As most of you know, I live in a 1200 square-foot home with my husband, Jordan, and my two daughters, Chloe and Emilie. Sharing this small-ish home over the past six years has inspired us to be both creative and flexible.
I wanted to give you an inside peek into how we’re switching up our space to support our changing priorities as a family.
When we bought our home, we gave the girls the largest bedroom since they would be sharing and needed space to play. Jordan and I took the smaller bedroom and we turned the remaining (and smallest room) into a simple guest room.
The queen bed filled most of the space, and was a cozy space for reading, lounging, and the occasional guest. We were also able to sneak in a desk and chair for my work headquarters.
Last year, we embarked on a major transition. Jordan left his full-time job as a non-profit executive, and we decided to work together full time (spoiler alert – big mistake!) on my business. Jordan needed a space to work and we realized we seldom hosted overnight guests, so it made the most sense to repurpose our guest room into a workspace built for two.
We loved the space but, long story short, working together was not our best relationship move (turns out I’m bossy), and Jordan is now happily employed out of the home, working in corporate social responsibility.
While I still work primarily from home, and loved having a cozy home office, the girls have been begging for their own rooms, and after a series of persuasive essays, I decided to surrender my workspace to enable them to claim their own spaces.
This time, we kept it simple, and just switched around existing furniture, bedding, and decor to give eight-year old Emilie her own room. Here is her new, sweet little space.
You can see how we just repurposed the desk, chair, and pin board and didn’t have to buy a thing. Here’s the other side of the room. We simply moved her dresser in and added a little decor to make it feel like a fresh space.
For now, Chloe has remained in the larger bedroom solo, but we’re gearing up to swap with her this winter. Stay tuned for details and the full reveal. It’s gonna be a fun one.
I believe that your home should always support and enhance your life, and I’ve seen how as our lives, relationships, and values have shifted, our home has needed to transform as well. Has your home grown and evolved as you have? What simple changes might better support your life, values, and priorities?
Image Credits: Vivian Johnson Photo
Love it! curious where do you work now and what’s that like? i’ve been using our dining room as my office and I don’t love it but it’s the best I’ve got at the moment
I’m in the same boat! The dining room table does the trick for now, but I might need to consider other options for the future. Xx
It’s amazing how the house can adapt to changes in the family situation. I think every room in my house has been used for a different purpose at some point in the past. I am lucky to have a large office, but my work still spreads all over the house. When I retire I plan to corral everything into one room (mark that down for a future project) but not yet.
Yes, love that, Lois! Xx
i love how you keep it real on your blog, shira! beautiful work.
Thank you so much! Xx
Hi Shira, loved this post! Can you tell me where your pinboard that you’ve re-used from the office is from? thanks! Laura
I had a friend make it for me out of cork and linen! Xx
hi shira,
love your work and style. did you create another space in your home for your desk?
Thanks so much! I just use our dining room table as my work space now. Not ideal, but it works!