Let’s go upstairs and check out some of the more personal spaces: bedrooms! In most American single-family homes, the upper floor is where you’ll find the children’s bedroom and (usually) the primary bedroom, and at least one more bathroom. In our new house, there are four bedrooms (one of which is used as an office), three bathrooms (I know…), three linen closets, and a laundry room. Furnishing bedrooms is more or less straightforward and mainly varies depending on age and personality. An office differs in that it’s where we spend more waking hours. Even bathrooms need attention, especially when young children spend so much time in the bathtub. So here we’re going to explore how I created comfortable and inviting spaces throughout the upstairs.
Primary bedroom
First stop: primary bedroom! Throughout this series on creating a home in a new house I’ve mentioned how we moved into a house that’s actually larger than we need, space-wise. The number of distinct rooms is great but the size of some of the rooms, primary bedroom for one, is really unnecessary. I’m always puzzled over why newer houses in the past 30-40 years have huge primary bedrooms. As if the homeowners presumably have nothing better to do all day than lounge in their room watching TV on a suite of furniture including not only the bed and dressers but also a settee, loveseat, or anything else there’s ample space for. While every other family member gets a normal-sized room that’s just large enough for typical bedroom furniture.
What’s equally frustrating is how so many large houses with inflated primary rooms have only three bedrooms, while that primary room’s square footage could be halved to create two normal-sized rooms. With so many snoring spouses, it makes more sense for couples to have their own smaller bedrooms so that they can not only sleep soundly but also have the liberty to outfit a space the way they personally prefer, with the option to sleepover in each other’s rooms whenever they choose (1950s architects, where are your two-bedroom master floorplans?).
Our primary bedroom is the sort of room where established couples with the means purchase a giant bedroom furniture set complete with an actual bed frame and headboard (not just a cheap creaky metal frame) and matching-everything else. What I have to work with rather are mismatched dressers and random end tables, all things we’ve accrued over the years (none of which we bought new besides the metal frame and mattress). By default, my specialty has become beautifying a Frankenspace.
Layout and Décor: Minimalism by Default, to a Fault
While I consider our new house ‘complete’ in terms of furnishing, there is more I would do to balance the stuff/space ratio were we to stay here permanently. Our primary bedroom is one such room that I may yet embellish because while it has some sparse décor, there isn’t much to it other than dressers and bedding. Seeing as I face the probability of a move in the near future, additional improvements will probably only include more personally meaningful decorations on the walls and atop a dresser. Such things often make for a happier space by adding personality – the personality of its inhabitants, specifically – which reflect interests and people/passions of importance.
Ever since my spouse and I started living together nearly 13 years ago, I may have taken the concept of sleep space simplicity too far by eliminating anything that might be too ‘distracting’ for a relaxing bedroom. To an extent, it’s important to prevent our bedroom from becoming too visually stimulating. That’s why people are encouraged to separate their workspace from their sleeping space as much as possible when they need to set up shop in their bedroom. But at the same time, I’ve found that having nothing personally meaningful feels sterile and sad. So I’ll add a few visuals that offer a jolt of joyful familiarity: framed photos of the boys, happy books and magazines of interest, and notebooks for reflective writing. These are great to have anywhere in your home, but especially where you begin each day and end each night, as a reminder of what’s truly important.
Primary Bathroom: A Specimen of Excess
The bathroom is a purely utilitarian space but, like the kitchen, its layout and usability have a big impact on how smoothly anyone’s morning or night goes. Most can agree that the art of sharing a small bathroom is no small feat and requires grace, diplomacy, and efficiency. Strategic organization is key here (as well as some sort of agreed-upon schedule).
Sharing a giant bathroom with two sinks and plenty of mirror space is naturally much easier. Our primary bathroom was remodeled at some point by the original owners and is ridiculously more spacious than necessary, but I appreciate not having to crawl over top of each other like we did in the old house (as much as I miss the old house in general). There is a separate ‘stall’ space for the toilet (which directly faces the shower across from it…) and two separate walk-in closets side by side in between the toilet and the shower.
The vast amount of square footage in the center of the bathroom is another example of excess space that could have been better appointed (or simply shrunk, as I think the original square footage ought to have been). Like what are we going to do in there, couples’ yoga? What I do love, though, is all the natural light. Two upper windows in the corner by the tub let in plenty of pleasant natural light, and there’s enough counter space for a handsome healthy snake plant on the window-facing end.
