home office makeover - before and after reveal

The time has come. I can put it off no longer. I cleaned off my desk, took some pictures and had a few G&T's because the office is done people! Let's rip the curtain off this sucker.

The goal was to turn a corner of my unfinished basement into an office that I wouldn't mind spending a few hours a day in using ONLY things I already had. How did I do?

Remember, this space has some pretty humble beginnings. I needed an office space, I live in a small house, and this was the best unused corner available. Cue the before and after pictures.

Everything was hosed down and then covered with bright white paint on the walls and ceiling. The floors were painted Bermuda Turquoise (Benjamin Moore) and gave a great base of color. To be honest, I could have just left it with the new paint and been thrilled. But you know I can't leave well enough alone.

The metal desk was a hand me down from my dad's old office (aka FREE). I sprayed it down with hot pink spray paint and stuck that beauty right in the middle of the room. The perfect spot for my lovely lady lamps, which are the only thing that I bought specifically for the office.

The chair is one of those, 'I have nowhere for it but I really like it' purchases last fall. I believe it was $15. It was stained the most horrible shade of yuck so I stripped it off with the intent to paint it. But I like the unfinished wood and it brings some nice warmth into the space. So it stayed. Underneath the desk is an old dhurrie rug I got several years back at an annual thrift sale for $2.

Remember Elmer? I found him at an estate sale in a few dozen pieces. Well he is all fixed and standing watch under my desk. He's my trusty butler who holds my drinks so they stay off of the desk and away from the computer. (I've been known to spill things.)

When the overhead pendant didn't end up working out, I decided to leave the ceiling alone and go with lamps instead. However, I did add a swing arm library sconce over the inspiration board. I'd gotten it several months back at Home Depot with the intent of putting it upstairs but never got around to it. I'm sensing a 'putting off projects pays off' theme here.

The inspiration board serves a great purpose as...inspiration. (duh) But, it also solved the issue of having a vast white wall behind me and not being able to use a single nail (nails in my foundation don't sound like a good idea to me) as well as falling into that whole already owned theme.  I mimicked the shape of the bamboo mirror to create the shape of the board with gold glittery tape. Because if you have a hot pink desk and lady lamps, you need gold glitter somewhere.

I didn't fill it up all the way as I think that is something that should happen over time but it was a fun experience that took me back to my Teen Beat days for sure. And although Johnny Depp circa 21 Jumpstreet didn't make it onto the wall, I did pay homage to my never ending love for Moonlighting with my handmade art from way back when. Oh Bruce, you were so funny back then.

And on that note, let's move on.

Before...

After.

The paint and whatever other crap was under the stairs was removed and I put in some of the metal storage shelves we have for a bit of, well, storage. Now all my fabrics are in one place and I've got a whiteboard to keep me organized (in theory). And I'm going to have to remove all those pillows because the hubs came in and said "you have too many pillows" which just isn't true at all. What does he know.

The other rack of metal shelves (we got a few sets of these a long while back at Costco) now stores books, magazines etc.

The mirror was a CL purchase a while back thanks to my friend Charmaine who posted the mirror when she did a St Louis search. Yet another purchase I had no spot for when I bought it that has come in handy now. It was also another piece I had originally planned to paint but once I got it into the room decided I loved it as is.

On the other side of the room, the new window is a tie for 'best decision ever' with the paint for this space. That window has made a huge difference and it even opens and has a screen. Super fancy. I have it open a lot and get a nice breeze and a breath of fresh air. I'm in the basement, so any fresh air is welcome.

The curtains are leftover ticking fabric. Fabric hoarding to the rescue. The bamboo frame was a score at the estate sale trifecta.

Next to the window is the old wicker demilune table that you all helped me with. I went black and I love it. The armchair also came from the estate sale trifecta, I just removed her slipcover. The cushions need recovered at some point, but until then, a little fabric does the trick. The mats are from an Indie Mats warehouse sale last winter and they are a great solution for walls that can't take nails.

Pictures are a challenge in this room because as that sun moves at a rapid pace, so does my light. But on non picture taking days that is one of my favorite things about the space, there is always light moving thru this room so I can spend a lot of the day without lights on. A true surprise in a basement. Anyone else feel like sining This Little Light of Mine with me?

So there she blows. And I have pictures to prove that at one time, this room was clean.

