One of the least appealing rooms in our farmhouse has always been the upstairs “blue bedroom.” When we first moved in, everything in that room seemed to be painted blue: the carpet, the curtains, the desk, and even sponge paint on the ceiling. It felt cramped and dated, with a small window, low ceilings, awkward sloping walls that made furniture placement difficult, a tiny desk that wasn’t really useful, and stained carpeting. The room was freezing in winter and sweltering in summer, so we mostly avoided it and kept the door closed.
NOTE: Our plan has always been to renovate the “blue bedroom,” but that will be a major (and messy) project. We’ll likely need to remove drywall and plaster, add insulation, and install new drywall. It’s one of two significant projects left to “complete” our 125-year-old farmhouse renovations, so it will happen eventually.
Fast-forward 5 years…
When our third baby was on the way, we needed to make room. Simon needed to move out of the nursery and we briefly considered renovating the blue room before the baby arrived. In the end, we decided not to start a large renovation while preparing for a newborn. I didn’t want to be mid-project and living in chaos when we brought the baby home, and we had higher-priority jobs to finish first, like updating the kids’ bathroom.
At the time, Simon was 16 months old and Nora was three, so sharing a bedroom was not an option. Our goal was to make the blue room as pleasant as possible for Simon using minimal time, effort, and cost. We painted where needed, had the carpet cleaned, added a cozy rug, and brought in a portable heater and air conditioner to manage the temperatures. We moved Simon into that room a few days before the new baby was born.
Even after those changes, I still noticed the room’s flaws—the blue carpet (which Simon loved), low ceilings, the tiny window, cracked plaster, and outdated molding that didn’t match the rest of the house. It never felt like a room I enjoyed having my toddler sleep in, but it served its purpose.
To our surprise, this past summer both Nora and Simon decided they wanted to share a bedroom, and they have been happily sharing for the past five months with no problems. That left the infamous blue bedroom completely unused as of Labor Day weekend.
This meant the infamous “blue bedroom” was completely unused as of Labor Day weekend!
We weren’t ready to begin a renovation while Dave was gearing up for another school year, so instead we made the most of the open space. We removed the crib, sold extra furniture, purged toys, and in about two days transformed the room into a bright, cheerful play space. The result is not a permanent remodel, but a functional, kid-focused playroom that brought new life to an unused corner of the house.
The room now features a masking-tape road system that stretches across the floor for toy houses, farms, and cars, a hidden cubby for baby dolls and gear, a walk-in closet outfitted with a full-length mirror dedicated to dress-up clothes, and two comfy chairs for adults who want a break from the playing. It’s become an easy, accessible play area where imagination rules.
Yes, the room still has the small window with limited natural light, sloping cracked walls, low ceilings, and the original blue carpet. But for our kids, that doesn’t matter. Toys, games, and pretend play spill in from their bedroom and the main playroom, filling this once-empty room with energetic, creative play. Because we haven’t started the big renovation, I’m relaxed about spills on the carpet, tape marks, scuffs on the walls, fingerprints on the mirror, and the occasional mess. This room is meant to be used and enjoyed.
We’re tentatively planning to renovate the blue bedroom next summer, but seeing how much fun the children have here, we may postpone the project and let this temporary playroom stay as it is for a while. For now, it’s the perfect place to spend long winter days when it’s too cold to play outside, and it gives our kids a special space to play, imagine, and grow.