I've lost count to be honest. You have to live with a room a while to learn what works and what doesn't. Especially so for a working room.
While Casey was away becoming one of the few and the proud, I took over his room. I figured the Marines owned him for at least four years, he wouldn't be needing it. At the time it seemed like the perfect arrangement, but it wasn't.
About a year later, I moved things around again. It was better, but over time, it just wasn't working either and eventually became a junk hole. Not at all conducive to creativity. I just wanted to close the door and pretend it wasn't there. Except it was. It was there, and I may have had a bad dream or two about it.
Think I'm exaggerating? Brace yourselves folks, what you are about to see isn't pretty.
Are you ready?
Now you know why I haven't posted any sewing projects. I'm not sure I could even find the sewing machine.
Yea, bad. Real bad.
Let me say one tiny thing in my defense, I had already started some of the reorganization when I took these photos. You know, things get worse before they get better. I had pulled things from under the table and piled them on top. The other stuff, like mount lampshade over there, that was there already.
Then it got even worse. You see, to implement my plan, most of the furniture in the room had to come out. There was a lot of stuff hanging out on that furniture
Enough ugliness, it's giving me the heebie-jeebies.Lets get on with the afters.
Wall to wall work table and all it cost me was the price of the legs. It's the same hollow core door I'd been using as a cutting table, only now it's fourteen feet long instead of seven
No new furniture was purchased. Almost everything was reused and repurposed. I did purchase a new plywood top for my cutting table and legs for the work table. I also purchased tissue paper for the pom poms and a small amount of molding. It was a use-what-you-have makeover for sure.
I reused the computer desk by taking the top off, turning it upside down and putting wheels on the new bottom.
All the closetmaid components that were below the cutting table were reused in various ways. The book shelves were placed under the work table.
This one was turned on its side to hold storage boxes and the printer. I made the little shelf to hold my silhouette with a scrap of plywood from the new cutting table. Did you catch that? I said I made that shelf. Yep, me and my kreg jig. It ain't much, but I did it, start to finish, all by my lonesome.
That's not all folks. I also made this thread rack. Alone. Just me.
These shelves? I hung 'em.
I recovered the chairs with fabric I bought a while back and never used. (Hancock Fabric)
I also pimped the closetmaid cabinets that serve as bases for the new cutting table.
I added beadboard backs, beadboard wall paper to the sides and baseboard around the bottom. Oh, and some corner trim on all the corners too.
You're looking at my stool aren't you? I know you are. It was free. Yep, free. Don't hate.
I was at my cousin's, next door, he was finishing the edge of my plywood table top with his router and I spied that stool in the corner, dusty, stuff piled on top, and I shamelessly begged him for it. Not really begged, but I let him know if he didn't love it to pieces, I'd give it a happy home. And he said OK.
I spent hours, no joke hours, trying to get the placement of those two cabinets right this morning. I measured and moved, measured and moved. I just knew the first thing Mitch would say when he walked in the room would be, the table isn't straight. He has one of those eyes. He picks up the slightest offness and it drives him crazy, and when he points it out to me, after I've slaved over some project, it drives me crazy. Like I want to beat him to death with a level or something. I kid.
So, in an effort to keep him from pointing out my nonsquareness, I measured. A lot. I even got the laser level out. Not that I knew what to do with it, but it was there. Moral support, I guess.
One of the bases has drawers and holds my patterns.
The other one has doors to hide crafting necessities.
My books were in the closetmaid book shelves under the cutting table before. Now I can see them all.
I made the cover of this one. Well, not me, but one of my projects.
I was already storing yarn in this bushel basket. I just stained it gray and recovered the little top.
The pegboard was just moved from one wall to another.
Same plastic jars for ribbon storage.
I think I am going to paint the doors on this cabinet with chalkboard paint and I have an art piece planned for the wall above the work table, so it's not 100%, but I couldn't wait any longer to share.
I'm thrilled that I got a new room without going out and buying a bunch of new stuff. I forced myself to used what I had and I couldn't be happier.
