My Space for Craft, Sewing, Blogging (aka. Mom's Office!)

I am not sure how I managed to luck into having a whole room to myself for just me! But I am thrilled beyond belief to have this happy place and also that it is 99% completed! I have been dying to share this space for a week now but I had one project that wasn't quite finished....

My 'office' as the kids like to say is upstairs right next to their play room. And there is a reason you have never really seen it before... It was the storage room for all of the furniture that had no where else to go! It was a mix match of prints, styles, and random pieces that really just needed a place to be hidden when we had people over. I don't really have a full before shot, but these below give you an idea of how messy and thrown together it was!

But now... I LOVE this room! I have a big smile whenever I walk up the stairs and see it. And even now at 5:30am, I am so happy to be sitting in my beautiful room typing this post! The color scheme for the room was chosen on a whim in Hobby Lobby! I had been going back and forth on what the heck I should do with this room. Nothing seemed right until I saw these 2 beautiful cotton duck fabric bolts sitting next to each other. The pink polka dots and the pink/blue/yellow ikat had me at hello! It was all so fun, girly, and funky! (Big thanks to the girls that are hosting the Style Soiree parties! This week's soiree is Kate Spade and I swear that seeing them set up this party gave me the needed push to jump into the pink and polka dots for this room!)

What I love best about this room is that almost everything was a DIY or a piece that we already had! Full source list at the bottom and I will be featuring the details behind the DIYs later this week and next.

Source:

Round Table - Shayne Table from PB

Rattan Basket on Table - WalMart

Baskets under Table - PB

Roll Arm Sofa - Ballard Designs (discontinued)

Pink Greek Key Pillow - DIY

Blue White Stripe Pillow - PB

Gray & White Greek Key Small Pillow - Calico Corners Fabric DIY

Parsons Desk used as Sewing Station (West Elm)

Metal Ampersand - RH Sale

Pink Polka Dot Magnet Board - Hobby Lobby fabric DIY

Cobalt Blue Desk Lamp - DIY

Fur Benches under Desk - DIY

Faux Wood Chair (West Elm)

Window Panels - Hobby Lobby Fabric DIY

Hanging Vinage Llama Rug (thanks mom!)

Featured Pegboard Pantry project!

Thanks much to Taryn at Design, Dining + Diapers for featuring my Pegboard Pantry project from the Dog Days of Winter are Over Organize-It Link party!

Taryn is super talented and I am loving all of her DIY projects.... but my heart skipped a beat when I saw this one. Check out her DIY Rustic Growth Chart.

This just got added to my 2013 list! So go check out Taryn's blog and prepare to do the same!

Pegboard in the Pantry

We are still in the midst of the holiday madness here! Is it already Friday? With New Years, a visit from friends on the 1st, and a quickie trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl (thanks to the grandparents for letting us have a kid free trip!) it's been a busy week indeed! Thus the New Years resolutions start around here next week...

But one of the first things I checked off my to do list just might prove to be very helpful for those of you trying to get organized. It was honestly one of the favorite DIY projects to date and I was very happy to be able replicate it in our new house. In fact I loved it so much that this was up and functioning day 2 in the house before I even got my closet unpacked. Yeah, that is love! So here is the Pegboard Pantry version 2! Apologies for poor picture quality, the camera charger is still missing so all of these are via my new iPhone!

Unfortunately, I did not chronicle the step by step process this time (with being surrounded by 496 boxes and such) but luckily I captured it all in my original peg pantry post. The only difference was that this time the hubs decided to use wood instead of the peg spacers to mount the pegboard to the wall. Its a little easier than trying to hold the spacers and screw them in while working in a tight space like a pantry.

Just think of all the time and drawer space you will save with this easy and inexpensive project!

Linking up at Serenity Now!

Where has the week gone?

Is it really Saturday? It's been another whirlwind week here and it's obvious that I've been super busy by my lack of postings! Poor Fiona's ear infection turned into a perforated eardrum, the house officially got put on the market Friday, and we had a photographer came in for the marketing materials. Oh and did I mention that hubby was in training all week? And that we had 3 showings on the first day on the market? A showing for us = loading both kids and the dog in the car to vacate for the hour window when the buyers will be here. On the positive side, we are keeping the house spotless!

