The twin palace is underway... What the heck is a twin palace, you say? Heh. Well, we had this crazy idea, see...
Here’s what the back of the new house (upstairs) originally looked like. A small bedroom on the left (that’s the blue one shown above), and then an orangish master retreat and master bedroom with a fireplace acting as a partial divider between the two rooms:
TubaDad and I aren’t the type to lounge around on couches in our bedroom rhapsodizing about a fire, so we were originally going to knock out the fireplace and turn the master retreat into another small middle bedroom. Like this:
Which would have been all fine and dandy, but then TubaDad blurted out over breakfast one day that instead of making two small rooms for the girls we could put Ro and Ree in one room, make that room extra big and add a huge room-length walk-in closet. Then he paled, gulped in disbelief that he had actually voiced that idea to his lunatic wife who already buys too many little-girl clothes, and tried to take it back. But it was too dang late. I LOVED that idea, kissed him for being brilliant, swilled the rest of my mimosa, then sketched out his fantastical beautiful scheme on a Hobee’s napkin. Ah yes, the twin palace was born. So on the left you have Ro and Ree’s extra-big snazzy room (which they are THRILLED that they will get to share), and on the right is the master bedroom:
Now we just have to wait out the construction and electrical work (which will be done this week), the flooring repair, and the painting, and then we’ll actually be able to move out of the bonus room and into our purdy new bedrooms without cardboard boxes for decorations. Ahhhhhhhh. I’m thinking we’ll be happy as clams by Thanksgiving.
PS: Those who have met our (ahem) boisterous twins in person might be amused to know that we are taking extra sound-proofing precautions. The construction dude is using two layers of extra-thick QuietRock drywall to construct the wall between the two bedrooms.
PS, again: We’ll be doing the closet design ourselves and tricking it out with all sorts of hanging rods, drawers, and shelves (at least that’s what I’m hoping). We’ve never done it before, so if anyone has any suggestions for designing closets, please share!
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So, are the girls going to share a bedroom or remain in two as in the other house? Could not tell from the drawing. And where is your bedroom and what happened to the fireplace?
ReplyDeleteYep they're sharing a room!
ReplyDeleteThe fireplace and master retreat were removed, and our master is still in the same place (right side), just smaller now that we don't have the attached master retreat.
I'll see if I can make this clearer in the post.
Brilliant. No girl can have too much closet space. Don't forget to go to the ceiling with storage shelves and rods. Most closets waste all that great area due to standard size doors and frames but if you're doing it yourself you can use every inch.
ReplyDeleteHave fun!!!
You gave up the fireplace in the bedroom? Greater love hath no mother.... That's all I'm gonna say 'bout that!
ReplyDeleteI have only one suggestion for turning the walk-in closet into something any little would love.
Two words...
Pony barn.
:)
~A~
I like.. no I LOVE this idea!
ReplyDeleteMake sure you hit the Container Store for the Elfa Shelving. It was the first thing I did in our new home and I've never been sorry. Storage starts at the ceiling, can be customized, and can also be moved easily to make different configurations. No redoing the ENTIRE closet as their needs change. BTW, accept NO SUBSTITUTIONS! There are a few companies manufacturing similar systems, but they're not even close in quality. When we moved into this house, it was the one thing Himself questioned the cost of, now he brags about the closets.
ReplyDeleteOne more suggestion. Even if you intend to carpet the bedroom, use flooring in the closets. Easier to keep clean, they don't hold odor or dampness, and storage with wheels will always move easier on a hard surface.
So cool and I can't wait to see the final results!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMoving the girls into one room was one of my better decisions. They LOVE it, and after a couple of months of adjustment, aren't too rowdy at night. I love tucking them in, kissing one head, turning, and kissing the other. It makes "wake up for school!" easier too.
ReplyDeleteDang.
ReplyDeleteThose girls are gonna be in HEAVEN!
LOVE the uber huge closet idea.. Tuba Dad IS brilliant :)
Are the girls excited about sharing a bedroom? If I recall, they loved their separate domains.
ReplyDeleteI am so laughing about the double drywall with sound protection! So funny, but as I know with 4 kiddos much needed!
ReplyDeleteI think the design looks great! I love rearranging, remodels etc!
but they need their own privacy when they grown up
ReplyDeleteGood for you for putting them back together! :)
ReplyDeleteWhy would they need their own privacy when they get bigger? They're going to go off to college and have roommates. In a TINY space. They're going to get married and have a roommate. Sharing a bedroom is great practice for real life when they are adults. All of my 6 share/have shared bedrooms, and at 16, 18, and 19, my girls still do when they're all home. The two who are at college have roommates in the dorms. One of them has 3 girls in 150 square feet. That daughter is EXTREMEMLY glad she practiced! :)
"TubaDad and I aren’t the type to lounge around on couches in our bedroom rhapsodizing about a fire"
ReplyDeleteLOL why?? because you have TWINS?! it was great to see you Friday night!
darn it, it wouldn't let me sign in, it's Lisa
Oh man I can't WAIT to see it when it's finished. I put the pics of our weekend up on the blog. I'll send you copies of the ones at dinner. I had the best time this weekend. Thanks for being a part of it!
