Closet Workspace

We use our formal living room as a craft and office space. The only downside is that it's open to the rest of the house, so when Zach is studying he's distracted by everything going on around him. To solve this problem, we converted the guest room closet into a workspace so he would have a quiet place to study.

Thanks to Zach for allowing me to make his study space a touch feminine, so it would fit in with the rest of the room.

 Before

I didn't remember to snap a before photo until after we removed the two sliding doors, but you get the idea.

After

First, we removed the doors. Next, I covered the walls with burlap. I sewed a few pieces of burlap together to create one large piece for each wall. Then I simply stretched the burlap tight and secured it around the edges with a staple gun- no paste or glue required.

I used 7/8" natural twill tape to cover the staples, and secured it in place with upholstery tacks spaced 2" apart. I wanted the twill tape to be a little darker, so I dyed it with tea before tacking it up (the same technique I used to dye her Halloween costume).

 Zach made the desk from a hollow core door we found on the curb. He cut it to size, reinforced it,  trimmed out the front with a board and turned the hole from the doorknob into an opening for cords.

 

 

We primed and painted it with two coats of semi-gloss paint before installing it in the closet. To mount it in the closet we screwed 1 x 4's horizonatally into each of the three closet walls and rested the door on top.

The lamp, desk chair, magnet board, file sorter and curtain rod are all from IKEA. We already had the curtain panel (purchased from Pier 1 a few years ago), which matches the other two curtain panels in the room.


I even made Zach some science-themed magnets for his magnet board. The three molecules are serotonin, bilirubin, and Verapamil (an inside joke). There's also a little beaker and flask.

Trash to Treasure

S: There are several items in our home that I'm quite fond of, and they didn't cost a penny. I found them all patiently waiting for the garbage man to take them to their final resting place.

This is the first post in a mini series of the trash-to-treasure finds in our home. I hope you're inspired to do a little curbside rescuing yourself. Also, thanks to my mom who snagged some of these items for me!

Have you ever been driving down the street and seen an antique solid wood desk set out for trash day? My mom's neighbor was throwing away said item, that had been sitting unused in their garage. When I found it, it was painted in a dark glossy brown....not attractive at all. But it had all it's original hardware and some great details. Luckily it was on wheels, so I got my mom and we rolled it down the street to her house. I spent hours with paint stripper and scraper in hand, trying to remove what turned out to be three layers of paint. At some point I stepped back, realizing I would never get all the paint off, and also realizing that hey, I kind of liked how it looked. It definitely has a shabby chic look to it...emphasis on the shabby. But I adore this little desk. Zach not so much, since he bumps his knees when sitting at it.

Can you spot the needle felted monkey?