Can't stand it, must do something! Sugarplum to the rescue!

Since our house remodeling has slowed down to a snail's pace and I need to organize two areas desperately, I'm thinking I'm going to just do it and if they get completely changed later than this will count as a practice run. The two areas I need to address are an entryway/drop-zone/family organization center and a bedside table/knitting storage/bookshelf area. Because fixing these two issues would go a long way to a more organized house. But trust me still long way to go before then. So if there is anyone else out there that was remodeling then had to put on hold for awhile so lives without interior walls or stair railings this is for you!

Current State of Kitchen/Dining/Living Room and Entryway:

Current State of my bedside area (warning the following pictures could be disturbing):

Clearly I need help and a system and a housekeeper but who's going to hire a housekeeper when they don't even have walls?

So here's some preliminary sketches....

For the Entryway:

For my bedroom disaster:

Now I'm not going to get underbed storage at this time but I can at least work on the other area. Probably should start with how to find or make a bookshelf to put on wall next to bed. And then make or find bench for entryway. I already have Mirror with Hooks under it for other wall. Ok and I'll make some collages of how it'd look if it could be done nice and pretty including the walls and new door etc. That'll keep me busy until I have some moolah for this project. But whole idea is project needs to cost $200 or less. Preferably much less. 

Oh and this is the blog spot I saw that made me think surely I can do something in the meantime to organize a couple small areas of the house-->


Hi Sugarplum!: Updated Family Command Center with Martha Stewart's New Wall Manager

PS the giveaway is already over and I didn't participate so don't mistake me from gaining from this link! lol

12DaysOfHGTV and Further Work on "My" Craft Room Across the Street!

As I've told a few people, I just can't take the chaos of my house sometimes plus I thought I should spend more time with my mom. So for not really unselfish reasons I asked my mom for a room of her house. She freaked when I moved out most of the furnishings but she's coming around. So I decided to start small and cover the throw pillows on the couch. I also covered a bulletin board with burlap. Although it's just temporarily tacked on at moment I think I'm going to dress it up a bit...

But here's my progress so far. And I saw that HGTV was encouraging people to go to Joann's and buy some fabric to do some quick decorating around the holidays and it was called 12DaysOfHGTV or 12DaysofHome? Let me check again....

Actually it's both #12DaysofHGTVHOME oki doki. So keeping that in mind I bought these 4 peices of fabric at Joann's last week up in Chicago.

Aren't these beautiful? But they were kind of expensive. So I found these other fabrics that were more in line with the colors I wanted that were reduced from $9.99 to $5.99 a yard and now I can't honestly say if they're HGTV or not? So ADHD of me I got distracted by them and lost sight of the goal. But I'm happy with so there! So I made this pin for Pinterest and for their contest and for Ame who asked me to collaborate on a Sewing Projects board with her. Ame is just starting to sew.

So this is how I spent an hour or so to stay awake between 10:30 and New Years. Happy New Years everybody!

Maybe tomorrow I'll paint room and finish the bulletin board.

New Collage of Craft Room

So last night I looked through Houzz.com for pictures to inspire the new space. And I made this "mood board" or idea board.

Then today after seeing my hospital patients, I moved a desk, couple bulletin boards, deep freeze and 10 foot length of shelving out of the office. Came home and Pat and Joe were taking a break from working on his room to allow stuff to dry* (more on that later). So I got them to move the huge broken console TV out to the curb. Moved the couch over to the other wall and then things went downhill. Apparently when I asked my mom for a room she didn't exactly know what that meant. She was fine when I moved out stuff we discussed was garbage. But then when I wanted to move her file cabinets to another part of the house she had a fit. So they went in Rylie's room. Proving once again that s#$@ really does roll down hill. Meanwhile I went through every closet, every box in the garage and threw out tons of Dad's figuring. He liked to sit and "figure" for hours on end. Now that I have seen what he was figuring all those years. I'm a little nervous. He apparently went over and over every dollar he ever earned, ever paid and ever leant. And then he did it again. And again. I mean to the nth degree. WOW!!!! I always said he wasn't any fancy crazy, just plain crazy.

I also found his dog tags which are pretty cool so I'm wearing them. I found his little black book and yes I threw it away. Found more genealogy stuff that is probably in the collection I already have but I set it aside to be sure. Found boxes and boxes of mouse eaten papers and even a box of blank paper. More boxes of nuts and bolts and 2 slide rules. I EVEN FOUND THE PEDAL TO THE SERGER I APPARENTLY NO LONGER HAVE. BUT NO not the cord and pedal to the sewing machine I do have. How does that happen? I am thinking that those stupid people I lived with gave away my serger and the wrong pedal. That figures. Here I looked in the storage unit, the attic, every closet in both houses, both garages...even the office and now I vaguely remember those idiots giving it away. Oh well rather be without a pedal then have them back around. So I hope I get one on ebay. Or I can buy one for $80 or more.

Back to the collage and our misunderstanding. So I had to explain that I can't set up a craft room with filing cabinets, coffee table and end tables in the room. All I was keeping was the couch for now and it happens to be my couch anyway. I moved a whole bunch of furniture into their house when I moved in and now that I moved out everytime I try and claim a peice of furniture she doesn't want to part with it. She has my entryway console table, a double bed of cherry wood, double mattress, sofa bed and hope chest. So she eventually decided I guess to let me proceed or at least stopped complaining. So here's my plan. It's pretty rough but you get the idea.