Visibility Solution: Window Film
When we originally moved house, I felt very exposed at night due to the uncovered windows. There are no blinds or even curtain rods to install some means of privacy, and even if there were, one would have to awkwardly climb in the garden tub each evening to draw them open or closed. I love to see the leafy view; I just didn’t want to be the view (there are plenty of backyards in sight below). So I ordered some basic window pane film and cut it out to fit in the lower halves of the windows. Now I have the best of both worlds: some unobstructed view of the treetops through the upper half of the windows where no one can see in, and pretty rainbow-filtered light from the bottom half for both light and privacy.
Primary Closets
Our primary bedroom closets are accessible from the bathroom. Like all the other bedroom closets, each has a harsh and glaring fluorescent light that is way too bright for evening hours. So I tacked up a strand of string lights spanning the ceiling from the bathtub area, across the space in front of the toilet, and into my closet lining the ceiling perimeter. (There isn’t enough length to tack the string lights up in my husband’s closet so I put a small rechargeable lamp on his closet shelf for mood lighting options.) The string lights create such a fun and inviting glow with enough light to easily see whatever I need to do in the bathroom and my closet, while yet being dim enough for the ultimate mood lighting.
Like all other closets in this house, the primary closets have that cheap rubber-coated wire shelves. So after the requisite extreme closet cleaning and shelf liner job, I lined my shelves with appropriately-spaced shoe boxes and lids to display the handful of pumps and other heels that I infrequently wear. It’s like a humbler, cozier version of Carrie Bradshaw’s shoe palace closet. And the string lights cast a lovely glow that lends to its happy coziness. I’ve come to discover that, though closets are typically solely functional spaces, closet vibes and aesthetics are definitely a thing!
Baby’s Room
Both at our old house and our new one, I made a big point to create as happy a space as possible in each children’s bedroom. For my toddler’s room, I wanted to create the same pleasant and calm nursery vibe prevalent in his room at our old house. I found the same J.M. Barrie fairy quote decal to affix to the wall (with a Tinkerbell silhouette), and I hung the same sparkly paper star garlands and hot air balloons that enchanted his former bedroom. The same light and beachy artwork and giant dreamcatcher grace the walls, and I placed some of the same pretty décor on top of his bookshelf and dresser.
Besides his Montessori floor bed and cheerful bedding, the rest of the aesthetic consists of four houseplants (three spider plants and a snake plant…varieties that thrive the best in our home), a salt lamp, cute plush animals, a bookshelf full of board books, and more cube shelving with fabric bins of baby blankets. The space holds a nice balance of soft, bright, living, crystal glow, magical, and airy. It’s exactly the type of space I want for my young children: happy and inviting while also calm and relaxing.
Kindergartener’s Room (which is now both children’s bedroom for nighttime)
Many five-year olds’ bedrooms are loud and colourful and full of popular characters marketed at children. This sounds fun and playful if they’re into those characters/themes; however, my son is neurodivergent and gets overstimulated by the overly-hyper and fast-paced world that is children’s cartoons. He doesn’t even know about Disney characters. I have no problem with media and marketing if it has positive effects; I simply promote calm atmospheres that invoke rest and relaxation. I purposefully create spaces that soothe and cultivate a sense of safety, especially for my son whose kindergarten day spans seven hours (and he has to wake at 6:00). With an especially loud and attention-grabbing baby brother, he needs as much peace as we can provide!
The children’s bedroom, therefore, mirrors his bedroom at our old house in that it is similar to the baby’s room with light colours and pleasant beach décor. The same fishnet filled with starfish and other relics hangs from one corner of his room above the dresser and next to some seashell string lights hung up above his closet, and his room likewise has a couple of plants and a salt lamp to give it a calm and living glow. His airy white dreamcatcher from Cherokee hangs from his light fixture as it did at the old house, with a couple of new crescent moon macrame dreamcatchers on the wall over his bed. His bookshelf contains plenty of his favourite books, and the same trinkets and other treasures sit atop it.
Bigger Boy Details in Children’s Bedroom
The main difference between my kindergartener’s room and the baby’s room is that I’ve created a sort of colourful gallery to fill a couple walls with his beautiful artworks and other proud pieces like his preschool graduation certificate and framed class photos. In addition, I set up his glow-in-the-dark marble run next to his bookshelf so he can play with it in peace before bedtime (without his baby brother’s intervention…although naturally that still happens and then I have to reassemble the whole thing). All other toys, noise, and kids’ things with cheerfully loud colours live downstairs in the living rooms and sunroom (with plenty of overflow in the basement).
