Thursday, February 25, 2016

A Done-For-Now Office Reveal

Procrastination.  I am the queen of procrastination. If it were an Olympic sport I am sure that I would have already been award several gold medals in the event. I am not sure why I wait until the last minute. (I do find that some of my best work is done under the gun, though.) Why? I am not sure but I do know this….nothing can motivate me to clean my bathroom like knowing that we are going to be having guests coming (usually within 24 hours)!

Anthropolgy planter.
It is not a good or admirable trait. I am constantly pointing that fact out to my children as they scramble to get that last lab done or math assignment completed the night before it is due.  I guess to some extent we all do it.  I, however, seem to have perfected it to a form of art.

Having said all that I can now with a clear conscience say the office is, well, almost finished. How non-committal is that!  It did not turn out the way I had thought it would. What do they say about best laid plans and all?  I had measured out the room and measured the furniture that was to go into the room. I used graph paper to draw out my room size and used graph paper to cut shapes representing the pieces of furniture to be used in the room. There was room, according to my drawings, to incorporate most of what I wanted in there but in real life it did not look right. I did not take into account the positioning of the door and the fact that when I walked into I was looking at the back of a chair. Not appealing. It also left the area between the keyboard and the chairs a little tight- not too tight but enough to feel claustrophobic .  It wasn’t turning out the way I wanted it to so I drug my feet in finishing the project.


Everything got flipped. The chairs are now positioned in front of the windows. The old chest, that was a gift to us when we were first married, sits in front of them and houses countless photo albums and old year books. I love the chest. It has teeth marks from our youngest all around the edges. I don’t know why she liked teething on it. The filing cabinet sits between the two chairs. The hooks on the wall were perfect for a couple of throw blankets- great for curling up under and watching a movie or reading a book … or studying for that science or math test… I found the blankets at Home Goods. Love that store!

View entering the room.
The old music stand took up too much precious floor space. I found one that mounted to the wall allowing the keyboard to now sit closer to the wall.  Mister cut down the extender bar for me and mounted it to the wall.


I did not want a black “nothing” in the middle of the wall so I devised a plan to fix it. I ordered an enlarged print of a picture I took last summer on Cape Cod. It is a plover chick. It is the cutest little thing and it reminds me of summer. I used contact paper to cover it and made sure I left plenty around the edges to adhere it to the music holder.


There was a problem. It would not stick to the holder! So, I wrapped the edges under and thought maybe magnets would work. Nope. The music holder is not magnetic. So, I resorted to glue dots like the ones you use for scrap booking. They worked fabulously.

The girls named him Harold...Harold Puffington.


The wall the keyboard sits on was another compromise The dresser Mister and I had refinished when we were first married has to sit on the same wall.

I decided not to re-refinish it.
 I had only the area directly above the keyboard to work with. I am now glad that I had procrastinated in ordering the engineering print of a piece of piano music as there is no room for it. Mister had brought home two cd holders a while back.


We cut one up and used it in daughter #3’s bedroom. (here) The other I had Mister mount above the keyboard. I had two pieces of Scripture that I wrote out for Mister. He is the music minister for our church. He loves doing it and I love encouraging him to remember that his work is for the Lord. 


The stand in position for playing music.


I have to tell you that right after I ordered the print I was on Walgreens website and realized I could have made my picture a peel & stick kind of thing for about $10-15. I was kicking myself for not doing that but in hindsight maybe it would not have stuck the music holder any way but I am going to keep that info tucked away for later.


The room is multifunctional for our family. We can watch movies, study, read, and practice piano in that room. In addition it houses my closet. It would be nice to have a closet in my bedroom but in old houses like ours they were not built to hold the wardrobes we have today. The hooks on the wall are where people hung their clothes in the 1800’s when the house was built. Then, you had a set of work clothes, church clothes and a coat-3 hooks and done. No need for closets and shelves, cubbies and shoe racks. I imagine getting dressed didn’t take much thought in the morning. More time to get to what needed to be done and less time procrastinating.




 This room is done....for now. I am supposed to paint the book cubby-thing next to Mister's keyboard and I have a few tweaks here and that hideous file cabinet needs a paint job. That will have to wait for warmer weather and my new spray gun!  I still have to commit to some sort of window treatment. Each window has a room darkening shade so I only want a valance of some sort. I do not want a fabric valance. What I would like is some texture and am toying with the idea of weathered wood. I wonder how long I will procrastinate before getting that done? I will be sure to keep you posted.


23 comments:

  1. Hi Jolena! Glad to know that you keep me company in my procrastinating habit! Ha! You are inspiring me to update/organize/redo my own office/crafting space...it's always the last room to be decorated isn't it? Love the wall mounted music stand - clever idea! And of course, the little chick is so cute! Thanks for the inspiration! Catherine (newest follower of your blogging adventures!) :)

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    1. Hi, Catherine! I am thrilled to know that you are inspired by something you have found here on my blog. You are right about the crafting space always being the last place to decorate. Right now my crafting space is literally in the middle of the house and it is a mess. I need to figure out something to do with it so that it is not SO unsightly. Thanks for being the newest follower....it makes me so happy when it's someone other than family!

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  2. Wow, I think you did a really nice job with your small space that serves so many needs. Love the music stand idea, and the dresser you refinished is gorgeous!
    --G
    gingerwroot.com

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    1. Thank you for spending time with me and for the kind words. I have gotten so many nice compliments about the dresser Mister and I do 20 years ago! Can you imagine I thought about redoing it? I think I will leave it the way it is.

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  3. Well I love Mr. Harold, he makes a really nice backdrop. We have life group from our church meet here twice a month so that gives me plenty of incentive to keep things neat and picked up. Your space looks very inviting.
    Ann

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  4. Thanks for sharing your space! Thanks for linking up to Merry Monday! Sharing on MM Pinterest Board! Have a great week!
    Kim

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  5. Oh wow. This looks so great! Love it!

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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  6. I love how you restyled this space! It looks cozy and inviting! That antique chest of drawers has my heart going pitter patter!!! I hope you have a great weekend!
    Smiles!
    Terry

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    1. Hi. Terry. Thanks for spending some visiting with me today. I am grateful for the kinds words!

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  7. What a wonderful place to work. Thank you for sharing it on SYC! Jo

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    1. Hi, Jo! Thanks for stopping over. It is a nice place to work in now.

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  8. That is such a cozy and inviting room! The chest of drawers is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing at Your Inspired Design.

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    1. Hello, Holly. I am glad for your visit today and glad you like the chest of drawers. Thanks for stopping by.

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  9. I love the way it came out! Very warm and inviting! Thank you for sharing this week on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth! :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I am so glad that it is coming across aw warm and inviting. Exactly how I wanted it it to feel! Thanks for hosting the party!

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  10. How nice to have the room finished. I love all the details.

    Thanks for sharing at SYC.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and for the awesome party!

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  11. It's nice to have a project behind you. Great job! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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