Needs work but you get the idea.

This HOUZZ Picture Made Me Feel

So much better about the state of our kitchen...

Other by Other Metro Media & Bloggers Roots and Rafters

Craft Room via Floorplanner.com

I'm going to have to go back tomorrow and re-measure. As I was measuring my mom kept talking so I think I got some of it wrong. But this is what I have so far. There was no sewing machine or serger in the catalog of items you could add so I used a cash register to represent them. I used a coat tree to represent a dress form. And I used a pegboard with tools on it to represent the same thing just different tools.

I GIVE UP! I'm moving back across the street!

Actually that's not the case but I did say that to my husband just to get a reaction. Hee hee. I know dangerous but really he knew I was joking. It occurred to me that I really missed sewing, knitting and other crafts but I really didn't have a place to do them. There is definitely no room in our house and unlikely ever will be. My mom on the other hand lives across the street.  We lost my dad a month ago 8 days before his 98th birthday and several times when I was over recently I could tell she was happy for the company. She he's alone in this 3 bedroom ranch with a den as well. Rylie has a room of her own. So I asked last night if I could have a room. She had already converted my room to a guest room and her morning devotional room. So she said you can't have your room back but you can have the den. I was pretty sure that was the room I'd get since it was my dad's hangout and she hadn't had a chance to take it over yet. I figured this would be a great way to bring something new to the space and have a reason to hang out over there so she doesn't get too lonely.

So first I have to remove a bunch of stuff that doesn't work anymore which includes a huge console TV and two "readers" for those with visual impairment. They are like personal overhead projectors and we never got them to work. They belonged to my Uncle Robert who had similar eye problems to my dad but by the time we got him my dad's vision was so far gone they wouldn't have helped and they needed work. So I figured I could take those to Rev. Richard Hanson to fix at the Church Mouse and the TV I guess will go to the curb. I need a new light fixture because there is no overhead lighting. And I think I have an extra light fixture I bought for going over the sink before I realized Pat intended to put in cans above it. I also spied another big 8 foot table at the office I might bring over to put the sewing machine and serger on. Or there was a small desk there as well. Now if I could just find my sewing machine pedal. I hope it's in one of our storage lockers because I can't find one cheaper than $70. Ame Nguyen also brought me her mom's (who passed a few years ago) old Kenmore sewing machine. But it's needing a bobbin case. Karen Korem gave me her recently her mom's serger. Her mom also passed in the last 6 weeks. So this space is really about bringing together stuff that came from those that passed before us and creating something special.

So it's not just a craft room, it's a coming together of a space and machines that belonged to people we loved and loved us and have left. I hope I can do it justice. Oh and I have no money for this project so I'm scrounging for as much stuff as I can. I just thought it's a B&B room, bequeathed and bestowed.

Wouldn't this be perfect?

Traditional Home Office by Phoenix General Contractors Meritage Homes

Since I can't afford however such lovely cabinets at this point this looks closer to reality.

Eclectic Kids

Looks like I could put a long shelf (tons of these at office) over a couple shelving units. Yes that ought to work for now!

And if I keep the couch over there after all I could put a big bulletin board (have one of those in office also) over it.

Eclectic Home Office by Philadelphia Interior Designers & Decorators Caitlin Wilson

So now to go measure the room, take before pictures and haul stuff out!
The Before...

I took 2 VCRs, 2 reading assistant magnifier thingy's, and all of Rylie's stuffed animals and tent out of the room. I'm going to get Pat or Joe help me move the BIG TV console out to curb tomorrow and move the couch possibly to the other wall. I'm hoping I can get my mom to move the file cabinets to another room or garage. I'd like to paint the room lilac I think. I'd really like to take that carpet up and put down a bamboo floor. Maybe if we have flooring left from basement? And I saw the perfect curtains today at TJ Maxx along with some pillows for the couch if it stays to tie it all together. I also saw some great furniture but I will likely stick with stuff I can peice together out of storage unit and storage at office. So now to play with the room layout on floorplanner.com!

I found someone MUCH MUCH CRAZIER than me and I love her!!!!

You have to check out this woman's blog and crazy destiny to own all of these gilded Victorian mirrors and put them around her Victorian house. And what is better than that? Her husband sounds like he is my husband's twin with more money. If we had more money my husband would be doing like her husband. Working 24/7 on the house. But he has to split his time between many remodeling projects... remodeling my practice has always been first, then the house and then the yard. If it were up to me it would have gone in the opposite order BUT then we would have run out of money immediately. So that's why we still have studs and exposed installation for our upstairs walls in half the house.

http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/ornate-victorian-antique-mirrors/

I found her through another site called Hooked on Houses. Where I was reading about much of the reality of HGTV. I read about how much of it isn't as it appears while watching Love it or List it too on TV. Despite the tips to make me see through the show I still enjoyed it and soon forgot them. So I can still enjoy the show. I mean if you're really watching for the dialog and suspense of what they'll decide to do then I wouldn't read her blog. But like her I watch for the houses. I want to see as many houses as possible and see what the designers do with their renovations and the "story" is secondary. So who cares!

So anyway just one of those mirrors would probably crush half my house. But I enjoy her spirit and the fact that her husband and her have reached an agreement of sorts. I like to think we're getting comfortable with each other in that same way and will come to a similar understanding.

The Kingdom Mirror