The Snowball Effect ~ Part Two

What was I to do?  

  That filing cabinet had taken up a big spot in the office and now that spot was empty.

I decided to grab the opportunity for a little office make over.  

For many years we've had these two tall faux wood shelving units.   They were driving me crazy and I'd been thinking of painting them so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  One was in the office and one in my bedroom.  

Bedroom

I emptied them and painted them white.

Then I wallpapered the backs.

This was my first wallpaper experience.  The first shelf went okay.  The second caused a bit of grief but overall, I'd do it again.

Next I called Darla in to help me purge books.  Thank-you Darla!  We went through all the piles and got rid of quite a few.  I also purged a lot of fabric, and made piles with the rest to store on the shelves.

Things in the bedroom and office were a bit of a mess for awhile during the whole process.

But sometimes you need to live with a bit of chaos to get to organization.  I went through every drawer, file box, and folder in that room and got rid of everything I didn't need.  

Then it was time to load the shelves.

Old file boxes...

...got a new look.

I dug out an old bread box I'd painted years ago...

...and repainted it.

I rearranged and sorted books into categories...

...until I was happy with the overall look.

Then I worked on the other areas of the room.  This little stool got covered with fur.  

Now he reminds me of the footstool in Beauty and the Beast.

I was so tired of this light wood colour and of the actual drawer unit.  But, it was useful and I was trying not to spend much on the redo. 

A coat of paint and some knobs made it feel like a new piece.

I did buy new photo boxes to match.

The sewing area got tidied up.

My chair moved across the room and I added some wall art.  

The big white frame I bought at Salvation Army, painted and replaced the picture with my favourite Mom saying.  

"A Mom should have an aroma of love."

The lamp had been in my kitchen but it fit better here. 

My desk.

(This was a find from the Re-Store a few years ago.  I painted it and added a new drawer pull.)

I found this desk organizer at Winners and could not resist.  It and the photo boxes were my only "new" items.  Everything else was second hand or from another room in the house.

It took some time and patience and work, but I was able to create an office space that I loved without spending big bucks.  I hang out in here a lot so having it efficient, organized and pretty was important to me.  

Now remember that faux wood shelf?  The one that was in my bedroom?  The one that left a big ol' empty space on my bedroom wall?

Stay tuned...

The Snowball Effect ~ Part One

It all started with this:

Can you find it in here?

My storage room was not looking pretty or organized.  And while I will take most of the blame for not putting things back in their place...I do have to blame the cedar chest as well.  It just wasn't practical.  Every time I wanted something in it, I had to open the lid, move the trays inside, get the item, then replace everything.  If I left something on the lid...that too had to come off.   As you can see, I left quite a few somethings on the lid...so it was getting a little tricky to get in there.

There was a lot of wasted space along the wall here as well.

And this shelf was in an awkward spot.

It was driving me nuts to keep moving this basket to get into the drawers of the dresser.

So, I had Darla over.  (Remember, it's always easier to purge and organize with a friend!)  We emptied the entire room.  We sorted all the items and purged a lot of junk that I knew I would never use.  Some went in the garbage and some I donated.

The cedar chest came out.  

I moved the big shelf all the way to the of back of the room and put that big basket on top of it.  Other items got sorted into smaller baskets on the shelf.  

The dresser moved to the wall opposite the big shelf.  All my gift wrap got sorted and organized.

I found a shelf in my basement that wasn't being used and brought it up to store my future projects on.  I also found another big basket and fit it in under the shelf.

 

Another shelf that had not been in use came in to hold my paint and tools.

Ahhhh.  Room to walk, and everything in it's place.  This project leans more to organized than to pretty, but it's not a room that anyone sees but me, and by using storage units I already owned, it didn't cost me a penny to redo the space.

Oh.  And one more thing.  Now there was space to move our ugly filing cabinet OUT of the office.

Which left a big ol' empty spot in the office...

Stay tuned for Part Two.

Office Unveiled

My lovely friend and carpool buddy Ellen wanted an office update.  She works from home so it's important for her to have a space she enjoys spending time in.  She has a great office with double doors right out onto her deck.  Her hope was to create a sort of sunroom look with an outdoorsy feel.

There was not a rush on this project.  Ellen is a patient girl who was willing to take some time to get things just right.  During our first meeting, we rearranged furniture.

The piano was on the wall by the doors to outside which was fine, but...   

 the "family" desk was on the wall with the shelves which made the space seem too busy.

Ellen was using this tiny desk. 

