one room challenge REVEAL: my mini office

well, i am SO glad that 6 weeks ago i decided to jump on board and join in on the one room challenge  hosted by linda at calling it home. linking up was just the incentive i needed to get this little space finished.

here is a quick side by side comparison of the before and after of my mini office:

TA-DAAA!!

and just in case you haven't been following along, here is what i have been up to for the last 6 weeks:

week 1--more before pictures and introduction of design plan

week 2--painted the walls the perfect shade of deep blue (see my favorite deep blue paint picks here!)

week 3--added legs, numbers + hardware to the ikea storage unit 

week 4-shared some ways to put up a gallery wall on a budget

week 5--stripped the desk + put up shelves

 
the desk and chair are both vintage and the storage unit is from ikea.
the wall color is van deusen blue by benjamin moore. the trim and shelves are painted swiss coffee by benjamin moore.

 
the roman shades were made from quadrilles "la fiorentina"--i managed to snag just under a yard for about $60 on ebay. the black trim is from jo an fabrics.



the adjustable scissor sconce is also from ebay. i was considering buying a vintage one, but i am really glad i opted for this simple, new, polished chrome one. it has already come in handy!




the gallery wall is a combination of many different items:
*the tree + wagon painting at the bottom is a vintage original piece and the river scene above the agate is by my mom. there are also two other original pieces that you can read about here.
*some pieces are printed off the internet, the large piece in the middle with the linen frame was found at a thrift store for $20.
*the embroidered antelope and the butterflies are both from travels (mexico and charleston,sc.)
*the framed agate is from home goods
*the angel piece was a gift from eyes on walls
*the close up of the fence post is ikea

 

the bulletin board is from ikea.

the vintage chair sure shined up nicely with a little help from my new best friend!

read about how it helped to remove the rust from my chair and take the water spots on the top of my desk.

the chair fabric is kelly wearstlers' "agate" in linen.

the front of the drawers were painted in a high gloss black paint, and the the desk was stained with a custom mix from minwax "dark walnut" and "golden pecan".

the light fixture was an ebay dream score! it is arteriors large caviar pendant, and i got it for $81!
(and YES, i am still working on that post on how to find deals on ebay! more to come. hopefully very, very soon!)

this house terrarium is from west elm.

the gray storage boxes are from staples. i was able to partner with them on organizing my office, and i will be sharing more  details next week!

you can read about how i added these numbers here.

the hardware is from ikea. i painted it gold.

the crystal topped lacquer box was an EASY diy project that i will be sharing soon.

the hand is from home goods, and the bud vase is from wisteria.

this little space has gone from a nook off of the kitchen to the hub of the house! now that it is organized and DONE, i have SO much storage and am able to actually sit in here and get work done! i can't say enough about how this room has transformed the entire feel and function of the main floor of my house.

one final look!

thank you so much for stopping by!

i have been so thrilled with the sense of community that has come with my participation in the one room challenge. since we have been in a rental house for the last 5 years, i have missed out on some fun opportunities to get to know other bloggers and to get something DONE in my own house!

i can hardly wait until the next round of the one room challenge! so far, i only have 4 spaces done (of the 18) in my new house---you can see them here:

my girls leopard wallpapered bathroom

my sons bathroom

the mini wallpapered vestibule outside of the master bedroom.

and now...off to check out the other fabulous rooms!

first look at my (still in progress) kitchen

welcome to my new house!

there is still a staggering amount of work that needs to happen, but i am SO happy to be in the house, and i know that each little project will only add to the feeling of "home" that i already have here.

a few things that still need to happen in the kitchen + dining room:

*get a range! that is a big one. we are still hunting for one that meets our needs and fits our budget. i have (surprisingly) been getting along just fine without it so far! i have been amazed at how many meals can be prepared between a crock pot, the george foreman grill, an electric skillet and the microwave! it also helps that summer is almost here, so we are eating more salads and sandwiches.

*install the trim kit around the fridge and freezer. we thought we could just pop this on, but found out that we have to lay the units on their backs! yikes. this is going to require the help  of several "lucky" neighbors/friends to pull off!

*install a back splash. i have some options, but frankly, this is pretty low on my priority list compared with the other things we need to get done.

*get paint touch ups to the cabinets.

*get two pendants for the island and a chandelier for the the dining room. i think i know what i want in both spaces, i just need to save the $$ for them.

*get an additional shelf made for the open dish area.

*add window treatments for the dining room

*get a larger table. i have had this one (and have LOVED it) for the last 13 1/2 years. it is from pottery barn, and has a stainless steel top and it still looks amazing. it is just a little too small for the 5 of us. i love it so much that i think i will have a larger stainless steel top made for this base. the chairs also need some sprucing up.

*install shoe mold, wall trim and crown molding.

*stain the exterior door.

* get hardware for the doors.

