With the new baby, not much renovating has been going on around Rambling Renovators. And the projects we do get to are taking soooo much longer to finish. I'm sure you parents out there can relate! So I'm really happy reveal something we managed to complete - the shelf in Chloe's room.

When I designed the whole built-in wardrobe / window seat area, I knew I wanted a shelf above the window. You can always use more storage in a kid's room and plus we didn't have anywhere to put the toys and books that Chloe would accumulate. HandyMan started by cutting a piece of plywood to fit the length of the window. By resting and screwing it into the top of the window frame, we'd have enough support along the length of the shelf for the baskets. The shelf was made 13" deep, deep enough for the baskets but not so deep that it would create a dark hole above the window and block off some of the sunlight. The variety in depth against the adjoining wardrobes also created a much more interesting design.

HandyMan added a 3" strip of plywood across the front to mimic the shaker details in the window seat. A small one inch strip was added underneath the left and right ends of the shelf to provide additional support. We found a nice chrome curtain rod at West Elm and mounted that directly to the face of the window frame. The curtains our seamstress made looked great hanging off the shiny rings. Now its the perfect inviting space. I can picture Chloe sitting there when she's older, reading her favourite book.

One little faux pas though... the curtains were made before we knew where the curtain rod would be hung and our measurements were wrong. Not a big deal, we'll just have to get them shortened. Just one more thing to add to the project list!