Tags
DIY, do it yourself, home decor, home furniture, home organization, homemade furniture, January Cure 2016, wood craft, wood crafts, wood furniture
The office project has actually been done for a couple of months. I’ve just had too many other things going on to write about it. The battle with the local fauna has begun and it’s gotten ugly, the pool water reached a point where there was no alternative other than draining and refilling (it lasted healthily for 10 years so I can’t complain, even though I complained a LOT at the cost. I’d best find flecks of 24 karat gold in that water at that price.), it’s weed season, a new planting season, and wind season. We also had a tragedy which took the wind out of my sails for a while and I’m still not over that yet, but here goes.
It’s been so long since I posted, I can’t start the reveal without reminding everyone what the office/storage/swap meet/ebay/junk room looked like before we got in gear.
Before
Other than packing up some of my husband’s things, we’d just closed the door on this room for 2 years and used it to store things we didn’t know what else to do with and couldn’t let go of yet. It was the junk drawer of rooms. I had been needing to do something constructive with it for 2 years. I decided during a previous Cure that I’d turn it into a Guest room/craft room/office, but still didn’t have the energy/heart to get to work on it. My brother had contacted me a year ago to let me know he was planning to come out this spring to do some hiking and wanted to visit for a couple of days. This was the boost I needed, but I still didn’t do anything about it until finally, three months before he was to be here, I was jolted into the home renovation version of last minute cram for finals mode.
My son and I cleared the room of boxes, junk, furniture, and dust bunnies. Starting from scratch we painted, pulled down the wall shelf unit from the north wall, repainted it the same color as the walls so my “stuff” collection would take visual priority, measured for a queen sized bed and craft tables, and built the tables. We bought 3 things for the room, other than cheap wood for the tables. I ordered a bedspread, glass chimes and a fabulous painting done by my best friend. Then, we added the crafting stuff, computer stuff and my collection stuff. The result is a relaxing place to work, play and sleep. Guests can relax, work and play in here too. The way it is arranged is very wheelchair accessible.
Eternity Tree bedspread from Pyramid Collection. Years ago I had gotten their Tree of Life bedspread for my own bed and I’ve loved it. They are machine washable!
My friend Daphne MuShatt’s painting. She has many available, but I’ve always loved this one and it reminds me of Maiden, Mother, and Crone life stages.
The colors in the painting and the subject suit this room, and my spirit, perfectly.
Funny thing about those shelves William made many moons ago when we lived in town. He’d decided on a paint color for his office (our living room) and painted the shelves to match so that the shelves would disappear and his History of Space Exploration models would stand out. The color he chose for that poorly lit room made you want to sing “Under the Sea” at night and swim laps through the living room. When I began repainting them to match the color John and I had chosen for this room, I was shocked to realize I’d picked that same color! I was terrified I’d end up in another giant aquarium room, but turns out, lighting makes all the difference here. I still think William had a hand in the paint color choice though because we went in thinking we’d made our choice online and this color caught our eye at the last minute.
The east facing office window. I watch the sun come up every morning with my coffee and Facebook friends and relatives. Those curtains were made with cheap cotton drop cloths and they were the first project for the new sewing machine. The glass chimes were ordered at the same time as the bedspread and also come from Pyramid Collection. The breeze coming through the window makes them sing prettily. My homemade incense drying in old glass tumblers lends a pleasant aroma.
Just a close up so you can see the patterned glass and pretty colors in the chimes.
Part of my Harry Potter collection arranged on the top of my bookshelf. Those “stones” were made by William about 5 years ago. We were trying to make a Sorceror’s Stone for a friend of ours. The stones in the photo were some of the fails, but too pretty to toss.
Unfortunately, my brother had to cancel his trip to Arizona, so I have a fabulous guest/craft/office available if anyone wants to come visit. Maybe if we add a microwave and a mini refrigerator I’ll just live in here.