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...