Home renos - bodgy style

Working on a shoe string with minimal space is not normally something that I would call fun, but I'm actually enjoying toying with the prospect.

So really I'm not renovating, more interior decorating. I've been looking at various internet sites and I'm hooked on Real Living magazine and between the two I'm starting to formulate more ideas.

So my boys room...well it usually looks like a bomb has gone off in it and there is not enough room to swing a child in there. Here's what it looks like on a usual day:

And this is little Miss's room (on a particually bad day when I was folding washing in her room):

So my big problem in the boys room is lack of space, but after reading this months Real Living mag I think I may have a solution. I came across these pics of a shared bedroom. It'd hard to tell from the photos (as it wouldn't scan so it's a photo of the pages), but the beds are pushed up to each other with the bedheads at 90 degree angles. Like so:

So I'm currently trialing it with the bed kind of like this - now just to do the rest of the room.

In beginning Imogen's room I've got a 4x4 white expedit from Ikea http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/40047675 and a few boxes for the drawers. I'm watching a toddler bed on Ebay but I'm happy to keep her in a cot for a while still. My latest purchase is the one I'm the most excited about though. I managed to get a Eames style armchair on Ebay for a whole five dollars. While it's been recently upholstered, the pattern is horrible and I have these grandieur ideas of recoving it in maybe a white and pale pink candystripe. Hmmm, not sure but I'm sure I'll know the material when I see it.

This is what the chair currently looks like:

So there is the beginning of what might become either beautiful bedrooms for my kids or a nightmare for myself. Hopefully not the latter.