LoveLifestyle

Mama's Den is Done... Well Mostly

Its been so long since I've posted. I wish I could say I was on vacation, but I was soooo not on vacation. I was driving the hubby crazy rearranging furniture in my office. I think I moved the table in the center of my office about 15 times before I was happy with the location. Then I had a huge blank wall I had to do something with since I see it when I'm blogging... not very inspirational. So I had to figure out what to do without spending any moo-lah.

I've shown you a couple of the walls in my office here and here, but only one wall is "basically" the same. What can I say, I'm a compulsive re-arranger. This is what I started with, a hot mess.

And this is what I ended up with. This is the room at night when it sees the most action. Very soothing tones after a long day, not as dark as it appears in the photo though. As you can tell I am still looking for a big comfy chair that swivels so I can use both the table and roll-top desk.

Now here are some features during the day. The table in the center is actually the very modern glass computer desk seen in the before photo that I covered. I can still connect my laptop and type ergonomically correct. Can't get carpel tunnel syndrome while blogging!

My laptop sits on top of my printer paper storage. The hubby offered to buy me a riser for the laptop, but it looked too industrial. You can also see the former blank with my free solution.

I love this lamp, it looks like mercury glass.

When I was putting my office back together, most important was to be surround with things I love since I spend a lot of time in here. My solution for the blank wall was inspirational words (each in a different font), words that represent the way I live my life. Faith is what I build my life around, which why it is in the center. The very last row has been crucial the past few years... sometimes there is nothing you can do to change a situation and you just have to relax, laugh, and live one day at a time.

This re-do so far cost a total of $5 for the basket on the table. How you like them apples!

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

I'm linking this to:

Delightfully Inspiring Thursday - Delightful Order

Transformation Thursday - The Shabby Chic Cottage

Versatile Blogger Award

How sweet is Kelly at Juice Box Dreams! She presented me with my first award today for my Nail Head Message Board. You should hop over to her blog and pay her a visit.

Since I received this award and I have to list 7 random things about myself and pass this award on to 15 blogs I recently discovered.

Okay, here we go.... 7 things about me:

1) I've been told I sleep with my eyes half open. I know... kinda creepy.

2) One of my favorite sitcoms is King of Queens.

3) I once lived on a hog farm... NASTY!

4) My favorite color is purple but I don't use it in any of my decor.... strange.

5) My favorite scent is fresh laundry... but I detest doing laundry. I'd rather scrub a toilet. Go figure.

6) I can not wear socks to bed , no matter how cold my feet are.

7) I have a magazine fetish. I love them all... decor, organizing, health... whatever it is I'll take it.

15 blogs I'm passing this on to:

1) Cinnaberry Suite

2) Endless Crafting

3) Harbour Breeze

4) Ispirato Design

5) Maillardville Manor

6) Cotton Pickin Cute

7) Frog Goes to Market

8) Shabby French Cottage

9) It's Just Me

10) Beach House In The City

11) Beachcomber

12) From Gardners to Bergers

13) Red Hen Home

14) Take The Side Street

15) Homestead Revival

Little Birdie Box Featured

I just found out my little birdie box has been featured at Dittle Dattle.

If you have never visited Carrie at Dittle Dattle, you simply must. She runs a sweet blog with lots of tutorial and a linky party every Monday.

Till next time.

Nail Head Trim Message Board

Last week I was inspired by a post from Janell at Isabella & Max Rooms. She posted a DIY message board with nail head trim. It was absolutely divine and I just had to have one. Thankfully I had all the materials on hand that I needed to put my spin on it.

- Drop cloth remnant
- Nail head trim
- Old wood board
- Batting
- Hammer
- Staple gun

Since Janell posted a tutorial I didn't feel the need to duplicate the effort. I basically followed the same steps using a wood board and adding 4 layers of batting instead of cork board.

I also didn't "frame" the board in nail head trim, I put it on the top and bottom of the board and added our last name initial. I must admit it was a bear trying to hammer the nail heads into the wood in a straight line. Ugh... its going to take some practice, but I will not be deterred.

I added it to my very eclectic gallery wall and I've started putting the board to good use.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

I'm linking this to:
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday - Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesday - Savvy Southern Style
White Wednesday - Faded Charm
Transformation Thursday - The Shabby Chic Cottage
Delightfully Inspiring - Delightful Order
Inspiration Friday - At the Picket Fence

Birdie Storage Box

My poor little 1920's kitchen has 3.5 linear feet of counter space. To top it off its split with 2 feet on the left side of the sink and 1.5 feet on the right. Then add to that, only left side has an outlet. (The kitchen as the last tenant was moving out.)

Since moving in I have added an island to add workspace but with a Keurig coffeemaker, microwave, and toaster oven being used everyday things can get a little cluttered. The right side of the counter has become sort of a catch all space. I desperately needed to rectify the clutter.

In walks this simple box found while scavenging through a consignment shop last week.

As you can see I started to prime it before I stopped to take pictures.

I primed, painted and distressed her, but she was still kinda plain looking. So I painted a silhouette of little birdie and slightly distressed the birdie. To tone down the paint color I added a coat of Howard Restor-A-Finish in Mahogany. You can see the subtle difference between the lid and body of the box.

It very easy to work with Restor-A-Finish. I covered the entire box using a super fine steel wool.

I wiped it off immediately using a clean cloth.

Here she is in her new home, the right side of the kitchen.

I'm using the top as a bread box. Oh, I added some vintage fabric with Mod Podge, making it a cleanable surface.

The drawer is currently holding dish towels, it got a fabric lining also.

As I think about it, this could be storage for just about anything. It could hold toiletries, make-up, paint or sewing supplies... just to name a few. The possibilities are endless.