Cayley is headed for high school this fall, which meant she needed a more fashionable, fun and functional bedroom workspace/study area. When her parents decided to tackle this makeover project, they headed for IKEA. A little hacking later, this is what the space looks like
Against all my expectations, my daughter Ayla is a princess-loving, pink-obssessed, necklace-wearing girly girl. She's two, and yet she often demands wardrobe changes several times per day. Honestly, I don't know how this happened; I always kind of thought I end up with a tomboy, but no, her favorite games are 'jewly' (jewelry) and and dressing up her 'babies.'
It's cool, though. I can adapt. And here's proof: this fall I was driving by an...
This month, Krylon is sponsoring a series of thrifty, creative DIY projects:
Over the last month, we've been giving some love to our favorite room in the house ... our porch. Earlier this month we spruced up our porch coffee tables and a rocking chair. Then we kept the momentum going and re-did some candle-holders. This week's project was both functional and fun, and we were thrilled with the results.
Whose parents, grandparents or auntie didn't have one of these two-tiered end tables back in the 60's or 70's? Although the shape is super-dated, there's something about them that appeals to me. The 'nook' for books? The top shelf
How many circa 1980's side tables have you seen littering your local secondhand stores and garage sales? Plenty, I'm guessing. LHG had one such table on hand
Welcome to our blog series, My Total Office Makeover, in which Curbly's editor-in-chief, Chris Gardner, realizes that as a full-time design and craft blogger working from home, he'd better transform his second bedroom into a space where work can actually get done, and look pretty cool while it happens.
Part VII: The (Big?) Reveal For a year and a half, I had a spare bedroom that was more-or-less the kind of of place where you shut the door when you had company over. Heck, I didn't even like spending time in there, opting to do most of my work on the sofa instead.
So, I toughened up, made a few trips to the hardware and craft store, came up with a few original IKEA hacks, vowed to keep my space organized, and created a space where I spend more time than in any other room. Sometimes I even entertain in here!
Welcome to our newest blog series, My Total Office Makeover, in which Curbly's editor-in-chief, Chris Gardner, realizes that as a full-time design and craft blogger working from home, he'd better transform his second bedroom into an inspiring space where work can actually get done.
Part VI: Inspiration, Inspiration, Inspiration As a design writer and maker, I spend my days swimming in a sea of image heaviness: photos of incredible rooms, beautiful handmade objects, clever logos and typography, and just awesome looking goodies. For my new office space, I wanted an opportunity to have an ever evolving and changing collection of images, allowing me to curate, add, and reorganize as necessary. So, immediately I thought "corkboard!" and upon checking out the prices at the office supply store, immediately I thought "DIY!" (Seriously, $45 bucks for a bulletin board?!)
So, I did a little research, and came up with a solution that allowed me to create attractive and HUGE pushpin-able surfaces for under $5.00 each, allowing me to cover all of my walls for less than $20.00. The magic words?!
Homasote.
This product is made of compressed newspaper bound with cellulose...so it's basically a giant piece of paper mache. It's mostly used for sound reduction in building projects, and so comes in 4 x 8' sheets like plywood or MDF. You won't likely find it at Lowe's or Home Depot, but any independent lumberyard should carry it. If you can't find any locally, call a hobby shop. It's popular with that crowd as they use it for model building, gaming, etc. It accepts push pins super well, and I got a whole sheet for $13.89.
Other materials used:
I also added a hand-printed design to mine, which I created using acetate sheets, acrylic ink, and sponge brushes.
1. Measure your homasote sheet to it's finished dimension and mark the size with a heavy marker.
2. Using the straight edge as your guide, make several shallow passes with the utility knife, until you've cut through.
3. Cut your fabric to size, adding 2-3 inches to your inspiration board size on all sides. Wrap the fabric around the homasote and begin stapling it down, starting in the center, then moving towards the corners, mitering the fabric. (See this how-to for more direction.)
4. For fun, I added a little handprinted design. On this one, I just drew some mountain shapes on a piece of acetate (an overhead transparency), and cut them out with a craft knife. Then, I just dabbed the ink on with a spouncing brush. I did a row of circles on another board, and some abstract orbs on a third.
5. To hang, mark a dot in each corner. Cut a little X with a craft knife, to prevent the fabric from twisting in the drill bit. Then, drill a pilot hole through the fabric, homasote, and into the wall. Take the board down and insert and anchor, then place a finish washer on the screw, and drive into the anchor. Then, repeat!
The fabric cost $5.87, and with the sheet of homasote at 13.89, I was able to create four of these guys, some quite large, for until $20.00
Not bad for a few hours work.
*Note: As you work with homasote, you may find yourself unable to stop inserting it into this unbelievably awesome tune from Paul Simon, subbing it from "kodachrome" in the chorus, as in, "Mama, don't take my homasote away."
I've added this here for convenience:
Welcome to our newest blog series, My Total Office Makeover, in which Curbly's editor-in-chief, Chris Gardner, realizes that as a full-time design and craft blogger working from home, he'd better transform his second bedroom into an inspiring space where work can actually get done.
Part III: The Custom Desk
(Read Part II here) Having figured out a functional floorplan, I busted out the hex-key and got things assembled. I chose a basic rectangular desk top with basic legs for my media workstation, and weeded my collection of gear down the essentials. It was still very apparent, however, that I needed more space: