Archive for August, 2010
One Room, Three Functions
We originally wanted to include a few shots of the office as it looks when it’s converted into a guest bedroom in this morning’s post, but we just snapped too many pics to squeeze it all in! So here’s a p.s. post of sorts, with photos of the little tweaks and twists that we implement when we need it to work full time as a guest bedroom for our friends and family.
Here’s the full-sized sofa bed all folded out and dressed for company (with linens that we already owned from the full sized bed that used to exist in the space before the room was converted into a two-person office). The pillows are from Pottery Barn and the quilt is from Bed Bath & Beyond by the way:
We use the bigger sofa cushions to create a headboard of sorts behind the fold out bed (and the two smaller sofa cushions that are removed in order to fold things out get stashed under the bed so they’re out of the way). We also toss our files and paperwork into the open desktop cubby or our file boxes underneath the desk when guests come to stay. And we move one of our our laptops out into the den (since we still have a small desk in the corner where I used to work full time).
Our other laptop can be slipped right into the bottom cubby to free up some nice tabletop space for our guests (and to make it feel less like they’re sleeping in a cubicle).
It’s easy to wonder how much spare space is in a small 10 x 10.5′ room that has to house a slim two-person desk and a fold-out full sized bed. The answer: not much. Admittedly we would love to have more than a foot of space between the bed and the desk, but our guests have all said it’s still easy enough to squeeze through if need be (luckily there’s not much that they need access to on the other side of the bed anyway). Frankly we’re just happy that the bed can fully fold out without hitting the desk since a standard depth desk wouldn’t have worked out as well.
We always believe in offering some sort of a nightstand drop zone for guests to remove jewelry, charge their cell phone, place a glass of water, etc. So we quickly tweak this nightstand-height bookcase shelf that can easily be reached from bed. Here it is before the guests-are-a-comin’ edits:
And here it is after we get it all ready for friends and family:
We just stand the books up to make room for a coaster and a glass of water along with a charging cell phone (there’s an available outlet nearby as well). We also like to switch out the photo in the frame with one of us and our visitors if we have a moment.
Here’s another when-guests-aren’t-coming photo, this time of the closet:
But when guests are in town all the bedding is on the bed, which frees up the shelf for any luggage that our visitors may have (and leaves more room for hanging up clothes that might otherwise get wrinkled).
We also love to leave some Richmond related maps and magazines out so people who are here from out of town can get to know our beloved city. It’s also nice to leave some other mags that might suit your visitors’ interests, so we try to grab something that seems like it could be up their alley (like a gossip mag, a gardening glossy, or a parenting pub) and toss it into the mix as well. Note: stay tuned for more info on those two patterned boxes on the top shelf below- we’ll be back with a tutorial soon!
Oh and we can’t forget that we erase our to-do list on the mirror (which we write with a dry erase marker) and throw up a welcome message for our guests instead.
And since this room definitely has three functions as opposed to just two- here it is in all of its playroom glory:
We love that we have lots of room on the rug for Clara to spread out and do her thing. And we really look forward to her playing with the magnetic wallflowers and interacting with her flash card clothesline above the sofa. Safety note: twine, wire, or ribbon can be strangulation hazards. Hanging things out of reach and keeping an eye on children who may get hurt is always advised!
Plus the bookcase dedicated to all of her toys, books, blocks and blankets really helps control the chaos (along with the $27 ottoman that we snagged from Target).
We’re just psyched that we were actually able to wrangle three separate functions into one small space where we spend at least 80% of our time (believe me, we had our doubts). Check out what the room looks like every day as an office right here. Do you guys have any guest bedroom tricks or toy-storage secrets to share? We’d love to hear how you make people feel right at home when they’re visiting or how you keep the kid clutter to a minimum. We’re definitely still learning when it comes to that…
Oh and don’t forget to check out our decorative clothespin tutorial over on Babycenter today!
Psst- Wanna follow the entire office/guest bedroom/playroom makeover? Click here for the intro post, here to read about the big sleeper sofa hunt, here for the DIY desk play-by-play, here for the homemade light fixture project, here for our hacked Ikea bookcase, here for the file storage we built, here for how we squeezed in some toy storage, here for how we picked out some DIY art that we could agree on, here for how we wrangled our wires, here for the play-by-play of creating our postcard art wall, here for our magnetic wallflower paint project, here for our closet overhaul, and here for the whole shebang big reveal post.
