(very small) home improvements

I wish I had remembered to take a "before" pic for this post but I am a bit too scattered for that these days! Nonetheless, in our hall we have a strange and useful cubby of sorts built into the wall just above the air intake for the HVAC. The man who first built this house and who lived here for about 40 years (!) was kind of a nutcase and also really cool. He was a handyman with OCD and we find little lists and odd things hiding in drawers and cabinets - reminders of Mr. Nelson. Anyway, the space is pretty cool because the inside of the door holds a ton of useful things on hooks: screw drivers, tape, a shoe horn, an extra air filter, lint rollers (a *must* with three dogs), nails, screws, a hammer........ this keeps us from having to run down to the basement where all of the "real" tools are kept every time we want to do something small like hang a picture.

Anyway, the front of this thing was super ugly - basically just a big piece of wood panelling inside a frame... so I painted it with chalkboard paint and left a love letter to my hubby! (Now, I know that chalkboard paint has had it's run on design websites and everyone is completely over it and all, but I love black and white more than just about anything and therefore with my white walls I will heart the matte black of chalkboard paint - AND it's functionality- forever!)

(much improved!)

Next, I embraced another love of mine - succulents! Every year at the beginning of summer I head out to buy a few more of these guys - because it's likely I killed quite a few from the last year by leaving them outside past first frost! I think my dollar store dinosaurs add that little touch of "quirk" that make these extra fun:



I love any small project that brightens up the space with a sense of humor and bring some life to your home - don't you?

recovered cot

Last week I came across a project someone had done where they recovered a cot with cute fabric (now I can't find the blog to save my life - grrr) and I wished that I had an old cot I could do the same with. Well, lo and behold if I didn't go to the thrift store and there sat 3 vintage nursery cots just dying for a makeover :) yippie! I am not as impressed with mine as I was with the one I saw online but here it is.

The cot before:

It was a steal... and in the end I bought all three... why?! I don't know.

I decided that I wouldn't waste "good" fabric seeing if this endeavor would work so instead I used an old IKEA beadspread that our dog Scout had nervously chewed holes in when she was a puppy (that's Scouty and the fabric there).

First I ripped the seams of the existing (n-a-s-t-y) fabric and laid it out flat on some butcher paper to trace my template. Then I traced my template onto the new fabric and cut it out and sewed it up.

The hardest part of the whole thing was taking apart the cot to put the new fabric on. The screws were old and tough and it wasn't an easy job to do by myself (there may have been cursing involved. I may have scared Scouty.) but in the end I got it done.

Voila!

all hail the "junk drawer organizer"!

i found one of those "junk drawer organizers" at the thrift store and snatched it up to organize.... well, our junk drawer, of course! it's the kind with all of the little compartments and a smaller tray that sits on top of the larger tray and slides back and forth so you can get to all of the junk below. i have always loved any kind of office supply or storage system, cubby, pocket, or box meant to make my life appear more "together" than it really is. well, this guy proved so useful that the next time i was in the thrift and spotted another one i bought it too.

it sat and sat just awaiting it's drawer and when i began to organize my dressing room it's time finally came! i have now gone and purchased another (as well as some smaller organizing "cups" that click together in any arrangement your drawer needs) to organize

my (everyday) makeup drawer:

my hair do-dads:

baby bobbie pins are hidden in the mini-altoids tin and great for throwing in your purse for 'dos on the go!

and my jewelry:

sorry this one's sideways!

lois is, as always, a great necklace holder and the hand my grandma gave me (okay, i spotted it on her dresser and asked if i could have it -!) is great for my rings.

i used to work as a makeup artist for MAC so i have a LOT of cosmetics. all of the makeup and hair products i don't use all that often are found in the drawer system lois sits on and my hair dryer, straightener and brushes and combs just sit in a basket on the floor by the outlets for easy use.

please excuse the mess of headbands, bows, perfume, and miscellany on the vanity - there's still more to organize!

i know this post isn't thrilling in any way, but the moral of the story is: junk drawer organizers aren't just for junk - they'll do wonders for your treasures too! go get one now. meg says so.

welcome to my lair

last post you got a look at my (previously) UGLY downstairs/basement room and today is the mini reveal of the work in progress to the half of the room designated to my dressing area and clothes storage. though it's not magazine worthy yet... (or ever) it is my pride and joy. for the first time i can *see* and readily retrieve all of my clothing and accessories! for the first time ever i got ready quickly and arrived somewhere ON TIME! it's a miracle i tell ya!

here's what i have to thank for it:

TA- DAHHHH!

my "dressing room"

my vintage vanity with huge mirror provides quick and easy outfit critiques - now i can just hold things up and put together an outfit without having to run into the living room to check in the mirror there - this saves lots of time but doesn't burn as many calories running around like a chicken with my head cut off (that's such a gross saying) -it's a sacrifice i'll make!

