I’m a pretty lucky gal; I can paint any room, any color, any time.  I even squeezed my way into the one room of the house that he can claim as his own.  My mans office, step careful folks stuff ahead.

Here’s the run down of items to tackle:

1.  New paint for the walls and the trim

2.  New window blinds

3.  Additional lighting

4.  Modify his existing desks or find something more streamlined

5.  Address the shelving and storage issues

So now that we have all those before pictures covered let’s dive into his new and improved office.

1.  New paint.  I went with a great color called Hasta from Martha’s Stewart line at Home Depot.

2.  The blinds were a in-stock blind from home depot, I had each custom cut to fit the windows.

3.  Additional storage with the Expedit shelving from Ikea.

4.  Buying a new desk was not in the original plan but as the room evolved and I took into consideration the storage he would need and the new room arrangement these desks were a better fit.  So we sold the original desks for the same amount we paid from them on Craigslist and ordered up a new set to replace them.

I still have lighting to place above his work space.

Also need to find a solution to cover up these shelves, since there is a countdown on this cleanliness, scheduled to expire in one short day.

So hold tight on that solution, hoping to find something soon.  What rooms have you painted lately?  Have you ever used any of Martha Stewart’s paint colors?  Whats your thoughts on these ceilings being painted white?

Husband said I nested through my entire pregnancy, realistically I nest everyday.  I’m a neat freak on the surface (not a germ freak) and love having everything in it’s place.  I had our whole house unpacked and put together in a couple of days if you don’t count the laundry room which seems to be the dumping ground for things that don’t have a home.  If you remember back when we moved in Husband didn’t really pack very well, if at all.  He also needs to get a library card since we don’t have a room we can dedicate to his books.  Here’s our embarrassing room that I usually leave out of our house tour when guests come over:

I don’t remember how it all went down but I made a trip to Ikea to buy new book shelves 7.5 months pregnant and was not able to lift the boxes.    So I had to enlist Husband (who greatly dislikes projects) to haul the worlds heaviest boxes through the house and down to the basement.  But like he says, he can bring the muscle just don’t ask him to put anything together.

Most of the mess really was just a matter of putting back in it’s place, I had put up the long metal shelves when we first moved in and now we needed a better place for Brad’s books.

So I had everything all organized and then Husband needed to reorganize to his specifications, hence room a mess again.

Have you ever used the metal shelving units you can find at Home Improvement stores like Home Depot?  They are a must have in all my closets, easy to install and pretty affordable in comparison to the California Closets of the world.  This awkward space quickly became functional.

With just a few tools you can multiply your storage space.  I also hung a few curtains to hide the clutter (stole the idea from an awesome blog – Young House Love)

Hoping we can keep this room presentable.  What room in the house is your go to room for things that don’t have a home?

I’m going to dive into a current project, Baby Boy #1 is due in April so I’ve been working on the bedroom and adjoining bathroom.  I’ve got a big wish list for the lower level bathrooms so I didn’t want to stick a lot of money into it but wanted to freshen it up.  These before pictures are not as raw as I had started when we bought the place, the walls were white and I had those famous gold shower doors that have since been removed.

The counter top simply could not be changed, it is not a standard size.  If it was I would be off to Home Depot so fast and back with a new (CLEAN) fabricated counter top my husband wouldn’t even know it happened.  Instead I applied some clean white paint to the cabinets to freshen and brighten up the room.

Paint I already had, but bought a new mirror at Home Goods and a new faucet & drawer pulls at Home Depot.  The faucet was the kicker in the budget but decided on a trendier one knowing I could still use it when I got down to tearing out the bathroom someday.

I did not repaint, it was already blue and choose to work with what I had.  So throw in a new shower curtain from Dwell Studio and some custom artwork and call her him good.

I could have done this for much less without that fancy faucet I had to have, but still my budget under $200.  Here’s the rundown:

Paint: Sherwin Williams, Interesting Aqua, Studio Blue Green, Greek Villa

Shower Curtain: Dwell Studios

Hardware & Faucet: Home Depot

Mirror: Home Goods

Do you have a bathroom makeover you would like to share?  If so leave a comment and I will contact you for information.

A vintage velvet chaise seemed like the perfect first attempt at upholstery.   The previous owner had the same intentions but never got around to completing it.  Therefore this wonderful project became my opportunity when the powers that be (Craigslist) landed it on my desktop early Sunday morning several months ago.  With a little bartering with my husband we were off across town in his truck to pick up my new project.

On first inspection it was perfect for my first upholstery project and thought I could get it done over the weekend.  I got right to it, when on my hands and during ripping down I realized that it might be more than I had bargained for.  You see I choose Industrial Arts over Home Ec.   As soon as I ripped old fabric off realized I was dealing with old springs… another skill to add to my list and was trying to figure out how I would recover this huge thing.  It was nothing like the seat covers I can recover in a few minutes.

The bottom of the frame is pretty shaky and needed some new support and the springs needed some serious attention.  I used one of my favorite paint and varnish removers Citrisstrip from Home Depot, to remove the old varnish.  Followed it up with some delegate sanding before I got to putting my project back together.

The final finishing piece took months, 13 to be exact, I moved this thing around the garage and finally done to my office in hopes it would help me get it done faster.  Winder went by and I finally decided this weekend to get it done.

I’m not usually very indecisive but choosing the new fabric for my chaise called for several trips to the fabric store.  I was determined this weekend however to pick one out, put it on and be done with it.  I can now say the chaise is now fully upholstered and is looking great. I love it – but must let it go – any takers?