A Note on the Endless Challenge of Toy Accumulation
Toys are one of the biggest offenders when it comes to household clutter. On one hand, parents can relegate toys to the children’s bedroom. On the other hand, that doesn’t lend to a peaceful environment for sleep, which is why in our house toys mostly stay in other shared spaces. For some families, there isn’t much extra room in shared spaces. Yet from what I’ve observed, most kids’ toys are gifts from other people. Specifically, other people who do not live amidst the toy clutter.
I haven’t done the math but I’m confident that 99% of my boys’ noisy toys were gifts from others, and probably 80% of their toys in general are likewise from others…hence the need for an ‘overflow’ area in our basement. Many parents regularly purge toys, which I’ll eventually do (certainly when we move house again). But unlike other kids, my sons never seem to tire of any of their toys. Even the most mundane toys as well as things we’d otherwise recycle/dispose of (like old tubing from my partner’s CPAP machine and boxes from various products) are treasures they continue to play with.
So when I ask my boys what they want to donate, nothing makes the cut. And I know the minute I donate something behind their back, they’ll ask for it! (I recently retrieved a catalog from the recycling bin when my toddler inevitably requested it). I cannot sneakily get rid of their playthings because for one, I know they’ll actually play with them. But also, I wouldn’t want someone to do that with my own things. When the time comes (and it will come), nothing will be axed covertly. I’ll explain the necessity of balance and letting some things go and while they may protest, they’ll come to learn and understand.
Office
The very spacious fourth bedroom (that upper half of the house addition, above my study) is my spouse’s office. It can and has also served as a bedroom, hence the queen mattress on the floor. (We have a metal queen bed frame; we just haven’t assembled it yet since we aren’t sure how soon we’ll move again). In the office are two snake plants, some framed photos (as well as wall décor) and a salt lamp. There isn’t much else in the way of ambiance, but the pleasant focal point is a cushioned window seat with a few throw pillows flanked by built-in shelves with books. Some of our older son’s overflow toys are in a corner by a small table and lamp (he’s allowed to play in there sometimes, but has so far ignored the toys and instead plays with the fan and space heater).
The former owners sold us the valances in this room, as well as the curtains in the primary bedroom and back living room, because my husband thought we would want them. I begrudgingly agreed and then after living here for a bit he, too, realized what an eyesore they were. Not to mention dusty AF. So those all got relegated to the attic (in case future owners want them, which I can’t imagine but one never knows). If we were going to live here long term and there was ample light (which there isn’t – the many giant trees block out most light and there aren’t enough windows for the amount of square footage) then I’d consider draperies of some sort that are actually attractive. For now, though, lack of extra dust-loving draperies allows maximum natural light. And maximum natural light is our MO!
Office Vibes
Because the office is my husband’s space, I don’t ‘art direct’ this room beyond my initial efforts to hang décor on the walls and set up a few framed pictures, small lamps, and salt lamp. But despite the large size of the room, I’m conscious of keeping it from accruing too much ‘stuff’ for his sake. It’s easy to use the space as a catchall for toys or other things we ask my spouse to fix or look into when he has time. And as mentioned, I put a few older-kid toys in the corner for my son to occasionally play with without the baby around (though, in Jeff Goldblum’s words in Jurassic Park, ‘life finds a way’…as has my toddler).
Still, I’m careful to not use the office as a catch-all. It’s important to minimize visual distractions in a workspace while still keeping it aesthetically inviting. With the leafy window views, welcoming window seat and cushions, comfy floor bed, family photos, and spaciousness, we are lucky to have this extra bedroom as an office option. Keeping clutter at bay is important in every space of the house, but if you work at home, it’s especially important in your workspace.
Linen Closets
There are three linen closets accessible in the upstairs hallway: one by the baby’s room, one by the children’s room, and one by the office. As with all closets in the house, I had to thoroughly scrub the shelving in all three (the one by the office was especially dirty). The walls in the linen closet by the baby’s room were mostly clean except for one area between a couple of shelves, so I applied leftover peel-and-stick wallpaper to just that section.
The walls in the linen closet by the children’s bedroom and the walls in the closet by the office were a different story. They were filthy, covered in marks and stains. I therefore lined the walls of those closets (and even the ceiling in the linen closet!) with peel-and-stick wallpaper. Even my toddler loves to step inside the small linen closet by their room and shut himself in. The paper is covered with little gold stars and moons. I had to use two different papers in the other closet, having run out of one, but it’s definitely more fun and attractive than before!