So, we moved the piano to the shelf wall.  A quick sorting of the shelves to move all the baskets to the bottom helped it look less full.

We put the desk next to the window and sorted through all the papers and files on top and inside to leave the workspace clear.

Ellen found this desk and had Kristin paint it up for her and we used it to replace the tiny desk.

Next we made a list.  Ellen needed to get paint swatches, find a big plant,  purchase new curtains, consider wall art,  purchase a new garbage can, and find some fun accessories in a bold accent colour.  We also decided Kristin should paint up the desk chair in the accent colour. 

Another day I came by to look at swatches.  We chose a slightly bluish white for the walls.   For accent colour, Ellen was happy with orange.

A different day I popped in to look at the painted walls, see two curtain choices and discuss frame options.  I rearranged the shelves and added the orange accent pots.

The final touch had to wait until after Ellen's family vacation.  She took some amazing shots in Florida and had them enlarged and framed.

And the final reveal...

The desk...with a new cute chair I found on Kijiji (upholstery by Kristin).

The piano and shelves (more upholstery by Kristin).

The new plant and curtains.

Ellen's new desk with her fantastic accent chair!

And did you note the Florida shots by Ellen?

See the orange chairs?  Gorgeous.

The Switch

Once in awhile you just need a change.  Erin and Chris had this great new piece of furniture that needed a spot to live...but they (well, maybe more Erin) also wanted a new look.  So, after a lot of discussion, pondering, sitting, and measuring...we decided to switch her living room and dining room.  As changes go, furniture rearrangement is free, fairly painless, and the worst that happens is you have to move it back.  Which means at least you get a great work out.

Here is the view walking into the living room before:

On your right 

On your left 

T.V.  location

Living room overview

And here is the dining room.  See that funky wood cabinet on the right wondering where he should live?

The SWITCH

Here is the view walking in now:

(Please note:  I apparently stink at before pics and totally missed the before of the black shelves...they were stacked before in the new t.v. location)

On your right

On your left

Old t.v. location

New dining room overview

And here is the new living room.  Now that it is adjacent to the kitchen, Erin can hostess and still be part of the conversation.

New living room in old dining room location

And the new cabinet?  

Funky cabinet's new home

(Yes, those wires got taken care of!)

What Not to Wear

A new friend of mine was in need of a major make-over.  Her look was just, well, tired.  Head to toe mossy green...like a one-piece pant suit.  Ugh!  And out of date gold coloured accessories.  Oy. My husband said it couldn't be done, but I was determined to help her.

Here she is before...yes, her shade is spray painted to match her base.

And here she is after.

Isn't she pretty?!  White spray on the base, fantastic shade find from Home Sense...TA-DA!  I feel Stacy and Clinton would approve.

Boys' Room

My two adorable nephews (aged 5 and 3) asked me to organize their room.  Okay.  Their mom did. Corinna wanted to get their closet working in a more efficient way and to do a general redo of the room.

When I arrived, the first thing we did was to empty the closet.  Corinna had already done a big purge so we only had a minimal amount to sort as we worked.  The big wood shelf you see in there was not working well because the boxes on the right didn't come out unless you moved the one on the left.  Annoying right?

Before

So we moved the shelf to where the dresser was.

Before

After

Now the boys can take their toys down easily...as well as put them away with no hassle.  The boxes at the top are hiding items that Corinna would prefer they not touch without supervision...like paint.  The red desk ended up moving downstairs to the toy area there.

The dresser got a new home at the end of the bed.  We had to pop the stereo up out of their baby sister's reach.  (Sorry Anna!)

Before

After

Next we moved the white shelf you see below to the closet.  In its place we put a crate (which you can't see in the after) for the boys to keep a few personal items they like to have close to their beds. You know...Bibles, flashlights...the essentials.

We also had a displaced easel.  Where it had been at the end of the bed it was only accessible from one side, so we wanted to put it somewhere with space enough to use it from both sides.

Before

After

Remember the closet?  The white shelf fits nicely and stores games, toys as well as a whole shelf full of books from the living room.

After

The other half of the closet had a little drawer unit.  Once the big huge wood shelf was gone, the drawers were able to move all the way across to the other side and tuck in the end, kitty corner to the new white shelf...which left this side of the closet...

Before

Empty.  

So, now a whole load of games that are currently stored in the living room are going to move here as soon as Corinna finds appropriate shelving.  

After

And what happened to the empty shelf (where the books came from) at the bottom of this unit in the living room? 

Before

After

It got its own little rearrange.