From closet to castle - Suburban Shalom

When I was a little girl, I wasn’t much into princesses, tutus, or tiaras. In fact, I was something of a tomboy and longed to dress just like my dad {which can be confirmed by an unfortunate amount of photo evidence}. During one season in the early ’80’s, I even owned a pair of Darth Vader tennis shoes that I recall proudly picking out myself. Rather than desiring frilly costumes I could twirl around in, I was quite content sporting shorts, tube socks, and my beloved Wonder Woman cape.

Fast forward to 2013… My taste has evolved to be far more dainty than Star Wars themed shoes AND I have somehow birthed three girls who believe the more frou-frou the ensemble the better. They would each be happy to wear a tutu from sun up to sun down. They fight over matters like who declared pink to be her favorite color first. They migrate towards all things girly, if not gaudy. And, they’re all about playing princess whether that means wearing a dress and crown to a birthday party or sporting clip-on diamond earrings and white gloves to the dinner table.

So, I decided to go all in and find a way to enjoy this season of imaginative play with them knowing they’ll only be this young for awhile. And, I thought maybe we could make use of a boring closet in the playroom to celebrate their love for dressing up.

I present our closet turned “castle”:

I must note that I did not and could not have done this by myself. I owe much, if not all credit, to a dear friend and her power tools. Not only does she personally own things like a circular saw and a jigsaw, but she knows how to use them. I’d still be in the Lowe’s lumber aisle trying to locate the 2×4’s had it not been for her guidance and reassurance that, “Yes, we can do this.” Ultimately, she made it happen, and I learned a lot about tools {and my upper arm weakness} in the process. On behalf of my children, I thank her for her patience and good company during the project. The Spouse is still impressed that we successfully used drills and saws and other such equipment without structural damage or bodily injury. This is more than can be said for some of our past husband/wife DIY projects.

Also, the curtain. I don’t sew, and I especially don’t have the ability to convert large pieces of raw fabric into any semblance of a curtain. Thanks to my mom {aka, Mimi} and Jo-Ann’s, the castle has a velvet curtain and not a shower curtain.

And a final project note…. If you are ever in need of a stud finder and turn to Google or the Apple App Store to find one, be aware that you will need to clarify exactly what type of “stud” you are looking for. Just in case he was ever to browse my search history, I have reassured the Spouse that I’m certain he’s the only stud for me.

Here’s to many seasons of dress-up, whether that be as a princess or a cowgirl or a bumblebee, in the closet castle!

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