Have you ever made a 'room' out of corner before? Do you keep a stock of items on hand for those 'just in case' times? You should. I'll testify that it is worth it.

i want to hear from you

Ok people. It is put up or shut up time. I've been working on my home office for quite some time (you can read about it here, here, here and here) which is obvious by the number of 'here's. You know the drill - I start, life happens, and it gets pushed down the list. Then I start on it again and the vicious cycle continues. Blah blah blah.

Well since we are headed into Labor Day, I'm going to Labor on my office and get this sucka done. Get it, laboring on labor day for my labor space. Ha. Forgive me, I'm punchy on cold medicine.

So anyway, I've got my list and I'm ready to get started but I do have one thing that I need your help with.

I have a wonderful antique demilune table that I'm going to use in the space but I'm not liking it in its current, chipy white state. The dingy white against the crisp white walls make it look, well, dingy.

What color would YOU pick?

Keep in mind two things:
-  it has to be spray paint as I have no intention of loosing my mind by brush painting a wicker table. My children have already laid claim on the cause for my loosing my mind moment(s).
 - the top of the table is a beautiful stained wood that I plan to keep so that part won't be painted.

So with all of that in mind, what color would you pick? I'm wide open people (that's what she said). And you know me, I love color so I'm no afraid.

What say you?

plank walls - what i learned

When I did the reveal of our family room on the latest One Room Challenge, I got a lot of comments and emails about the plank wall and several requests for a tutorial. Ask and you shall receive.

Well, sort of.

There are dozens of tutorials for planks walls out there, all of them giving you fine directions on the logistics. So I'd rather focus on the issues that made this project unique and a few 'learn from my mistakes' nuggets. So with that, let's dive in, shall we.

There was one huge head scratcher in our family room, which is in the basement, and that was the 15 foot long foundation wall that runs along one whole side of the space. Since it is the foundation it always made me a little uneasy to think about drilling holes in it. But it was so vast and boring and it just looked cold. It would basically give me the middle finger every night as I watched TV. "I may be ugly, but there is nothing you can do about it sucka."

I loved the idea of a plank wall to give that beast some texture and warmth, but every. single. tutorial talked about nailing the planks into the wall. And that wasn't happening.

Enter creative thinking.

Thanks to a night of G&G&T (Google, gin and tonic) I found an alternative that was worth a shot. Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape. (we got ours at Home Depot). The reviews were excellent and it said it would hold up to 10 lbs. I also liked the fact that it was outdoor, meaning it would hold up to any possibly dampness that can sometimes come with a basement. With a solution in hand, I went to put this plank wall into action.

On the advice of many a plank wall tutorial, we went to Lowe's to get our plywood and have it cut on site. We went with a mid-grade option that was light but sturdy. For our 15 foot wall we got eight boards which totaled around $180.

Our first attempt to get our planks cut was on a Friday night (I am Mrs. Weekend Excitement) and the old dude was obviously annoyed to be at work and tried to tell me that they didn't cut wood for customers. As he was standing in front of the big huge wood cutting machine. I asked him what that machine was for then and he just said, "Lady, we just can't do it." Uh huh.

So I went back the next day and got the young spry Lowe's dude who was more than happy to use the big machine for me. So hold strong and be firm - Lowe's does cut boards. Home Depot however does not, and they state that fact in their lumber area. Go figure.

One other important note - make sure to stand right next to the young Lowe's dude as he cuts your boards. We sadly, did not do this. And then when we got home after loading all of these boards into the car and then unloading them into the garage and then bringing them downstairs, we noticed that he was not a straight cutter. The first three planks cut from each board were straight as an arrow but as he got closer to the bottom of the board, young Lowe's dude didn't hold the board with both hands and the ends of the last two planks would start out straight and then get narrower as the weight of the board would tilt at the end of the cut. Bummer.

Of course, this discovery wasn't made until we were already several boards into the project and it caused me to exceed my cussing quota for the day. So cutter beware.

With the wall primed and the boards home we got busy installing. We cut our tape into long strips spacing them out on the plank and up it went.

Since the walls nor the floor in the basement are perfectly level we started at the top knowing we could address the unevenness at the bottom with finishing trim.

Once the plank was up, one of us would keep our hands on it while the other would run the length of the plank making sure all of the tape was adhering. And it worked like a charm. This stuff sticks like no ones business so it is hard to remove after you put it up, which was the hope. We did have to remove a few pieces as our friends cutting skills came to light but with a bit of muscle the plank came off with only a small chip to the paint on the wall. The key is to remove it right away if you decide you need to. Once that tape is on for a few minutes, it is on there for good.