Office Progress: The Big Reveal
Do you hear that high pitched scream? It’s me, all the way in Richmond, shouting at the top of my lungs that the office/guest room/playroom makeover is finished. Woot! Come on in and take a look around. But wait, for old time’s sake, let’s check out the room as it looked when we moved in:
And here it is now, all office/guest room/playroomed out:
We love this room because although it’s only a 10 x 10.5′ box, it easily gets the best light in the house. So it’s not a bad spot to spend 80+ hours a week logging blog time, playtime, and accommodating the occasional guest or two. It was totally worth all the projects that we took on to get it to where it is today- in fact it was a darn good time.
We did our best to squeeze in as much function as we could, from the shallow DIY desk and the magnetic wallflowers under the window to a ton of shelves and bookcases and a storage ottoman that’s filled with Clara paraphernalia (aka: Claraphernalia). And we can’t forget the fact that our budget friendly sleeper sofa (with a comfy full sized mattress tucked inside) really freed up some serious floor space.
The desk that John built with our old bathroom door really saved us money and space (since it’s not too deep to keep the sofa bed from easily folding out when guests arrive- stay tuned for photos of the bed folded out in this afternoon’s post). We also found a lot of room for files and paperwork thanks to some woven baskets on the tall bookcase by the window and the small blue filing cabinet under the desk, which John also built.
You’ll also notice that we picked up some fun patterned seat cushions that work really nicely with the sofa and the rest of the colors in the room. We already had these chairs at our disposal since we switched them out for a padded bench in our dining area a while back. And happily the cushions were just $12.50 a pop at World Market, and they definitely make our already-comfy dining chairs even easier on the ol’ backside (we’ve put in some super long days on them and can’t complain a bit).
And we can’t forget how we wrangled all of our wires to keep things looking streamlined. The whole office side of the room really works perfectly for us- and there’s enough room on the rug behind us for all sorts of playtime with Baby P (since one of us is usually on Clara duty while the other blogs away at the desk).
John also got to flex his problem solving muscles. A few days ago I was telling him how I wished there was a way to keep paint decks from taking over my side of the desk, and he smartly suggested that we hang a $5 ceramic pig hook (from Mongrel here in Richmond) at arm’s reach. It totally does the trick- and actually looks like art. Especially because we used two other pig hooks across the room to hold up our flash card clothesline and a fourth one in the closet to hang Clara’s growth chart. And you know I love a good ceramic animal (or four) to swank up a room.
Oh and that’s actually a DIY paint deck that I made by grabbing a slew of my favorite swatches, hole pinching them all in the same spot, and sliding them onto a 3″ binder ring (snagged at Office Max on the cheap).
We’re also really enjoying our never-boring homemade postcard shelves since we can easily rotate things in and out whenever the mood strikes. In fact we’ve already switched out a ton of postcards and other small objects that make us smile. It’s addicting. Thanks again to everyone who generously sent postcards and other notes for the art wall our way!
We’ve received them from England, Holland, Switzerland, Afghanistan, Greece, Spain, Austria, Italy, India, Africa, Australia, Canada, and a ton of interesting domestic locations as well. We keep all of the ones that aren’t currently on display in the handy top compartment of one of our filing boxes so we can change things up in a snap. So if you don’t see your card it doesn’t mean it won’t be up on the wall soon!
We use the other small compartment in the top of our second filing box to house all of our cords and wires in neat little bundles, thanks to some little blue binder clips from Office Max (which keep them from turning into a huge knotted mess).
Then we have the Ikea bookcase that we tweaked with a soft blue background and some sawing at the molding to ensure that it would sit flush against the wall. It’s another really important storage piece in the room (those baskets from Michael’s are filled with paperwork and office accessories that we like to have on hand- plus it houses our printer). But we did our best to add some eye-pleasing accessories to keep it from feeling too work-heavy when guests come to stay.
We even have a quick shelf switcheroo that we pull when friends and family members arrive (stay tuned for that info in this afternoon’s post).
We also used an already-owned white Ikea planter to corral mailing tubes for shop orders that we like to have nearby (they used to be stored in a cabinet in the kitchen, which made for a lot of trudging back and forth).
And of course we have the DIY flash card clothesline that we whipped up. Safety note: twine, wire, or ribbon can be strangulation hazards. Hanging things out of reach and keeping an eye on children who may get hurt is always advised!
