Falling for it Again

It's officially Fall.  That doesn't just mean a new season and falling leaves and pumpkins, though.  It also means it's time for this season's Pinterest Challenge!

This time Sherry @ Young House Love and Katie @ Bower Power Blog partnered up with Sarah @ The Ugly Duckling House and Carmel @ Our Fifth House to get us to stop "pinning" and start doing.  I can't wait to see what all of them do!  You guys too!  I love checking out everyones projects when the challenges come along.

I'm struggling with what I should do for my own Pinterest Challenge Fall project, though.  My design brain is a little all over the place right now- working on and planning too many projects at once, so I haven't yet decided which project to tackle.  My options include, but aren't limited to:

• Art for my dining room (you might recognize this one- I showed it as a potential for the spring pinterest challenge as well- obviously I didn't end up getting to it then)

• A wall-mounted wine rack- also for the dining room

• Custom lamp shades for the bedroom

What are your votes?  At this moment, I'm leaning toward the lamp shades.... and the wine rack.... (see my problem??)

Mod Tot

There's a lot of things in the works right now.  Naturally nothing ever goes quite as fast as I want it to, so that's where quick little projects can provide instant gratification. Instead of letting the kiddy chair collect dust in the basement, it got a quick makeover and is ready for a kiddo to come hang out.

Last time you saw it, it wasn't in tooo bad of shape.  Especially for around $3.

The vinyl needed replacing, and the chrome needed polishing- so I did just that.

After disassembling, I tackled it with metal/chrome polish  (Brasso to be exact).  Before I touched it, the chrome looked rather sad up close, but thankfully it was mostly just dirt and tarnish.

I was actually surprised how well the metal polished up.  There were only very 2 small spots of rust that I couldn't help.

I found a clearance vinyl table cloth at HomeGoods that had a mid-century vibe and simple lines to match the chair.  It was a cute pattern, but not to childish...plus, I'm a sucker for clearance.  $4.50 for the table cloth, and I have fabric to spare.

I tried to line up the fishies as best as possible, pulled it tight, and went to town with my staple gun.

Ta Da!!

I still have to find kiddy-size rubber feet to really complete the project, but it's nice to actually check this little guy off of my to do list instead of adding him to my project pile.  Instant diy gratification!

What instant gratification projects have you tackled lately?

The Messy Truth

I've been lying to myself for almost 2 years.  I've been telling myself that Hubby and I could effectively share one desk in our tiny office.  We shared a desk in our last apartment and it worked out rather well.  But Hubby's a musician and composer, and his music equipment has multiplied, and guess where it all goes (along with all the stuff displaced from Mom's room and all of our random messes.... the smallest room collects the most crap... oops).

Once upon a time, we each had half a desk, and my laptop had a home.  Now the keyboard/synthesizer has evicted me and my computer.  As much as I want to, I can't complain too much, Hubby uses it very often (and he's VERY good at what he does- you should buy his dubstep songs when he gets them online in the near future).  But that still leaves me with no desk space and no usable home office, just a music studio.  I forfeit!  The office is yours, Hubby.  That mean's the only room left, the guest room, AKA Mom's room, will become my domain.  No, we're not kicking her out- my parents are closing on their new house in 2 weeks (yay for them!  and yay that Mom and I have survived living in the same small house!).

...So, I've started thinking about my new office plans.  It'll need to be a multipurpose space with a sitting area, our 2nd tv, elliptical and now a super duperly organized and inspiring work space.  All within about 100 sf.

One potential for space saving is a secretary desk.  I maaaay have already bought one from craigslist for $20.

She's very pretty, but she's been around the block a few times- she's in rough shape.  Chipping veneer and cracked wood at the hinges.

Even though I'm not 100% sold on using such a small desk for myself, for $20 I had to give it a try.  If I decide not to use her for myself, I can totally fix her up a bit and find her a good home.

I guess it's time for me to dive into pinterest and collect some serious office inspiration!