From there the process went quickly. It would have gone at lightening pace if we didn't have to fit the planks like a jigsaw puzzle to account for the poorly cut boards. But without the need for a nail gun the whole thing moved right along. Just make sure to stager your seems as best you can.

Some people suggest using a nickel as your spacer in between planks but I wanted more space between my planks so the wall looked more authentic and less engineered. So we used a short castoff plank as our spacer.

Once the wall was up it was time to prime. I was worried that this wood would just drink up paint and I would need many many coats. But Kilz killed it again and one coat of primer was all that was needed.

Once the primer was up, I went over the wall and caulked some of the bigger seams as well as the space between the wall and the crown. And then finished it off with two coats of the white paint I used on all the other walls of the room. I didn't paint in the seams because I liked the depth it gave the planks but you certainly could use a paint brush to get dip into those cracks. Just a matter of preference.

I was so happy with the result that I used the leftover planks for the backs of the bookshelves.

I finished the corner where the plank wall meets the stairwell with a piece of corner trim that fit like a charm. And with that the project was done.

So with the experience behind me and the benefit of time and hindsight I would tell you that a plank wall is a very cost effective and manageable DIY. Just be sure to make sure those boards are cut straight, and know that if you thought this wasn't an option for you before Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape is your friend.

What about you? Have you ever had to tweak an online tutorial to fit the quirks of your house? Ever hung anything on your walls with tape? (Besides your Cory Haim posters)

one room challenge - family room week 3

One note before we get started - I am lucky enough to participate in the Take Two series over at designPost today. Make sure to check it out here.

We are at the half way point people! (click here if you missed week 1 or 2) And what am I still doing? Painting. I am sure you are as sick of here about my painting as I am of actually painting. But we are in the home stretch, so stick with me. I promise good things.

Last week we were left with a nice bright, white room and a primed staircase.

But those of you who know me know I can't leave a room white for long. I am, after all, a color girl. Enter those mystery stripes I mentioned on the inspiration board.

The painter's tape came out and I got to work on one of my very favorite "I want to do that some day" pins, a painted stair runner.

And I can't leave the stairs all alone so I thought some stripes on the floor would be fun too.

The floors were simple to tape out. I just measured the length of the room, randomly choose a width for each stripe by eyeballing what 'looked good' and then divided the width out by the total length. Easy peasy.

The stairs were a bit trickier. These stairs, along with everything else in my charming old home, are not level. In fact, I think if you tried to put a level on these stairs you would actually be able to hear laughter coming from the treads. So trying to measure would just result in a trip to the sanitarium. So I trusted those eye balls of mine.

Using the same Porch and Floor paint from Sherwin-Williams, I painted the navy stripes. I went one shade lighter than the navy I used on the girls' dresser. And thanks to excellent paint, the floor only needed two coats. It helps to watch Orange is the New Black while you paint floors, in case you were wondering.

As for the stairs,

they need a little clean up but for the most part I am thrilled. My eyeballing would have been perfect if I hadn't decided to make the skinny lines just a tad bit thicker. I didn't overlap my tape perfectly on the left there, so mamma has some touching up to do. No worries.

And one word of caution if you are thinking of painting stairs: unless you have multiple stairwells in your house leading from one floor to the next, this is a task that can cause some grumpy tenants. When you look at those cute pictures on Pinterest you forget that said stairs need to dry for long periods of time, aka you can't walk on them. Laundry is then sitting, waiting, unable to be reached as though it is on a deserted island. And some people can't go downstairs and watch sporting events on their big TVs and they find this frustrating. Which some other people don't really get because the couch isn't down there anyway. But I digress. Also, painting stairs can cause you to contort your body in weird Cirque du Soleil ways. Just an FYI.

The floor stripes however didn't give me an once of trouble and they look just like I wanted them to. Look at those straight lines! Raise the roof with me people. This picture is right before I put a coat of sealer on so the floor now has just the slightest glow, a happy floor glow.

And in other news, I found the perfect rugs to go on this smashing floor. Some of the outdoor variety and some of the vintage flavor.

A sneak peak.

And one last update,

this is happening.

So I'm moving forward. I also found a few things for the room and am currently in the middle of a fabric do-over conundrum. I'll keep you posted.