We love that it can also be used to display art that Clara makes as she gets older- or even a strand of colorful paper flags (check out those pictures here). Plus this morning we explained how we made those patterned clothespins over on Babycenter, so be sure to drop in on that post too (just click here)! We really didn’t want to- er, half butt- the playroom aspect of the space by tossing a few toys on the floor and calling it a day. So adding things like the flash card clothesline and the magnetic wall (for Clara to interact with thanks to our already owned magnetic wallflowers) really introduced that authentic playroom feeling. Not to mention that we have tons of spots to stash her books, toys, blankets, and blocks. Like this $27 storage ottoman from Target…
…and the woven baskets on the bookcase by the closet…
And speaking of the closet, our little makeover last week really transformed it from a dark and gloomy mess to a totally functional place to store linens when the guest bed isn’t in use (and clothing and luggage for our friends and family when it is). Remember, stay tuned for photos of the bed all folded out and ready for company in this afternoon’s post.
Who knew we’d end up with two bookcases in one tiny room? But they really do the trick. This one is perfect for all of Clara’s books, stuffed animals, block sets, and other “playroom” stuff that we stash in those generously sized baskets (from Michael’s) when things aren’t in use. And do you see those two patterned boxes on the top shelf? Stay tuned for a quick tutorial on that fun little project coming soon.
We can’t forget about our mirror/to-do list. A mirror is always nice to have around for guests to check their hair before emerging. And we gave it some office function by using a dry erase marker to write down whatever we need to accomplish and crossing things off as we go. But when guests come to town we erase all of our scribbles and write them a sweet little welcome note instead.
So that’s the big office reveal. But how much did it set us back? Here’s the budget breakdown:
- DIY pendant light: $32
- Homemade desk: $70
- File cabinet: $20
- File boxes & desktop cubby: $42 (from Target)
- Chairs: already owned
- Chair pads: $12.50 a pop (from World Market)
- Post card shelves: $23
- Post cards: free (thanks to you wonderful people!)
- Small bookcase: already owned
- Large bookcase: $69 (from Ikea)
- Baskets: $40 (from Michael’s)
- Mirror: already owned
- Storage ottoman: $27 (from Target)
- Full sized sofa bed: $699
- Pillows: already owned (from West Elm and Crate & Barrel)
- Rug: already owned (from Pottery Barn Outlet for $129)
- Wallflowers: already owned
- Magnetic primer for wallflowers: $21 (from Home Depot)
- Clothesline: $20 (for decorative paper, ribbon, and flash cards)
- Pig hooks: $5 a pop
- Closet shelf: $12
- Eco power strip for cord wrangling: $39
- Wireless printer: $79
- Mailing tube caddy: already owned (a repurposed planter from Ikea)
- Total: $1,238 ($539 without the sleeper sofa)
We’re pretty excited that the entire room makeover came in at a little over a thousand dollars and we were able to add: a two person desk, a bookcase, a sleeper sofa, an ottoman, a wall of built in shelving, a pendant light, a file cabinet, a wireless printer, and tons of storage solutions. We figured that much new furniture would bring the budget to more like 2-3K going in. Especially because many of the sleeper sofas that we researched cost over $1200 alone. And the idea that we only spent $539 after the cost of the sofa has us pretty proud (since someone could easily spend that amount on a two person desk or just an ottoman and a bookcase – and we were able to stretch that amount to include a slew of other furnishings, accessories, and electronics). Now we have a multifunctional space where we spend tons of time each day, and it also works to host our friends and family whenever they swing by.
Oh and we’re thrilled that we were able to take on 90% of the transformation after Clara came into the picture. Hooray for naptime projects and taking turns with the beanette while the other parent applies magnetic paint, builds a file cabinet, or whips up a flash card clothesline. And we’re even more excited to tackle our next mini makeover (did somebody say sunroom?). Stay tuned!
Update: You can check out what this room looks like when it’s all set up for guests or being used as a playroom right here!
Psst- Looking for more info on any of the projects or items that you see above? Click here for the intro post, here to read about the big sleeper sofa hunt, here for the DIY desk play-by-play, here for the homemade light fixture project, here for our hacked Ikea bookcase, here for the file storage we built, here for how we squeezed in some toy storage, here for how we picked out some DIY art that we could agree on, here for how we wrangled our wires, here for the play-by-play of creating our postcard art wall, here for our magnetic wallflower paint project, and here for our closet overhaul.
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Fab Freebie: Stars, Butterflies & Teardrops
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries***
No, I’m not having a psychedelic trip right now – but this week’s giveaway does have us not only seeing stars but butterflies, teardrops, and lots of vibrant colors. It’s actually thanks to two crafty Etsy sellers: The Starcraft and This Neck of The Woods, who’ve paired up for this paper-decor-tastic prize that’ll be coming to TWO lucky readers (no matter where you live in the world).
