How's your week going? I've had so much fun reading the comments you left about your past excursions to IKEA. One tip I wanted to share about the best times to visit IKEA to avoid crowds: try to go on a week day, if possible. If you do need to go on a Saturday, get there early, as soon as they open, or late in the day like around 5:00 PM. I noticed it was a lot less crowded come evening/dinner time.
Even though it was busy during the time we were there on Saturday, the crowds were not horrible. We never had to stand in a line to get in...just walked right in. It was busy, but you could maneuver easily, shopping cart and all. By 5:00-6:00 PM, the crowds had really thinned out a lot. Even on Saturday, it was amazing how quickly we were able to check out the day(s) I was there. It runs very efficiently...at least the one here in Atlanta seems to.
Tablescape Thursday:
Tonight is Tablescape Thursday, so I'll be back later this evening with a tablescape. I hope to get the butterfly napkin fold tutorial up for either Friday or Saturday.
In the meantime, I thought I'd share what I've been up to.
Painting Closets:
I finally caulked and painted the new crown molding and baseboard trim in the office/sewing/craft room.
The closet off of the office hasn't been painted in 21 years...lots of scuff marks on the walls from an active, sweet little boy dragging toys and "stuff" in and out for many years. Miss that little boy and wish he was still here scuffing up those walls. Okay, I know he had to grow up and move out...but that still doesn't keep this Mother's heart from missing him.
Another view into Chip's old closet, now the office closet...
After:
I caulked all the trim, primed the brown shelf with a latex primer and painted it white. Walls of the closet were painted the same soft yellow as the office, Duron, Sugar Cookie, which is available at Home Depot where it's called Sugar Cook in their computer. The broom is in there because my camera would not take a pic without something to focus on...and a blank wall wouldn't work, apparently. I may eventually add some additional shelving...not sure, yet.
While I was in my painting craze, I decided to paint the hall closet, too. I pulled all the linens out and just piled them on the floor. I sorted through them all and created a donate pile and a use-for-rags pile.
Here's how it looked prior to painting. I had already removed the top shelf before I remembered to take a photo.
More scuffed up walls and very poorly painted shelving. The paint job was bad, but the worse part about this closet, the part that drove me nuts, was the depth of the shelves. The shelves have always been way to shallow. If I pushed the shelves back, linens fell off the front of the shelves.
If I pulled the shelves forward,
...the linens slid off the back of the shelves. Why the builder allowed them to be built this way, I'll never know. We are the third home owners of this house and we foolishly put up with this for 21 years. I think it's finally time to fix this issue once and for all.
I stopped by Home Depot with measurements in hand. They had these ready-made shelves and they were almost as deep as I wanted. They were about 3/4 inch less deep than I would have preferred, but they were a huge improvement over what I had already.
The nice Home Depot guy cut the four shelves to the length I requested, saving me the hassle of doing it at home. You can see how much deeper the new shelves are in the pic below. The old shelves were also warped...so glad to see them go.
I painted the shelves the same yellow as the walls of the closet. I would have preferred painting the shelves white, like the trim around the door, but I was getting low on white paint and didn't want to run out since I still had all the trim to paint in the office. So that's why the shelves were painted "Sugar Cookie" too.
Here's the finished closet with the new deeper shelves all freshly painted.
Another view...
I had a LOT of help this day, as you can see. Mr. Max wasn't too happy about all the chaos, but he somehow managed to suffer through and make the best of it. ;)
See you this evening for Tablescape Thursday!
The closets really came out wonderful. Extending the shelves was brilliant. Isn't it amazing the builders don't think of those things themselves. lol.
ReplyDeletePaula
I never thought I would be jealous of someone's linen closet but I am of yours! My linen closet is roughly the size of a broom closet and is only 12" deep. All of my extra linens are stuffed into "under the bed" boxes and jammed under the bed in the guest room. Your closet is nice and wide and deep. Jealous I tell you!!
ReplyDeleteLooks so pretty & fresh!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your Maxie Cat!!
♥'s
Sherry
Nicely done! What an improvement in the linen closet ~ I think I'd want to leave it empty for a bit just to enjoy. :)
ReplyDeleteHeidi @ Show Some Decor
The front door on our daughter's house is just like the door in your banner. She just painted it red (we blogged about it today), and the style of her house looks a lot like yours, too. They painted it gray, rather than yellow, though.
ReplyDeleteI love your office and love the new closet. My favorite pic of all has to be Mr Max chilling on that gorgeous chair from Pier One that you have.
