Temporary Arrangements

We moved into this house so that my mother in law wouldn't be alone.  She has a bad back and can't do stairs, so she needs a bedroom on the main floor.  I wanted her to have her own bathroom so she doesn't have to share with the kids, so we decided to leave her in the master bedroom.  This puts Church_Mouse and I in a small bedroom downstairs with a small closet that is "the closet under the stairs."  I can't manage to keep my room clean since there just isn't enough space to put things.

To make a room for the little boys, we created a "wall" out of shelving to separate their bedroom from the family room.  It has worked just fine; however, they don't have a closet.  Their bedroom is pretty darn big so they have plenty of space to play....and make big messes.  

The other night Church_Mouse said to me, "We've been in this temporary situation long enough.  It's time to make a plan."  So we started talking about what we can do to have a second master bedroom and bathroom.  Of course it will take a long time to get it done since we'll be doing the work ourselves.  The little boys will end up in the room we are currently in and their room and the family room will become the master bedroom.  The area by the utility closet is already plumbed for a bathroom.  The rest of that area which is currently the little boys room will be a sitting area and craft area.  We'd like to go ahead and install a fireplace in the family room since there's already a chimney there.  Then on the other side of the family room, we'll build a walk in closet.  I told Church_Mouse the closet needs to be built first so we can use it before the rest is done!  Then we should install the fireplace so we can stay warm this winter.  Oh, and I can't forget the best part.  We'll get new carpet for the basement.  Time to start pricing lumber.