Let’s first meet The Starcraft. They create beautiful mobiles with cascading tiers of hand-folded moravian paper stars. Appropriately named for various constellations, the three styles our winners can choose from this week could make quite the playful statement in any room in your home. There’s the 3-tiered Vela (which also comes in a cool or warm monochromatic version), the 4-tiered Orion (whose stars are dusted with glitter) or the larger 5-tiered Cassiopia (which boasts 20 stars- six more than the others).
This Neck of The Woods also creates wonderful paper decor, particularly in the form of graceful garlands that could dress up any mantle, light fixture, or even a plain ol’ wall for a party (or heck, on a regular basis). They’ll be giving our winners their choice of two garlands- whether they have a geometric dot design, a posh scallop pattern, a subtle teardrop motif, or a feminine butterfly design.
Both Etsy sellers will also share a special discount on Thursday, but for now let’s get to the entry details for ya:
- PRIZE: One star mobile from The Starcraft (choose the Vela, Orion, or Cassiopia) and two garlands from This Neck of The Woods (choose from their dot, scallop, teardrop, or butterfly designs)
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “I’M A STAR!” and…
- BONUS QUESTION: … let’s dream a bit this week. If you could achieve stardom for one particular skill or achievement (real or imagined) what would it be? Would you want to be a world famous singer? A prize-winning inventor? Perhaps an accomplished designer?
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, August 11th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: Two!
- PRIZE SHIPS: Worldwide!
- USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday. Good luck…
See our Giveaway FAQs page for more info. Pics from The Starcraft and This Neck of The Woods.
Some Ballpark Figures…
Anyone wondering what a whole-house alarm will run you? Or looking to see what a new patio will set you back? Behold, Fixr.com’s “Remodeling Cost Guides.” They’ve created a handy little average budget breakdown of a slew of house-related projects to help homeowners wrap their minds around the amount of money that these undertakings might possibly set them back.
Just head over to this link and scroll down below the image shown above to see a ton of links that lead you to some pretty heavily researched guestimations for everything from building a swimming pool or sauna to installing a tin roof or renovating a kitchen or bath. Of course things like location and the changing economy can alter these estimations (so they could be a bit high or low depending on your circumstances) but it’s nice to peruse some ballpark figures just for reference.
What do you guys think? Any projects that feel especially appealing now that you’ve learned that they’re less than you expected them to be? Any projects that seem shockingly expensive now that you’ve poked around on their site? Do tell.
Psst- We weren’t paid or perk’d by Fixr.com (or anyone else) to write this post- we just thought it was an interesting site and wanted to share it.
Update: Ooops, it appears that we’ve momentarily crashed their site. Here’s hoping that it’s back up and running soon. In the meantime, here’s an old post all about how we get lots of estimates and negotiate for the best deals that we can find. Were all about saving those benjamins!
Reader Redesign: Steel This Table
‘Til now I’ve been fairly proud of my self-taught woodworking skills. But I have to admit that this makes me realize how much I still have to learn about construction. Why? Because Amanda and her husband Ben said “Forget wood, we’re building with steel!” Um, gulp. Check out how their weld-it-yourself (WIY?) table helped transform their dining area.
We recently made some changes to our dining room (like adding trim and painting plus replacing the old light fixture) and I wanted to share the new dining table we built. Here’s the room we started with:
For the table, we discussed building a wooden one and painting it white. But how would we make it sturdy enough? Then Ben had a great idea. Why not build the table out of steel? It’s cheap, durable and rigid. Ben went to the local steel supply warehouse and found three-inch square steel tubing for the legs and three-inch ‘L’ pieces for the rails for a total of just $58. And the supply yard cut the pieces to length for us too.
At our local granite and marble yard we found a remnant piece of dark greenish-black marble with white swirls. Ben helped cut the slab at the granite supply shop but polished the edges at home using granite specific polishing pads on a right angle grinder.
You can learn more about the process right here on our blog: Our Humble A{Bow}d. We’re 150% in love with our new table, especially how the clean and modern parsons style legs pair with the more traditional marble top.
You can see more after pics on our blog too. Thanks for the inspiration & hard work! – Amanda
Wow. To borrow from the name of their blog, we’re totally humbled by Amanda and Ben’s amazing handiwork. I might have to go add some welding tools to my wish list. Aren’t you guys just amazed that they took on this sort of project by themselves and it came out looking so professional? Is anyone else out there as inspired to weld something? Who’s going to tackle some DIY WIY soon?
