Making Room and the Switch

We have some major issues going on in our finished basement right now, which I will get into more detail about in the next few weeks.  As part of this issue, we needed to find space to fit a commercial grade dehumidifier.  The best spot for it would be in an unfinished closet we have in the basement that currently housed a super large filing cabinet for my business files (I am an attorney).  

Here's the thing...this file cabinet weighs a ton.  We spent a few days over the Christmas break going through the files and clearing out all of the super old files.  Then we moved the other files to long term filing boxes.  We figured we would throw out the file cabinet, although we had no idea how we were going to get it up the stairs.

Then my husband came up with the idea to move the filing cabinet into our storage room in the basement.  As you can see the storage room was in need of some purging anyhow, so this would be a perfect opportunity.  We would take the long dresser you see in here and move it into the closet where the file cabinet was, which would still leave room for the new dehumidifier.

We put the file cabinet on the furniture moving slides and slid it out of the closet and across the room and into the storage closet.  

It's unfinished space, but I figured I would make it look a bit better and painted the walls with left over paint from the ceiling in my office, in Restoration Hardware Silver Sage.  

Then using the same flooring that we used in the closet we recently finished,
we laid a new vinyl wood floor.

The new floor went down in no time.

Then we added the dresser.  I am very excited to get this space set up as an area where I can keep all of my craft and sewing supplies.

We plan on building a shelf above this dresser for the humidifier to sit on.  I'll know better in the next week or so how much space (if any) above the dresser will be available to me to use (because, trust me, I have so many ideas spinning in my head as to how I want to use the space).

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Maybe something like this...

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or something like this (I love the storage they added to the inside of the door)...

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or something like this.
No matter what, I look forward to really organizing all of my craft/sewing supplies.

One final photo - we cleaned up the storage cabinet as well in the process and found an even better home for this super large file cabinet.

Don't forget to stop back tonight for my Winter Blues Wednesday party.

The party opens at 8pm EST.  Hope to see you then.

-Judy

Making Good Even Better

How was your weekend?  Mine was busy with lots of excitement which I will share with you tomorrow.  Did anyone else have issues with Blogger last week?  I had a scheduled post for Friday which, after Blogger fixed whatever they were fixing, was lost forever.  So here is that post...recreated.

Remember my mudroom renovation?

Just as a reminder this is where it began:

After removing wallpaper, painting and adding a board and batten treatment the room was complete.  You can click here to read all about it.

I had these benches in my downstairs, and since the size and fabric worked, I used them in the mudroom.

I was in my favorite store, Home Goods, when I came across these benches last week.  They caught my eye because they were the right size, had a tufted top, beautiful fabric...

 and nailhead trim.  But that wouldn't be enough for me to change out the benches.  What really sealed the deal was...

...they are storage ottomans.  

The mudroom is not huge, so any opportunity for extra storage needs to be seized.  At $50 each I just couldn't leave them.  They had to come home with me.  

2 kids plus all their stuff + 2 storage ottomans = the perfect mudroom benches.

Don't you love when you find something so perfect when you didn't even set out to find it?  I love my new ottomans.  What do you think?

-Judy

Planning a Mud Room Makeover

I can't believe it's already February.  I think it's time for me to start addressing some of my home goals I set for 2011.  If you want to check out all of my home goals, click here.  The first goal I am ready to tackle is our mud room.  Before you start any project, it's a good idea to have a clear plan as to what you want to achieve.

In the case of my mud room, it needs an aesthetic makeover as well as a functional makeover.  First and foremost, the wallpaper and border need to come down.  I loved it eleven years ago, but I am over its busy pattern.

Image from Centsational Girl

Instead of the wallpaper, I want to do a board and batten treatment on the long wall in the mud room.  I think it will be a great look for the mudroom.  Centsational Girl has one of the best tutorials out there.  I plan on referring to it often during the project.

Image from Ballard Designs

The second issue with my mud room is, although I have a beautiful front door and foyer, 95% of the people who visit my home seem to use my side door. My side door is right next to the washer and dryer.  With a family of four, laundry is done often and therefore it seems like 50% of the time there is laundry hanging on a rack right next to the door.  I would love to figure out a way to not have a drying rack on the floor. This laundry rack from Ballard Designs might be perfect.  I will have to figure out a way to duplicate the functionality of this rack, without the high price tag Ballard Designs has attached to this one.

Image from Pottery Barn

Our mudroom seems to be the hub of our home.  It's where all school calendars, assignments, sports info etc gets kept.  I love the organizer from Pottery Barn above.  I'm sure I can come up with something similar...I'm thinking a field trip to Home Goods maybe.  A good organizational area is a must.

I also would love to fit a bench and some hooks to hang jackets and school bags.  The long narrow space makes this a challenge.  However, if I can work out the laundry hanging situation, I think I can make the bench happen.

I can't wait to start this project (do you hear that honey?).  My first step will be going to Home Depot to pick up the wood.  Home Depot is great because if you have your measurements, they will cut the wood to size for you at no cost.  One less step for me.  The most fun part of this project will be getting to use my Christmas gift on that board and batten project.

Let me know what you think of my proposed project.  Hope you all have a great weekend.  Don't forget my party will be open for another day.  Hope you join in the fun.

-Judy