Family Launch Pad

I've dreamed about having a place to organize all of the things to help us get out the door on time in the morning. A place to corral homework, shoes, backpacks, instruments, and mittens. While I don't have a big, beautiful mudroom to store all of this stuff, I blogged about turning a small space into a functional "mudroom" here.

 

 

I recently made a trip to Ikea and was able to put some of my mudroom plans into action.  I have a very unusable, nonfunctional hallway in my house that has been sitting empty.

 

 

A few hours of assembly and no we've got this nice little family launch pad.

 



I put an Expedit on the floor and added black bins.  Each child gets an area to store their shoes and other stuff.

That black door heads out into the garage.

I also hung two Expedit units on the wall.  I thought they were fine "as is," but my daughter was lured by the shiny mirror doors and requested that we add them.  I'm so glad that we did, because now everybody can shove their stuff inside and it still looks neat and organized.

I also hung some filing pockets, also from Ikea.  It's called the "Kvissel," in case you're curious.  Now, when the kids are looking for important school papers, I just have to say, "Check the Kvissel."

Next up is creating a family calendar.  A few weeks ago, I stuck some tape on a white board...just so we could have something!

Soooo embarrassing, I know...but it's working!

I would love to have something like Carmel's:

Source: ourfifthhouse.com via Carmel (@ Our Fifth House) on Pinterest

My walls are super-textured, so I'm not sure this would work very well.  I'm thinking I might be able to do something with Washi tape or vinyl.

Does anyone else have an ideas for a cute family calendar?

Mary's Office Overhaul

My friend Mary and I are both nonprofit consultants who work from home.  Mary is lucky enough to have an entire room dedicated to her very own home office.  She's in the midst of an office overhaul and needs a little help in finding furniture and accessories. 

Mary is probably the most meticulous, efficient and organized person I know.  Unfortunately, her "before" office pictures don't reflect this.

She's started this project by emptying her office and getting rid of the old furniture.  She's already painted her office this pretty turquoise color that looks beautiful with her new dark wood floors.  Isn't this a huge improvement already?

Now, our job is to find furniture that will help Mary stay organized.  Ikea has lots of great items for offices and their white furniture would pop against the blue.  The price is also right!

Source: polyvore.com via Aubrey on Pinterest

Doesn't the white and turquoise look pretty?  I'm not sure what accent color Mary wants to go with, but I'm thinking a green, citron or yellow.

Of course, I would recommend an Expedit.  Is there a better way to keep paperwork organized and pretty at the same time.  This one is from Kirsten at 6th Street Design School.

While Parson's desks are attractive, I think Mary needs something with more storage.  Maybe something like this:

Source: houzz.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

I also like the idea of a long shelf/desk space against the wall where she can spread out and work.

Wall space shouldn't be ignored.  It can provide additional storage.

Source: bhg.com via Jenny on Pinterest

I've always liked these organizers from IKEA.  What a great place to stash all of the pens, paperclips, staples, and other little stuff that clutters the desk top or drawers.

Source: houzz.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

That's enough for today, but I'll have a few more posts of ideas for Mary's office.  Next up, is a roundup of fabric for curtains and maybe a throw pillow or two.

The One Room Challenge: Week Three: New Furniture and Art

We are into week three of the One Week Challenge!  It's fun to watch everyone's rooms coming together.  In case you missed the previous weeks, I'm transforming my three-year old daughter's room from nursery to big-girl room.  Here are links to Week One (introduction and paint color) and Week Two (upholstered headboard and striped curtains).

This week brought some brand new furniture and a furniture piece that received a makeover.  I knew an Ikea Expedit bookcase would be perfect for the room.  However, the nearest Ikea is more than four hours away.  Luckily for me, my parents were coming to visit.  Before they left Minnesota, they stopped by their local Ikea and picked up a few things for me.  My parents were so sweet to deliver these things and also to help me put them together!

Here's Mary's new bookcase.

I still need to purchase some baskets and fill the shelves.

Next, I went "shopping" out in my garage for a bedside table.  I found this cute little end table waiting for a makeover.  I've had this table for a while, but wasn't sure what to do with it because it's missing a drawer.  I just put this side against the wall in Mary's room and no one knows about the gaping hole.

This table was in near-perfect condition.  I did a very light sanding, sprayed it with my favorite Kilz primer, gave it another light sanding and a few coats of Rustoleum Painter's Touch spray paint in orange.  This is the best spray paint in my opinion.  It covers very well and seems to be more durable than some of the other brands.  I let the paint dry and then sprayed it with several coats of poly.

Here's how the table looks now.

As I was shopping the garage, I also found this lamp.  My husband made this in a highschool woodworking class at least thirty years ago.  I think he's happy that he got to contribute to Mary's room too!

I had already started spraying it with primer when I remembered to snap a before shot.
Some primer and white spray paint, and it looks like a new lamp!

I had a drum shade I purchased a while ago on clearance at Target and some leftover pompom trim that I hotglued onto the shade.

Here's a picture of Mary's dresser.

This was the very first piece of furniture that I painted, just over one year ago.  I didn't know about blogging back then, so I don't have any "before" pictures to share.  It has a distressed white finish and crystal knobs.  I'm not sure if I should keep it as it is or if I should change it.  What do you think???  I was thinking of painting it a bright white semi-gloss or maybe just adding a thin orange line on the detail on the drawer fronts?  Maybe some new hardware?  Maybe I won't do anything?  What are your thoughts?

In other news, I ordered a print from the Pink Pagoda and it arrived this week.  I love this pink and orange elephant!  I placed it in a Ribba frame from Ikea and spray painted the mat to match the bedside table.

This elephant is also the reason that I'm participating in the One Room Challenge.  When I ordered in on Etsy, I mentioned to the seller that I was redoing my daughter's room.   She told me about the challenge and invited me to participate.  I'm continually amazed by the connections we are able to make through the internet and blogging!

Yesterday I posted some fabrics I was considering for pillows.  Check it out here.

Be sure to check out some of the other bloggers to see how their rooms are coming together too.

Dutch.British.Love
Trapped in North Jersey
Nicole Scott Designs
Kim Macumber Interiors
Rue de Emily
The Pink Pagoda
refresheddesigns
Nana Moon Shop
Taylor Morgan Design
Insideways
My Crafty Home Life
House Four
Living Savvy
(A Lifestyle Thing)

Linked here:

IKEA

We are some of the unfortunate people who live where there is no Ikea.  So, what do we do when we come to Minnesota?  Why, visit Ikea of course!!  Two trips in two days, not bad!

Unfortunately, we can't fit a loft bed or comfy new chair in our suitcase for the plane ride home.  Luckily, a new Ikea is opening in Denver, about 4 hours from where we live, at the end of July.  Big K wants me to go down and camp out to snag the grand opening bargains and deals.  We shall see.  Kids want to know if we can build a campfire in the parking lot?