ReplyDeleteLove the results,you have worked so hard and it sure looks great,glad you fixed those shelves,ain't that funny how the builders used boards to narrow,I wonder why?Maybe these were on hand,and the homeowners didn't want to spend anymore money for wider boards.It's a mystery!..problem solved.
ReplyDelete~Jo
Favorite part of your office for me is the little cat bed in front of the window:)
ReplyDeleteIt just dawned on me that there must be hundreds of women across America today playing with their treasure trove of dishes and accessories to set a beatiful table for Tablescape Thursay.
Susan,
ReplyDeleteThe closets look wonderful! Funny thing is I just did my upstairs linen closet and it was much like yours. I had to make my shelves deeper for the same reason you did. I wondered why they made the edges come out, but not the shelves. Strange. My shelves were stained dark walnut so I kiltzed and painted them white. So fresh and clean. I love seeing your progress and although I don't always comment, I do stop in to each and every post. I really enjoy your blog and seeing your beautiful home.
Smiles,
Donna
You did a stellar job! I bet you will beam every time you open the closets to put something in them! Closets are one of those things that seem to get passed over when we paint the other areas. I guess the builder didn't want to buy anything bigger than a 12" wide piece of wood for the shelving! That's so nice that they cut the wood for you at Home Depot! Max looks like nothing bothers him!
ReplyDeleteYou have really been working hard, girl! But doesn't it feel good to get all nice and organized.
ReplyDeleteYou've been really busy, Susan! Lots of work but all worth it cause everything is looking so pretty...Christine
ReplyDeleteI'm a week or two away from my upstairs hall. I have the kids end done. hope to get some picutres up soon on my blog. I'm going in to organization mode with the kids going back to college! Now you have me excited to start! Just what I needed this am! you go Susan !!!
ReplyDeleteSuzan...you are so funny...made me smile this morning.
ReplyDeleteLOL @ Paula! Builders never think about functionality. Can't tell you how many disagreements I had with mine over little things like electrical outlet location. He's looking at "codes" and "costs" and "but the plan says it's supposed....." and I'm thinking "ok, where will I put the Christmas tree" and "where is the litter box going" and "where is the safe place during tornadoes?" Look, just put that electrical outlet over the mantle like I asked and make a closet under the stairs instead of dead space like I asked and oh, can you move the door over a bit so I can get my Christmas tree in the corner and move that wall over 6 inches so I can get my china cabinet in and that light fixture needs to be moved 3" so it will be centered over the dining table and..... don't argue with me. LOL! I guess it's true what they say - if you can build a house together and not kill each other..........we started dating right after the house was finished and have been for the past 6.5 years. We got the arguments out of the way early and have only had one in the past 6.5 years. LOL!
ReplyDeleteJo...it is odd, isn't it! I should have taken time to "fix" those years ago. It's funny how we are so busy with "life" and family, we just deal with stuff, for 21 years, no less. lol
ReplyDeleteTheresa, you were so smart to plan ahead! Totally worth it!
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, Such an awesome room you have created for yourself. I'm green with envy. The closet came out great and so functional. I really need to get myself motivated over here and get some projects done. Only two more weeks till the kids go back to school and I can get moving!
ReplyDeleteMarianne :)
Glad to see Mr. Max did such a wonderful job survising this job like he does all the rest. Ahhh, cats, they are great.
ReplyDeleteSo much progress. I remember when you were peeling wallpaper FOREVER! I bet you are so happy to be working in such a great space! Congrats!!
ReplyDeleteThe hall closet looks fantastic. I bet it was nice to see those warped shelves go away! That Sugar Cookie is a glorious color. Is it more yellow than white?
ReplyDeleteAnd how big is that cat, really? He fills the space but doesn't look heavy.
ReplyDeleteJeannine, it's a soft, pale buttery yellow (Sugar Cookie)...same color I painted the office. The hallway outside the linen closet is painted that same color, too. I wanted to paint the shelves white for a little contrast but was afraid I'd run out of paint for the white trim in the office and guest room. Just didn't want to take time to make another trip to the paint store. I've been thinking of repainting the hall and stairway going downstairs, but I can never come up with a color I like...and it all leads to the entry which I also have painted Sugar Cookie and still love. Decisions, decisions. lol
ReplyDeleteJeannine, I think Max is a Norwegian Forest cat. I adopted him from a no-kill shelter but that's what they thought he was. He weighs 16-17 lbs and the vet said that's perfect for his size. Male Norwegian cats can get up to 20 lbs...they are big cats.
