture around to full room overhauls. 

The lastest project of change has been working on renovating the boys room.  Their room was the last of the rooms in our house to be re-floored with maple hardwood.  They were not to happy about it knowing that they would need to be a bit more careful than with their temporary painted plywood floor.  I don't think they appreciate change as much as I do.   Along with the floor it was time to give them their own bed spaces.  They have slept together from the time they left our bed.  They never slept in a crib so having a warm body to snuggle with is what they know.  There are times that one (never Liam) may want some space and will go off to sleep alone but usually by morning we will find them all entangled in an mass of body parts.  It is touching to see that even days that seem like all they do is bump horns it ends in collective cuddle and all is forgotten at least for a little while.

Three growing boys can't fit in a double bed for long. We also need to provide a bed for each child in our home as part of the process of being approved as an adopt ready family.  Although the homestudy was the catalist in making the change it was due to come soon.  The question was how do we fit three beds and more likely at least 4 in one room?  They have a large enough bedroom but is not a regular shape and has sloping roof lines. It is also important to make sure that the room seems as spacious as possible with enough storage for 3 or more growing children to share into their teen years  Bunk beds seemed the most logical but I can't say that I was thrilled about the idea. Bunk beds can often seem bulky and making the bed in the morning on the top bunk is such a difficult task.  

The space lent itself well to an L-shaped bunk configuration.  The challenge was how to make sure it was well supported without the added bulk of wooden support legs.  I did a lot of research into different custom made bunk options that would suit the minimal and modern look that I was going for.  The final decision was to create platform beds with the top bunks being supported by the wall studs when possible and from the ceiling by steel cable.  The platform style will hopefully reduce the difficulty of making  up the upper bunks that are usually tight against the frame and the lack of wooden vertical supports will give the sense of flow and space through the beds.

The project is still in the "why did we do this?" stage when we are far from completion with only the closet door having been doubled in size and the floor completed.  I am excited to move forward with the beds. Here are some before pictures of the work in progress.