Plans for our “Secret” Nook

I’ve been itching for a project.

We’re in the sixth week of quarantine, and I’m starting to get really antsy. Not to mention, all this extra time spent at home translates to having lots of extra time to look around and dream up things I’d like to do to our house. I’ve decided to join up with the One Room Challenge starting May 7 and tackle a more involved, yet still fairly low-budget room renovation (stay tuned for more details soon!) but in the meantime, I found myself in need of a smaller project.

I’ve already finished a few other projects in this time of quarantine: first with a simple basement refresh, then with a freshly painted garage landing with a really special purpose, and finally with a sweet scalloped accent wall in the nursery. It feels so satisfying to get a quick project done and see how a little work can make a big difference in improving a space!

I’m really motivated to finish one more project before the One Room Challenge so for the next 12 days, I’m focusing my efforts on the tiniest room of our house – a little Harry Potter-style cupboard under the stairs.

Since the first time we looked at this house, I knew I wanted to use this unique little closet as a fun nook for our kids to play in. Even though the door is by no means hidden under the stairs, it feels like one of our home’s little secrets and I want to make it a really special hideout/play space.

A few weeks ago, Justin and I had a DIY Date Night and made the two small floating bookshelves as the first little update. I’ve had some ideas for this nook swirling in my mind for a while, but seeing the shelf project complete got me excited to do more and I started dedicating serious time to forming a plan. The “room” is just over 7 square feet but I want it to pack a serious punch. I initially thought I’d do a fun wallpaper, but I kept coming back to really wanting this room to feel like a secret. I want it to be full of unexpected surprises. I spent some time just sitting in there, imaging ways to add extra character and fun into such a small space. After thinking through different plans and letting them stew in my mind for a while, a couple ideas kept resounding loudly in my mind.