Evolving in a Week

When last we saw the "guest room," Mom had taken up residence to be near her new job while awaiting the closing of their new house.

Well, I am pleased to say my parents are now officially residents of Massachusetts and, as of last week, our extra bedroom was back to being a blank slate.

I'm beyond embarrassed to admit, this is how this room has sat for the past 2 years (there was a large purple chair and a half in here prior to Mom's stay, but it went to a better home with a friend).  I know this may come as a HUGE shock, but zero design went into this space.  Not an ounce.  Not even a drop of paint.

The challenge of this room is it's variety of functions:

• den
• work out room
• office space for me (now that I've conceded the office to Hubby)

...and all this needs to work in around 100sf of space.  Recently, a lighbulb went off and I finally knew exactly what to do in the space and over the weekend, I got to work.

I flipped the way we previously used the space and somehow, with adding storage, made the room feel much larger.  (The following pics are in progress and there was no styling involved.)

I still have a good deal of finishing to do for it to feel complete (mounting the tv on the wall, fixing the secretary desk, accessorizing/styling...)

This is the first time since living here that this room has felt like part of this house and not just the forgotten space.  It makes me happy.  Very Happy.  I can't wait to really polish it up and let it shine!

(5 points to anyone who finds Charlie, the orange cat, in the progress pictures!  It's like a furry Where's Waldo)

Epic Fail

So, my first attempt at this Fall's Pinterest Challenge was a bit of an epic fail. I was planning to make this wine rack

from Camille Styles.  She even has a how to... and makes it look so easy.

I made a few attempts, but this was about as good as it got....

Not my best work by a longshot.

It's important to know when to cut your losses.  I just didn't have a drill press, or drill powerful enough to bore through cedar at an angle, or I didn't have the right drill bit.  Whatever way you look at it, that piece of wood just did not want to be a wine rack and there was nothing I could do about it.

Never fear my dear readers!  I couldn't let this belly flop be my contribution to the Fall Pinterest Challenge.  Luckily I'm a hoarder I have lots of random crafting and DIY supplies, so I was still able to pull together a project during my Hurricane Sandy instituted house arrest (we survived unscathed and kept power).  You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the results, but I'll give you a hint.

Mod Tot

There's a lot of things in the works right now.  Naturally nothing ever goes quite as fast as I want it to, so that's where quick little projects can provide instant gratification. Instead of letting the kiddy chair collect dust in the basement, it got a quick makeover and is ready for a kiddo to come hang out.

Last time you saw it, it wasn't in tooo bad of shape.  Especially for around $3.

The vinyl needed replacing, and the chrome needed polishing- so I did just that.

After disassembling, I tackled it with metal/chrome polish  (Brasso to be exact).  Before I touched it, the chrome looked rather sad up close, but thankfully it was mostly just dirt and tarnish.

I was actually surprised how well the metal polished up.  There were only very 2 small spots of rust that I couldn't help.

I found a clearance vinyl table cloth at HomeGoods that had a mid-century vibe and simple lines to match the chair.  It was a cute pattern, but not to childish...plus, I'm a sucker for clearance.  $4.50 for the table cloth, and I have fabric to spare.

I tried to line up the fishies as best as possible, pulled it tight, and went to town with my staple gun.

Ta Da!!

I still have to find kiddy-size rubber feet to really complete the project, but it's nice to actually check this little guy off of my to do list instead of adding him to my project pile.  Instant diy gratification!

What instant gratification projects have you tackled lately?