ReplyDeleteYour closets look great! I agree it is great to get everything neat, clean and organized. I hope you aren't like me and within a year you need to "re-organize" your closets. HA!
ReplyDeleteLove your struggles and your cat. Beautiful cat. The bee pillow is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteYou've made me want to get in and tackle my closet space now. In these old houses, you have to utilize every square inch of closet space because there's not enough of them. Yours look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful room!
ReplyDeleteI have to think that you smile each and every time that you walk into your 'new' room. We extended the shelves in our pantry at one point. Made an enormous difference. Job well done! Congratulations on your wonderful new space. Cherry Kay
ReplyDeleteWow, you have been busy!!
ReplyDeleteIs Max a huge cat or is that a tiny armchair?!!
S x
LOL, Sarah. He usually weighs about 15-17 lbs each year when we visit the vet, so he's a pretty big kitty. He's not really fat...just big. The chair isn't huge, though...just pretty normal size. :)
ReplyDeleteSo you had one of those...why did we wait so long moments....!! I think you are going to love the improvement to your closet!!
ReplyDeleteThose are the kinds of projects that are easy to put off, but make us so happy when they are done. It looks as if you have been busy and I always love the excuse to go through things and get rid of some of them.
ReplyDeleteI need to do the same thing! Someone actually took away the shelves in my hall closet before I got here!
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteIn the 11th picture - where are these white bookcases? I think I have caught a glimpse of them now in 2 posts but don't recall you adding them to your work studio?
Thank you.
The office is beautiful and the closets look so fresh. It's so easy to put off painting and organizing closets, but what a difference it makes. Love the pic of Mr. Max all tuckered out after his hard work!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Mr. Max kitty and love to read about you talking about him - your love for him is so clear. Can we have more Max stories - kitten pictures? ;-)
ReplyDeleteJane
Jane, thanks! I'll have to do a little post about how he came to own me. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnon at 8:46 PM...good eye! They are a significant addition to the office. I'm in the process of tweaking them a bit. I promise to post and show them soon...probably in the next 7-10 days.
ReplyDeleteYour office is simply lovely! And I so identify with the memories of your son. My home office/craft room is my oldest son's old room too. The space in the closet designed to hold surf boards now holds my long tablecloths! I also know how good a closet redo can feel. Your dish closet inspired the redo of one of my hall closets into my dish storage area! Thank you for inspiration after inspiration! I think Max approves of your/HIS new space too!
ReplyDeleteOh...and question of the day....has your son seen his "old room"? What does he think? :o) I remember my son's words...."you painted my bedroom YELLOW????!!!!"
ReplyDeleteToni...you made me laugh! :) No, he hasn't seen it in person. I'm not sure he has even viewed it on my blog. I don't think he reads BNOTP. Since he's been in school the last three years in Ohio, he only gets to come home at Christmastime. He'll see it for the first time this Christmas. I know his fiancé has seen it online...but I doubt he's looked. I think he will be STUNNED. It looks so completely different now. I'm so glad I have the pics to remember how it used to be. When he went off to UGA for undergraduate, they told us in the parent orientation to NOT change their rooms for a while. They told us they like to come home and see their old room as it was that first year when they are transitioning to independence, etc... Well, I waited 10 years...that's long enough. lol
ReplyDeleteLove the shelves! I wish I had a closet like that! Max doesn't look to displaced but I know how chaos can disrupt the best of nappers!
ReplyDeletethey are looking great!! nice job!:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice big, bright room! And the bigger shelves will be great for the linens!
ReplyDeleteSusan.regarding your interest in the Bottle Tree, you might want to check out the artist Dale Chihuly. He has presented glass art at Corning Glass Works, on PBS and etc. Interesting Art.
ReplyDeleteI love the color Sugar Cookie. Might go well in our cave, I mean, family room.
ReplyDeleteYou inspired me to makeover the closet in what used to be the boys room. They are long gone, and I am going to have a girlie closet finally! Primed the firetruck red shelves with a first coat - it will take more than 1 to cover it up. Then on to paint, then containers for storage: shoes, socks, belts, purses etc. DOes anyone have any great easy and cheap ideas?
ReplyDeleteKathy, do you have an IKEA near you? They have soooo many awesome storage ideas/solutions. You name it...they have it when it comes to storing or organizing. I'm thinking of buying some things to use for storage in my office closet. If you don't have an IKEA near by, Home Depot and Lowes have some storage options...Walmart may be a good place to look, too.
ReplyDeleteMr. Max's help could be that he was supervising his Mom. Notice the one eye just open enough to make sure the shelves are straight.
ReplyDelete