What can we cross off the list this week?
- Rip up gross carpet (floor and stairs) and replace flooring
- Paint and plank walls and bookshelves
- Recover estate sale chairs
- Create some sort of art station for the girls
- Paint chairs and table
- Repair and paint coffee table
- Create toy storage that doesn't involve the words 'pink' or 'plastic'
- Get some art on those walls
- Find rugs
- New Lighting

Be sure to check out how everyone else is progressing:

Calling it Home 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Classic Casual Home 

Cottage and Vine 

Design Addict Mom 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room 

The Green Room Interiors 

Henhurst Interiors  

Maddie's Nest 

Mix And Chic 

My Notting Hill 

Pawleys Island Posh 

The Pink Pagoda 

Shelter 

Simple Details 

The Vault Files 

And don't forget that you too can participate in the weekly One Room Challenge Link Party every Thursday at Calling It Home.

Now spill it - have you ever painted stairs before? Did you remember to pick your phone off the dryer and put it in your pocket before painting yourself out of the basement for two days? I know I did, I was just checking.

one room challenge - family room week 2

It is only week 2 of the One Room Challenge (read week 1 here) and it is already time to get down and dirty - aka carpet removal.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, we removed the carpet several weeks ago, as soon as the leak was stopped and fixed, for obvious reasons. The carpet was already gross from years of kids, dogs, snacks etc. but the water made it officially unacceptable.

Since I am not a fan of carpet, and we still have many years of hard playing left to do in this room, I thought a painted floor would be a fun alternative. Call me crazy but I just wasn't feeling the maroon floor.

Removing carpet itself is a dirty, and at times violent job, but with the right tools and a willing partner it goes pretty quickly. It's the stuff that is under the carpet that is the real work. The tack strips, the glue, the holes left by all of the nails. Hell on earth. I followed Mandi's tutorial and it worked like a charm. I highly recommend it if you find yourself in need of a painted concrete floor, or even just carpet removal 101.

A few things I learned from the process - the lacquer thinner worked like a charm and the glue came up with little effort (I think the trash bags are the key). It was super smelly however and since we are in a basement, and ventilation is a bit harder to achieve, there were a lot of breaks throughout the process. However, the tack strip/nail removal and hole filling part was long and tedious. To put it simply, it sucked.

I never want to see another tack strip again. Ever.

It was a lot of work and it was hard work. And to be honest, I was rather crabby by the time it was all finished. Many gin and tonics were required to put me right again. But I stepped away from the room for several days (weeks really) until my strong work ethic the One Room Challenge put me back on track and ready for my favorite part - painting.

There is nothing like the instant gratification of paint to put you in a better mood. And the cocktails help too. It took two coats of primer and two coats of white to get rid of the 'ear infection' yellow on the walls but I was thrilled to do it as the room got brighter with each coat.

Once the walls were done I moved on to un-red that floor.

This time I did two coats of Kilz 2 Latex Primer and then two coats of Sherwin-Williams Porch and Floor Enamel.

Here are the floors after the first coat. Already better I think.

And here we are all painted. Wahoo! I can't get over how much brighter and bigger the space feels. Totally worth all of that cussing I did during the carpet removal/floor prep stage.

So I've done all of that work, only to arrive at the point where I'm ready to start the real work. It has to get worse before it gets better, right?! God, I hope so. And don't worry about the stairs, I won't leave them that way. But you will have to wait until next week to see what I do (I love a good tease).

The only thing that feels better than fresh paint is crossing something off the to-do list, so let's do it:
- Rip up gross carpet (floor and stairs) and replace flooring
- Paint and plank walls and bookshelves
- Recover estate sale chairs
- Create some sort of art station for the girls
- Paint chairs and table
- Repair and paint coffee table
- Create toy storage that doesn't involve the words 'pink' or 'plastic'
- Get some art on those walls
- Find rugs
- New Lighting

Be sure to check out how the others faired this week.

Calling it Home 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Classic Casual Home 

Cottage and Vine 

Design Addict Mom 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room 

The Green Room Interiors 

Henhurst Interiors  

Maddie's Nest 

Mix And Chic 

My Notting Hill 

Pawleys Island Posh 

The Pink Pagoda 

Shelter 

Simple Details 

The Vault Files 

And don't forget that you too can participate in the weekly One Room Challenge Link Party every Thursday at Calling It Home.

And how about you? Have you ever removed carpet? Ever have the urge to stick a tack strip where the sun don't shine? I really hate those things.