*hang artwork. the pictures on the hood are temporary. i just wanted to see how they would look...

yep.

still a lot to get done, but i am thrilled with everything so far!

another look at the **finally clean striped island!

and yes---that little button by the faucet is for the garbage disposal! if y'all want more information on this, i will write a separate post with all the details.

in this picture, you can get a little peek into the office nook.
right now it is a dumping ground for everything that i don't want in the kitchen.

we went ahead and put carpet on the stairs. the list of things TO DO were adding up, and we figured that it would be a while before we got to painting them and making them look nice, so we just had the carpet guys come back and lay carpet on the last few steps.

the small hallway to the left of the stairs leads to the powder room and master bedroom.
i have some big plans for the entry!
i just haven't quite decided on exactly what i want...for sure some trim. i may even duplicate the trim of the dining room in house #5.
i think i would also like to add some wallpaper somewhere...maybe on the ceiling?


for now, i placed this little console and plopped up a few things on it to make it feel a little more pulled together. i would love to have a custom made floating console made for this wall, but first...
a range and some doorknobs! priorities!

and, just to make you feel better---see? there are still tubs and boxes on the great room floor, furniture wrapped in plastic and nothing on the walls!
the room gets a lot of light though! that is something that everyone who walks in comments on. since it is essentially one big room, there are windows on 3 sides of the space, which really brings the light in.

hopefully, after i unpack a few more boxes, i will post some pictures of the other rooms of the main floor and the upstairs!

a (very) basic lesson on installing hardwood floors

you know how right after something traumatic happens, you don't want to talk about it for a while?
like talking about it almost brings back all of the pain and aguish?
that's a little bit how i feel about installing hardwood floors!
(i am kinda joking about that, and kinda NOT joking at the same time!)
i also happen to feel that way about moving!

anyway, i just wanted to give y'all a very breief intrciduction to how my husband and i spent about 300 hours of our lives:
i wouldn't use this as a guide on exactly how to install hardwood floors, but it will defeintely give you an idea of what you are getting yourself into if you decide to tackle this yourself!

for best results, a 15 pound felt underlayment should be laid down on top of the subfloor, which acts as a vapor barrier. (that's the black stuff you see! it comes in a big roll and is available at any home improvement store.)

be sure that the floor is swept and free of debris before the felt is laid down. any lumps or bumps could create uneven spots in the floor.


we stapled down about half of the felt, but ultimately found that NOT stapling it down worked the best to reduce wrinkling and bubbles.

hardwood comes in bundles, like you see here. the woods needs to be acclimated to the space where it will be installed because it is sensitive to moisture levels and temperature and will expand and contract. bringing it inside a few days before it will be laid will allow it to "get used" to the air in your house.

bring over at least 2 bundles of wood close to where you will be laying out the floor.
mixing two bundles will ensure an even distribution of lengths, color and grain.
we laid red oak #2, which means that the wood has some "flaws" like wormholes and knots. we actually love the "flaws", and feel like it gives a floor more character. there are also on occasion, boards that cant be used due to missing tongues or grooves, or really large knots and imperfections. we found that, on average, about 10% of the boards were "undesirable" or unusable.
(red oak #1 is a more "even" product--less variation, fewer worm holes and knots. it also costs more that #2.)

carefully cut the plastic straps that hold the bundles together. it is best to cut on the underside of the wood, so you don't score the face of the planks with your utility knife. (the underside of the wood has grooves on it that allow for air movement and help the wood to lay flat on an uneven surface. the top surface is flat.)

next, you "rack" the wood, which means you lay it out on the floor exactly the way in which it will be nailed down.

a few things to consider:
make sure the joints are not too close together. a good rule is at least 2.5 widths of wood between each seam. this will ensure a stronger floor.


make sure that each plank fits together nicely. sometimes they are milled wrong or are missing a tongue or groove.
we found that the work went faster when the "racker" was 4-8 rows ahead of the "nailer".

leave enough space in between where you are racking and where the wood is being nailed in place so that there is room for the nailer to hammer in the staples.
at the end of each row, there will almost always need to be a cut made.

for this project, we used a table saw (for long narrow rips along walls), a chop saw (for end cuts), and a jig saw (for cuts around heat registers and door casings).

each plank gets tapped into place with a rubber mallet. sometimes they go in smoothly, but other times they need some serious whacking.

once the plank is in place, the rubber mallet is used to drive the nail or staple in place. we used staples,
and drove them in about every 6". even though the nail gun is pneumatic, it still takes a pretty hefty swing of the mallet to drive the staple in! translation: it is hard work and will make you sweat a lot.


the staple should fit nicely, right at the top of the tongue. see how you can barely see the staple? that's what you want!

sometimes, the staple splits the wood or doesn't go in properly.
if that is the case, it must be removed with with a hammer and chisel, and the entire area cleaned of wood chips and debris.
loads of fun. 
(can you hear the sarcasm dripping off that comment? i hope so. that part was the WORST.)

as you move along, the area where you will be laying the wood needs to be cleaned to ensure that everything lays perfectly flat.

once you get close to a wall, the staple gun cant be used becuase there is not enough room to swing the hammer. a nail gun must be used instead.

of course, laying the wood is just the  beginning of the process...

 but the hard work...

 is definitely worth it in the end!

have a great thursday everyone!