*note - i'm not showing you the whole vanity because the mirror was super smudgy and gross and i didn't want you to see me in the reflection cause i was in my jammies*

yes, lois made the move and instead of sitting in the window of the guest room scaring off potential burglars -and my friends and neighbors- she is back to her rightful job of holding my necklaces (and sporting a new "blair waldorf inspired headband i just got at target!)

in this interesting nook by the vanity i keep my little deer collection.

i'm going to paint the inside a nice bright color - any suggestions? comment below!

the shoe closet which you saw in the previous post is seen in the bottom right corner of this pic

here is one of the compartments that i took the majority of the shelves out and instead installed a rod to hang my nicer shirts and vests (i have lots of vests for some reason!)

sweatshirts are stored on top

nice shirts hang

tees, tanks, sweaters, and cardigans are folded and stored in drawers below

in the compartment beside that are:

some bags (the kind you throw magazines in to go to the beach, or produce in at the market, or a blanket in for the park) and my "painting clothes"

skirts hang

yoga tops and bottoms, as well as jeans, pants and leggings

are folded and stored in drawers below

here is a view of those two compartments as well as the drawers i mentioned below them to give you a broader view and an idea of how the built-ins are... well, built.

there is a very small closet that is technically in the office side of the room

i can say "very small closet" now that i have an entire room dedicated to my clothes... but yes, this is the NORMAL sized closet that up until this point i lived with for years.

there i store my travelling bags, hang my dresses and put shoes that aren't pretty enough to go in the shoe closet (ie: tennis shoes, vans, and bummin' around oxfords)

in the two last compartments i kept the shelves in order to store my bags (purses).

i only photographed one side but you get the point....

oh, and in the basket on top are belts that don't hang well and in the drawers below are undies, bras, socks, tights and winter hats & scarves.

finally (whew!) we get to the rolling rack which divides the space and holds my jackets, blazers and hanging belts

i have stored my magazines (most of them anyway) in baskets under the rolling rack for easy reference. i should do a "tear book" so i don't have to keep all of the mags -just the pics i love- but i just love magazines as objects. i love flipping through them and seeing things in the context of the issue, of the month, and the year and time of year... not just isolated images.

i know i am completely spoiled here and i'm sure that once we start a family this whole thing will have to be re-done to make room for kids and their things but until then... i'm going to be selfish and indulge in having all of this space!

** tomorrow i'll show you how i've stored and organized my jewelry and makeup thus far (there's still more to do)

so STAY TUNED!**

come on now, show me what cha workin' with

so.... last post i gave you a sneak peek at my shoe closet. it's but a drop in the bucket as far as the makeover i'm DIYing on my downstairs basement room. A LOUSY DROP!

my hubs has been nice enough to give me full use of that nice big room to make half my dressing room and half my office/work room - SO NICE! well, i think before you can fully appreciate my hard work and compliment me on it (*wink*) you need to see the starting point.

please note three things:
1) these pics were taken with my iphone and are of sucky quality - forgive!
2) after our DIY wedding extravaganza i dumped anything and everything in this room and shut.the.door. until i had time to deal with it again... it's very messy but just look past all of my crap to see what i'm really trying to show you here.
3) i do not currently have photoshop or other cool tools that let you write on pics (that i know how to use... dumb) at my disposal so i'm going to get a bit wordy explaining things to you... feel free to just look at the pics.

alrighty! here we go!

so, i keep referring to the room in halves but that's not accurate. when you enter the room from unstairs there is a smaller side to the room on your left -this is the "half" i am turning into my dressing area - and a larger portion of the room lies to the right - this is the "half" i am turning into my office/work area. since i plan on using this post as a teaser for the mini reveal of my dressing room as the week goes on, i'll be focusing on that "half".

just so you can see it for now, this is the larger portion of the room which will be my office.

while it is larger, it only has the one wall of built-ins while my dressing area has two.

here you see it as if you were standing in the smaller portion of the room

THIS is the side i've made into my dressing area.

here you see it as if you were walking into the room after coming from the upstairs slash main living area of the house

here you see it as if you were standing in the larger (office) portion of the room

the door from the upstairs is to the left and the door into the garage/laundry room is to the right

**please note that behind that big chalk board leaning against the wall are the two doors that open into what is now my shoe closet - you can kind of see the doors if you look closely. the shoe closet is about chest height and about 3.5 feet deep. **

and this is just to show you the paint color and the fulgy outlets and outlet covers i've been working on replacing!

the man who had this house built in 1955 was a handy-man kind of guy himself and he apparently built this room in the basement himself... AND all of the awesome built-in shelves and drawers which now house my clothes. in all of the upper storage areas there were adjustable shelves and then below that super deep drawers... that smelled and looked like someone had been raising ferrets in them since the 1950's - vomit.

the first thing on my agenda was to clear out all of my crap and paint the walls white so that the room would be lighter and more airy... and to match the upstairs which i've painted white as well. (i'm having a prolonged scandinavian moment.)

then, i got to work on cleaning out those storage areas. i scrubbed and cursed and held my breath, but i finally got the drawers aired out and clean enough that i felt i could safely store my folding clothes in them without smelling like a homeless person. my jeans, pants, sweaters, tees, tights, socks and undergarments live there now!

in order to have hanging space for my other clothes i took out the shelves in two of the upper compartments and hung clothes rails. these now hold my shirts and skirts.

lastly, i cleaned and painted the inside of the small closet to hold my dresses and purchased a rolling rack to divide the space (dressing room designated from office) and to give me a bit more privacy when dressing.... although i'm the only one down there and no one can see in, it still feels weird to strip down in the middle of a (pretty much) big empty room. the rolling rack now holds my jackets and belts. (real coats are stored in the coat closet upstairs.... yes, i have enough jackets to fill a rolling rack... yes, it's crazy.)

i was unable to change out the sockets for white ones seeing as how i do not do electrical work but i plan on doing that sometime soon. until then, i just replaced all of the outlet covers with white ones to match the walls and blend in.

i've already drafted the post with the mini reveal of the dressing room so check back tomorrow to see :)