The Den: Phase Two complete

As you know, we've been re-working our den to meet our growing and changing family needs.  If you missed the previous post you can read about it here.  We lived with it for a little while like this:

 

Now, it looks like this:

 

 

The Amazing Hubby built that upper corner unit to give some shelving and storage.  He built a shelf on each wall, bridging the 3 cabinets and faced them with some moulding.

 

 

We found some nice chunky crown moulding at our Habitat ReStore to dress up the tops of the cabinets.  It really makes them look more finished and custom and cost us a whopping $5 if I remember right.

 

 

 

 

I found these thick, wood frames at Hobby Lobby.  They come unfinished so I stained them to look like the expensive ones I loved at Pottery Barn.  I've found some old black and white photos of my family and still have to get some from my husband's side.  I like the retro look it gives while still meaning a lot to our family.

 

 

 

I decided to raise my faux roman shades up one more fold to let in a bit more light.  You can just barely see it in this picture:

 

 

We're so happy with how it's turning out.  I can't even tell you how much more our teens use this room now.  It just works so much better for us than before.

 

The last things we need to do to complete it are:

1. Cut holes in the lower corner cabinets to feed the computer wires through and neaten all that up.

2. Install wiring for a ceiling light (yup, the builder didn't put one in- so stupid!)

3. Install new light fixture for better work lighting (I'm so excited for this step- I've already found a beauty!)

 

I'll keep you updated.

 

 

 

 

 

Design Trend: Bobbin Chairs

     Bobbin Chairs have been around since the 17th century, but lately I'm seeing them in a lot of room designs.  They have a fun shape to add a textural element in a room without being oversized.  They usually have an upholstered element that is easy and inexpensive to change to an updated look.  I've found a few inspiration photos of Bobbin Chairs for you to see:

 

Berkley Vallone Designs

 

Massucco Warner Miller

 

Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper

 

Phoebe Howard

 

 

Atlanta Homes

 

via ivydeleon

 

via style beat

 

caitlin creer

 

 

Aren't they lovely?  See how well they fit in to so many different room styles?

 

I just found my first Bobbin Chair and it turned out like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll definitely be on the lookout for more Bobbin Chairs.  I love the look of the darker finish and am anxious to try that look.

Recent projects for my side business.

Here's a quick post to share some of the projects I've been working on for my little side business.  I mostly sell on Craigslist, but I also sell locally here in Chicagoland.

Another French Label Coffee Table:

Cute double pedestals:

Lovely Glass Coffee table, with gorgeous legs:

Little"Paris" Accent Table:

A Pair of Chicago Themed Subway Signs:



A couple more of my HUGE Family Rules Signs:

My latest projects have been these Darling Oversized Ruler/ Growth Charts:

And Finally, a darling Duck Egg Blue Dresser:

I love the water-ish finish, with the white peeking through:

New Den-Phase One Done

Considering what a busy month it's been, I've gotten a lot more done on the den than I'd planned.  I had surgery this month so most of this was done at the beginning of the month.  I'm just starting to feel my energy come back today so I whipped out the faux roman shades for the den and it makes it look decent enough for a post. 

The disclaimer: This is just the first phase.  It's not done yet and I won't be getting to anything else until summer is over.  What it's still missing is: an upper corner cabinet (my hubby is going to build it for me), shelves connecting the three upper cabinets, crown moulding on the tops of the three cabinets, bundle and hide all the cords and of course, the accessories and decorating fun!

  Let us look at the before:

And here it is now:

It's hard to tell the wall color in the photos, but it's a great gray color, the much-loved "Bedford Gray".  It's almost a perfect "greige"-a gray/beige color.

I found 2 different sets of nightstands on craigslist and changed their hardware to match and be a bit more "office" (one set had crystal knobs- too girly for this job!)

This is a fun picture of my great-grandpa who worked the railroad in upstate NY.  I had it blown up and plan on staining the frame the dark walnut of the desktop.  The frame was actually made years ago by my Grandfather (this man's son!)  This will be worked into the shelves that are to be built, but I had to put something up!!

              

 The upper 2 cabinets were found really cheaply at a kitchen outlet.  I painted them, roughed them up and added new hardware.  I've already found some great crown moulding to add to the tops.

I found two of these old crates for more storage!  It fits perfect in this little, awkward spot.

This room really needed lighting and I found these great retro desk lamps at Menards for only $15! I think I might grab a third for the other end of the desk...

I just finished these faux roman shades.  I've wanted to do some IKAT fabric for a long time and this one had the perfect gray, tan and black combination I needed. I used this tutorial on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxUPUtIuXIk

Here you can see how I cheated to make an inexpensive wood desktop.  I glued together 12' lengths, used a few metal braces and then stained them dark walnut.  A 2x2 was drilled underneath to the studs and then the wood desktop was screwed to that 2x2. 

I still needed something for storage for my decorating and I scoured craigslist daily waiting for just the right piece.  I knew it needed to be tall, have lots of storage, be cheap enough and just be different!  Well, look what I found!!! 

Isn't she great! It was already painted black and the inside red.  I love the lights inside and believe it or not, it acts as another great light source when working in here in the evenings.

 That's it so far.  It's at least workable now and SOOOOO much better than it was before.  I'm excited to finish it, but am content for now.