HOME & FAMILY
words by: georgina walker
No muddy football socks or make up stains on the carpet, and the cupboards are full of food. Hooray?
The children have fled the nest and you’re left staring at their four walls of memories. It can be a difficult and
emotional process when your children leave home, so Dawn has come to help.
Each parent will go through a different emotional experience. This new stage symbolises your child’s
independence; it is an introduction into their adult life and so it can be quite overwhelming for both parties.
“When my sons moved to university I realised that they were now adults, and this was an intimidating
thought,” says mum Sheryl Boorer about her own experience during this new step.
But mum Kathrine Millar says that she was ready for the transition and excited for her daughter’s new life
at university: “Both our daughter and us as parents were ready for this step, she was ready to go into the real
world. We all desired a house revamp and what a perfect time!”
Starting a new project is a great approach to taking your mind off the new situation and can be beneficial
to both parent and child. Parenting life coach Sarah Nevens says “new ideas and projects help us deal with
loss, but only after we have allowed ourselves to experience the emotion first. The new room can absolutely
represent a new chapter.”
Allow time to talk to the whole family before starting the project, since this is such a significant transition
and hearing different voices will give a united feeling to the decision of redesigning the space. Make sure it
can be a fun, exciting project for everyone. Do you want to revamp, or reclaim?
REVAMP RECLAIM
Updating your child’s room to be a more modern and
sophisticated spare bedroom is a safe compromise. Just because
they have moved out does not mean they might not return, so
they might still need security. This is the time to think about you. Envision your dream spare
room by gathering inspiration from Pinterest and home bloggers.
“Our sons both ventured off to university, [but] there was a
possibility they may decide to move back or have a place to stay
and relax. Both our sons really appreciated the revamp – [it was]
much more grown up and sophisticated,” shares Sheryl Boorer.
Building a guest room is a great way to get creative and play
around with new and exciting styles. Your child will feel grown-
up and comfortable when returning from their new life away
from home.
Utilise this space wisely, and if the monthly gym membership is
becoming all too much this could be the time to transform this
space into a gym, or to create a peaceful study for your admin and
reading.
Katherine Millar developed her daughters room into a study for
their business. “We respect that this was our daughters room but
she did not mind returning to our spare room. Emily understood
the need to change this into a study for our family business. We’ve
still themed the room around our da