ReplyDeleteThat looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteAnd for the person who said the kids need privacy when they are older? Not always. some sisters and twins, want to be together...
Dress up corner with all types of hooks/cubbies for dress up clothes...bins for accessories and dress up shoes....mirror? Or how about a little indoor clubhouse/playhouse area on one side? OOOOh..how about a little window to the room so you could put on puppet shows? Those would be my dreams for a closet when I was 5.
ReplyDeleteI saw your cool shoe closet so since you don't have to store everyday shoes in this closet, there will be even more room for clothes and accessories! We are cubbies/canvas bins lovers here.
i second what nyt said about the container store and their shelving. they've got EVERYTHING! and while you're there, you'll find so much other stuff for organizing the new pad!
ReplyDeletegood luck!!!!
Yep, Elfa from container store.
ReplyDeleteAll my closets are that, and I've already rearranged a few over the last 8 years. So easy. Can be a bit pricey, but don't cheap out (if you don't have to). You will never regret it.
The closet I cheaped out on, can't be rearranged and is not as strong. I HATE saggy closets, almost as much as my saggy thighs.
Cool plan. Have fun.
I love the idea of twin palace! :)But instead of double-padding with drywall, why don't you just put the walk-in closet between the two rooms and move Twin palace to the far-left? Hope you have lots of fun designing the huge closet space!
ReplyDelete~M from Canada
Ditto the comment regarding The Container Store and Elfa shelving. We love ours. Oh, and they plan the whole thing for you you just give them the square footage.
ReplyDeleteBut where will Tuba Daddy relax in his velvet robe & smoke his pipe?!!! (thats kinda sounding a bit too playboy-mansion, isn't it?!!)
ReplyDeleteRenos look great! Not very fun, whilst theres brick dust & workman's dirty boot prints all through your house... but always very worthwhile!!!
Thanks for the great suggestions and fun comments! Let's see, for the questions:
ReplyDelete- Yes, the girls are going to share a room and they are beyond excited! We've have FINALLY figured out how to make it work. The scheme is almost as brilliant as the twin palace concept. Hee! (I'll do a post about all the details later). Anyhow, the girls were ok in their own rooms but alwaysalwaysalways wanted to be back together. We kept trying it every few months and it never worked, they would stay awake until 2 or 3 in the morning every single night just partying. Anyhow, there are 2 other bedrooms in the house if they decide that they want to be apart later (although they're puny "normal" sized bedrooms with "normal" closets, which might be hard to swallow after the twin palace. Heh.)
- We couldn't put the closet between the girls' bedroom and our bedroom because of the window placement (the two new walls carefully span two sets of double windows.)
Cheers,
M
Very nice. Can't wait to see some of the end results!
ReplyDeleteM.
Great idea to make one big room to share. Our twin girls also share a huge room (20' x 20') with a huge walk in closet (twin parents think alike!) and ensuite bathroom. They also had a massive jacuzzi tub which we covered over to make a stage. Ro and Ree might like that too if they stay keen on ballet. Can't wait to see what you do with furniture and closets.
ReplyDeleteOMG! Does this mean you closed!?!?! Awesome!!
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to do this for our girls and if we ever get to realize our dream of building our dream house, we're going to include a 2nd master suite like this one.
I highly recommend that you put a solar tube in the closet. They're not terribly expensive and they make a world of difference in an enclosed space with no windows. It's like a skylight but a smaller hole and the light is intensified using a reflective core and the end result looks like a regular light fixture. They even include a built in light for use at night. :)
Can't wait to see the final results! Have you and the girls been talking about themes? Paint color, bedding, etc? Gosh, I'm almost quivering with excitement just thinking about it!
Donna
Our Blog: Double Happiness!
Ooh! Ooh! We used Storables for tricking out a closet in an old house and I still dream about that closet. The people at the store will ask you to measure how much of any given thing you need (like long hanging garments, short hanging garments--which you figure out by quite literally measuring how many inches you're currently dedicating to that in your closet) and then what other goodies you want, like drawers and shoe racks. Then they'll take your closet dimensions and design it all for you and custom cut the components. The install is really easy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how far you are from San Jose, but unfortunately that seems to be the only CA location.
But seriously. Still dream about that closet every time I put my clothes away in my present not-so-well outfitted closet.
Good Luck and have fun!
Looks like a good place to be!
ReplyDeleteSo what happens when they no longer want to share a room. Even though they are twins it must be nice for them to have their own space and identity.
ReplyDeleteHeh....love the sound proofing! Your twinadoes will love being able to swing from their fun, bright ceiling fan without mama and daddy hearing the thump when they jump to the floor! And you thought the soundproofing was for you!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to visiting your new space and checking out the girl's new palace!