It occurred to me on Thursday when the calls started coming in for showings that I needed to step it up a notch in regards to keeping track of when the showings are and everything in general from papers that need to be faxed, signed, etc. I have a calendar that I keep track of our family events and appointments that hangs in the play closet but it seems that we will be out and about ALOT as the house is on the market so I need something else.

Leave it to good old Target to come up with an affordable and super cute solution! Check out this super bright little notebook that was only $1.99! Initially I thought that I needed a calendar but decided that a notebook style would be best since I need to keep track of dates but also lots of other info!

And I can't pass up the clearance section! I love these 2 rolls of wrapping paper that were marked down to $2.19! Loving the bright colors and of course the great price!

The big news...

Well, it's official.... and based on the standard response of 'Oh My God I thought you were going to say you are pregnant again!!!'... I better quickly set the record straight.... We are moving!

It has been a whirlwind of job offers, realtors, relocation agents, carpet cleaners, moving companies... I am exhausted just thinking of it all! But very excited for this new opportunity and so proud of my husband for making this happen for our family!

Now comes the real fun, getting our house ready to be on the market (followed by my most favorite thing in the whole wide world... house hunting!) I am slightly concerned thinking about having the house on the market with 2 small kids and a big dog, but I am pretty sure that I am up for the challenge.

Last week (aside from the kids and me having this nasty funk) we moved furniture, changed throw pillows, moved curtains from to room, un-cluttered, and beautified! With lots more to do this week!

So it got me thinking that it would be loads of fun to highlight my top 5 ways to make your house look move in worthy while on the market... and here is Tip #1!

KISS.... Keep it Simple Stupid! Not everyone has the same style or the ability to visually remove pieces from a room to see the potential. You want your house to the focal point while it is on the market.... not your furniture, lamps, accessories, etc! 

Classic, clean, neutral pieces help to make this happen (I immediately think of Pottery Barn when looking for inspiration).

Here is my example:

A few weeks ago I made some changes to the Guest room.... I updated the Upholstered Headboard with a bright green patterned print and moved in our extra bar stools as side tables. It was punchy and fun! But it just didn't feel right when I walked thru the house with my potential home buyer glasses on.

So how to remedy this??? I actually took a trip to Calico Corners on Saturday looking for a charcoal gray fabric to re-upholster the headboard with. I found the perfect fabric.... except it was so perfect that I could not bring myself to cut it to make the headboard. I have earmarked for another project already! Since our to-do list is quickly growing I decided to just take the green off and stick with the original fabric. I also opted to remove the gray striped pillows and to fold the quilt across the bottom of the bed. I borrowed Little Man's #4 pillow and what do you think?

I love it! Still fun and young but it seems much cleaner and simpler by getting rid of those two extra patterns lurking in the room.

We love to play!

There is lots of change going on around here... And no I am not quite ready to divulge more details other than saying we have a very long to do list going right now! I figured what better way to start the week than with a 'play' project.

Since we have a two story house, we have an upstairs play area and a downstairs play closet.  Today's goal for the play area (aka. the loft) was threefold: to get organized, get rid of the clutter, and designate some adult/toddler/baby areas. Along the way I did veer of course and throw some new (to the room) decor in as well!

Here is a bit of a before shot...

This little bench was a DIY and we used large baskets below for storage.

The bookshelves were mainly used for displaying toys... 

easy access for the kids but not so easy on the eyes!

 I started by taking the bench out of the loft. It was pretty big and the pattern was limiting some of the other aspects of the room. That left me with 3 big baskets to find new homes for. These baskets hold Little Mans GeoTrax train set that we were so kindly given by a neighbor. This set is amazing and was in near perfect condition with about 500 pieces! This is the staple toy that remains upstairs mainly because it takes up lots of space and I don't want to see it in my family room everyday. About once a week I break down the whole set. It stays put away for usually a day and then it's building time again. But I love that Little Man gets to be creative and has a 'new' thing to play with so often! Storing his trains in these bigger baskets makes it easy for us to clean up and to just pull a whole basket out when it's playtime! It was a no brainer to clear out the bottom of the bookshelf for these.

 A small portion of the train on Christmas morning...

