vol.25

my shiny new workspace

Thank you ikea! Once again you have made my house look soo much nicer, MUCH more organized, and at prices I can afford! :) The only thing that would make you nicer is if you would build yourself right here in the Tri-Citites. :) Driving 3 hours is less then ideal. But, I will definitely not complain!

** Warning this post is heavy on the pictures. :) **

love love these asker pots with the asker rail system from ikea. They are holding quite a bit of pens, paintbrushes, watercolor pencils, scissors etc. Its really handy because if I need something up high, I just lift the pot off the hook and I can put it anywhere. Since I usually paint in the living room this is really nice for me.

The reflection of the door leading to the utility room makes for an eery reflection. :) Eventually we wont be needing this door anymore and I will be so glad when that day comes. But that is waay down on the list of remodeling project priorities. :) 

Here is a view of the desk. The keyboard shelf pulls out, so it gives me more room. Which is definitely needed when I am shipping and printing orders. :)

Here is the Skruvsta chair I bought a few weeks back. I really really wanted it in white, but when I seen the black one in the as is section for 69.00 (70.00 less) I decided I could handle the black just fine. :) So far, I still love it. Have yet to find anything wrong with it. uhh... knock on wood. ;)

 

Another view of the Lykta lamp. I am soo glad I went ahead and purchased this little guy, the soft light from this lamp is amazing.

 

So, here is my little corner of the kitchen. I purchased the billy bookcase with doors, and the benno cd tower. I also purchased the add on unit to make the bookcase taller yet. This made a really nice space for my paintings, and also holds my large canvas printer paper. The only problems I have with the whole set-up is... one it doesnt hold my large printer (have to create a new space for it in our bedroom) right now it is on the floor to the left of the actual computer. Two, that plug in above the wainscoating... why in the world would there be a plug in up there? It seems so odd to me. Unless there was a microwave cabinet there at one time? Anyhow I think I am going to use a flat extension cord and maybe hang a painting over the wires if it bugs me too much. :)

Here it is with the doors open. See how much stuff  managed to get in here? Soo happy about that! Oh- and I put an old number 4 (house number) inside the lamp shade, and the silhouette looked kinda neat. :) Something else I plan to do, is print some pictures to go in the doors of the bookcase. The black background comes out so you can mount stuff between the glass. Some people have used fabric and customized they're doors. The possibilities really are endless.

and last... here is the little desk that could. :) Its called that Goliat, and though it is little, it really has some great storage possibilities. It holds my canvas paper, plastic sleeves, cardboard, priority mail envelopes, scanner printer combo, computer, and this handy box of drawers also from ikea.  Eventually I am going to move my scrapbooking stuff from our bedroom and into the utitlity room, and when I do I will be moving this computer into the bedroom, (along with the wide format printer) and using my touchsmart here. The touchsmart has a bigger screen (22") so it will take up more top space, but I wont have a computer taking up space below. :)

wheewww, that was along post. If you made it this far, kudos to you! :)

p.s. that big surprise I have been teasing you with should be up in the next couple of days, so be on the lookout for that!! :)

Our home... some history

I dont think I have ever posted before pictures of the girls' room... or very many before pictures of the house at all... but believe you me... I definitely have them. To say this house was thrashed would be somewhat of an understatement. I can still remember standing in the front yard of the house, after a quick showing of the house. We had asked my parents to come along for a second opinion... and I can still hear my dad saying "it looks like a big job" He was sooo right, but we were MORE then determined to make this house work.

The house was built in 1892, and was loaded with character... but it had ended up as a bank foreclosure, and we purchased it through HUD so we got a really good deal on the home. We had just 3 weeks to make the house livable. We did all the work ourselves, only enlisting help from family and friends. Trin spent quite a bit of her time at Grandma's while I painted and did odd things during the day. At night Jaydon would come home and we would work on the house until 2-3:00 in the morning. She also spent some time with me watching a portable dvd player in this little play pen. :) She was such a good baby.

isnt she soo cute? :)

Here is a side by side of the room from a similar angle. The doors still need refinished. It took us a bunch of work, but we did get it done just in the nick of time. There are some things that still need finished. The kitchen for one... and the utility room, but I couldnt be happier with how everything else turned out.

Here is the bathroom before (after tearing up the old floor) Can you believe that trim?

and after... This really isnt the best picture, but you get the idea. ;)

Here is the girls' room again, their shoe cabinets finally installed. Along with the hooks from ikea. She has a few of these princess dresses, and they are always getting switched out. The artwork is by Trin, and hangs on a nail. This way I can switch out her new paintings without actually removing or touching the hanging frame. Love that! After months I can almost officially say her room is done. I say almost because we do still have (1) major task to accomplish... the restoration of those original hardwoord floors. We already have the stain, it is just a matter of finding the time.

Here is the wardrobe project I had posted about MONTHS ago. This picture shows the lines in place, and the birds where they were going to stay. :) It was actually super easy to get them applied. The hardest part was mapping out where exactly I wanted everything to go. I purchased these from one up designs on etsy. He was super nice to work with, and lengthened the lines a little for me at no additional charge. :) I was able to split the lines in half this way, and apply it as shown. :)

 Here is a close up of the birds on their hinged tape. :)

and at last the final project!!! I love how it turned out, a simple way to dress up an ikea wardrobe. The one you see here is the Odda Wardrobe I love it to pieces, it has a BUNCH of room inside, I'll have to take pictures. We set it up so that Journey has closet space on one side, and Trin on the other. :)

This last picture I thought was kinda neat. Mirrors also from Ikea. I believe they are labeled as the Krabb mirror.
 

I also jumped on the bandwagon, and organized Trinity's books by color. :) We'll see how long they stay that way... I'll try and post more before and afters, and also get in some more detailed shots of the room. :)