Bathroom Near Office (Connects to Children’s Bedroom Closet)
The most hilarious thing about this house is that there are three upstairs bathrooms. I understand that giant American beach houses are constructed with one bathroom per bedroom because developers assume they’ll be rented to multiple adult family units who would feel too awkward to share an intimate space, but in a family home, it’s a little odd! The former owners thought their daughter might like her own bathroom to not have to share with two brothers. That sounds lovely and understandable, if a bit luxurious. A five-year-old and two-year-old, however, definitely do not need their own bathrooms. Especially when one has two sinks!
As purely functional spaces, I don’t really decorate bathrooms. However, I will add a little bit of décor if there is a tub. The bathroom near my five-year-old’s bedroom and husband’s office has a tub-less shower and a nice south-facing window to let in natural light. There isn’t really wall space for any décor, but with the window this bathroom is pleasant enough on its own. The shower has poor water pressure but the mirror above the vanity looks nice and it happens to be my toddler’s favourite place to pee.
Hallway Bathroom
The hallway bathroom has an unappealing ‘shotgun’ layout with a narrow double sink area leading to a cramped back area with toilet and tub. Because it isn’t a nice squarish layout like the other bathroom and because there isn’t a window, the depressingly dimly-lit toilet/tub space feels dark and claustrophobic. So I strung up multi-coloured string lights around the perimeter of the back ceiling over the tub and toilet. This makes a fun and happy glow at night. I also put the same mermaid picture over the bathtub that was in our hallway bathroom at the old house, and I hung up a small lighthouse decoration on the wall next to it. I also hung a white seahorse on the wall opposite the sinks. Other than that, once I re-organize the cluttered sink area I’ll eventually place a few cheerful decorative items up there to spruce it up.
Laundry Room
Our laundry room is conveniently located upstairs (much to the dismay of one of our movers who acted increasingly unprofessional and complained as if I was the architect who designed the house to purposefully make his job more difficult). It’s centrally positioned between the hall bathroom and primary bedroom. It’s small but just the right size with enough room to do what I need to do, and because it’s a purely functional space, I’ve done nothing to decorate it. After all, we don’t ‘hang out’ in there. We are literally only ever in there to do laundry.
I did, of course, fiercely clean the room and all of its storage spaces after we moved in. It was more than a little disturbing how dirty the floor was. And, as with many other filthy spaces in this house, it was initially a dusty disaster (even moreso due to decades of never-dusted built-up dryer lint covering every surface)!
The laundry room’s energy is nevertheless uplifting, probably because it’s finally been cleaned and because not much stays in there for long – I’m constantly putting dirty clothes in and taking clean clothes out. It also helps that the door opens into the upstairs hallway which is brightly lit by the lunette window above the front door. With an upper shelf opposite the washer and dryer where I store extra bulk toilet paper and paper towels, as well as cabinets above the washer and dryer where I keep laundry detergent and stain remover, there’s plenty of storage if needed.
Upstairs: Furnish the Children’s Bedroom and Neighbouring Rooms with Joy and Calm
With two little boys, we spend plenty of time chasing them around upstairs (and they find their way into every room, closet and corner. We’ve long since abandoned the office baby gate my toddler started scaling months ago). That helps to keep all of the spaces upstairs refreshed and full of life. Having kids forces us to use every square inch of our home, for the better. It also forces us to strategically arrange everything in the most efficient (and, when necessary, childproof) position. If you don’t have kids but your bedrooms are on a separate floor, you may find yourself using this space less often unless you frequently host overnight guests. Before having kids, this was the feel of our extra bedrooms at our old house and the one we rented prior to that. It’s a stale feeling that I address in the energy of a room post.
Make sure you use your upstairs meaningfully. If you have more rooms than you need, keep them sparsely but pleasantly furnished. Keep a few meaningful things in there as touchpoints so that whenever you walk into a room, there’s something to bring you joy or make you smile. And still change things up on occasion to move energy around. Especially if none of the upstairs rooms are a children’s bedroom, sure to use the rooms occasionally, weather for a self-care practice like exercise, yoga or meditation, or for a jigsaw puzzle or other activity you wouldn’t want in your normal living space. Play some music there, read a book. Upstairs can carry a different vibe, but it doesn’t have to be a cold or unfamiliar one. Live in it, love in it, and keep it alive!