Stepping up the design today as Mommy organizes!

Nice and neat on the bookshelf!

Now for the miscellaneous toys that had been displayed on the shelves... these fit nicely into medium sized baskets with lids. Again easy to pull out and play but easy to clean up too!

Each of the kids have their own basket to make it even easier!

Three small baskets hold wooden blocks, baby chewy toys, and small stuffed animals perfectly!

Some of the wooden blocks will make another appearance shortly...

Now our huge bookshelves are now doing the bulk of the storage and organization.... as they should! By simply using a variety of different sized baskets I was able to get everything put away and organized. It is still easily accessible but it looks so much nice not having to see it all! The adorable chalkboard tags are my favorite addition to the baskets! These were a clearance find from pottery barn and meant to be used as place settings! You will notice that oddly none of them have writing on the tags... well they did about 5 minutes before this picture was taken! Little Man thinks that erasing chalk is a super fun game to play with Mommy!

The full shot of all the baskets! So much nicer!

The smaller two bookshelves were already pretty uncluttered. All that I did was switch out the stuff on the left for the stuff on the right. Since you see the left side when you walk up the stairs, I liked that it was all closed storage (one box and one basket).

Loving how clean this looks now!

And finally it's time to work on the last goal... setting up designated areas! We have this super comfy navy leather couch that is were the the hubs and I often hang while the kids are playing so this was the obvious adult area. By bringing in a side table, some new pillows, new drapery panels, and a lamp this really makes it feel more grown up but still fun!

Loving these new pops of color! Can't wait to lounge on the couch and enjoy!

For the toddler space, I pulled the chocolate bean bag that was in the play closet and positioned it next to the play cube like a little table. A couple of fun throw pillows and it's the perfect reading spot for Little Man!

Baby area is in the form of the exersaucer and the play gym! Since she loves her big bro so much it worked great to play the exersaucer next to his bean bag so they can chat as she plays!

I am loving how the space turned out! It feels like a play room but with some cool, modern touches that make me want to hang out in here too! Here are a couple of other shots!

Yes, I used some of the wooden blocks in a large glass vase as decoration (and Jenga blocks too!)

 I just love how it all came together!

An easy DIY using Hawaiian alphabet cards (thanks Sis!) mounted in a poster board frame!

The Piece de Resistance!

As I have shown this week, we made lots of changes to our pantry. I organized, took down shelves, and added a spice rack here. And then chalkboard panels on the door here. I love these updates but the real winner for me is today's addition. This is another vision that I have had floating around in  my head for months now but they always take me a bit to build up the courage to complete them. And then I kick myself that I waited so long!

We are very lucky to have a nice sized kitchen but with so many gadgets, utensils, and cooking tools it's often hard to find what you are looking for easily. Check out our utensil stand and cooking drawer. Impossible to easily find anything...

And so with my newly cleared wall in the pantry I knew just what we needed! A pegboard in the pantry!!! It sounds a little far fetched but wait until you see the end result!

2 foot by 4 foot piece of pegboard 

the empty wall in the pantry... 

a nifty little box of pegboard accessories (including mounting spacers) $11 at Home Depot

2 quick coats of chalkboard paint... since I already had it out! Makes labeling super easy though! 

Chalkboard conditioning... 

A quick wipe down (while hubby recounted his love of erasing chalkboards in grade school) 

To mount, you use the spacers and basically screw it into the wall. We used 12 spacers. The package only came with 4 so make sure to buy extras. Also, it is helpful to glue the spacers to the back of the pegboard and then screw them in if you are working in a tight space or using a large pegboard. Otherwise, you are trying to contort your hand behind the board to place the spacers!

Hanging and ready to load it up! 

Are you ready to be jealous??? I must say that I love this new addition. It is by far my FAVORITE aspect of the pantry redo! I now have an empty drawer, some cleared up counter space, and more room in my kitchen cabinets in addition to being able to easily see all of my kitchen tools! LOVE!

We moved this nifty little gadget to the other wall. It holds your plastic grocery bags for easy storage and access. We have one in the pantry downstairs and one upstairs in the laundry room. A definite must have!

PS. I linked this project at Serenity Now and Our Fifth House Organize It Linky Party