ikea besta hack in the works: one room challenge, week 3

it is now week three of the one room challenge hosted by linda at calling it home!

as you remember, i managed to barely squeeze the ikea besta storage unit into my office...

see week 1 of the challenge here

see week 2 of the challenge here

i knew that some changes needed to be made in order to keep it in place. i had a few suggestions to wrap some molding around the front to make it look more built-in, but after thinking about it a bit more, i wanted it to float off the floor. this room is already SO small, and i feel that the open space under the storage unit will visually expand the feel of the room...even if it is by just a few inches! PLUS, i have discovered that i can actually sneak in a few shallow items under the unit, which means more storage!

i started looking into some new legs for the piece...ikea didn't have any that i thought would work, and so i ran to lowes just to see if there was ANYTHING that might work. i found these, hoping that the threads of the top screw might fit...

and as luck would have it, the threads of the legs fit EXACTLY into the holes in the besta unit! i was so excited! i thought i was going to have to order legs online or get something made!

 i screwed the legs into place and added some felt pads to the bottom to prevent scratching the hardwood floors.

 i also knew that i wanted to add some hardware...i took a trip to ikea and spotted these metrik pulls...i love that they are really long--about 10", and at $9 for a pack of two, they are a bargain!

i decided to give them a coat of gold paint. i thought that the gold tone would look really pretty with the white storage piece and the dark blue walls.

 i used krylons "18K gold plate" spray paint, and was really happy with the results....

and now, onto to drawers:
i bought some stick on house numbers to apply to the drawers. they come with adhesive already on the back---you just peel of the paper and stick them wherever you want them.

(i bought mine at lowes, but here are some similar ones)

  i spray painted these off white.

and yes, i realize that i bought silver pulls and painted then gold and then bought gold numbers and paired them white...its kinda funny, actually!

i attached the numbers to the drawers, and added the pulls....

(i was so excited to finally have storage that i filled the drawers before i even added the pulls!)

then, i used rub n buff on the legs so that they coordinated with the pulls. i just put on a glove and rubbed it on---i was careful not to get any on the floors!

i also need to add quarter round trim to the bottom of the base boards...we were so exhausted by the time we finished building the house that we never got around to it.

 here is the almost finished piece!

i am still deciding whether i want to add a top or not...the  unit is actually two separate pieces, and i would like it to look a little more "built-in". i think added the top would  help. i am leaning towards as simple painted white mdf top OR something in wood, stained in a medium tone.

getting the unit in here has already tripled my storage! 

of course, having the walls painted and the new piece in there have made me realize that it might be time to refinish my desk.

it was already in rough shape when i bought it, and i think the time has come to give it a little makeover.

i am MADLY in love with this piece, and think i will use it as inspiration:

SO. 

what else?

my roman shades were made!

 
i purchased the trim at joann fabrics, and the fabric is a quadrille fiorentina (greige on tint) remnant
that i bought on ebay.

i hung it up, and it looks amazing! it does a great job of controlling the light when this side of the house get blasted by the sun in the morning.

 can you see the sad state of the top of my desk in this picture?
yeah--definitely time for a makeover.

up next week:
*adding shelving to the wall above the storage unit
*adding crown molding? still haven't decided if i want to yet...
 *getting a light for over the desk. i had an ikea one on the design board, but i have looked at some vintage ones on ebay that i also really like. i loved this one, but it went for a little more than i was willing to pay:

i will keep looking...if i don't find one i love, i will just get the ikea one.

also...this chair is getting a makeover!

 

i dropped it off at the upholstery shop this week.

i am using kelly wearstlers "agate" fabric in slate/linen...

(also a remnant that i purchased on ebay for a fraction of the retail cost.) 

 

* i am also in the process of gathering artwork for the gallery wall!

you can see progress of my ideas and selections by following me on instragram! i just did a piece that cost $2, and i think it looks great!

stay tuned!!