Honey Do's Honey Did

Our weekend was chock-full of projects, and, I mean, Chock. Full. We started Friday afternoon and did not finish until 9:00 last night, when Hugh declared himself too sore and exhausted to continue. Luckily, we were at a great stopping point, with all but one project left to complete.

So, what were we working on all that time?

My new scrapbooking room!

The room, as you may remember, was our guestroom, prior to The Teenager moving into her own house. Back then, it looked like this...

When The Teenager abandoned her childhood room (not bitter!), I moved the guest room suite upstairs, where it made for a very spacious and airy guestroom. It also left a lot of empty space downstairs for me to utilize for my scrapping purposes.

I had a pretty specific style and design in mind for that space. Thankfully, I also have a handy husband and access to raw materials, and, the picture in my head was translated beautifully into the final room.

When picturing the room, I knew that I wanted a work space that looked less like a craft table and more like fine furniture. I wanted the room, itself, to have a vintage look, in keeping with the rest of the style throughout the house, and; I wanted to incorporate reclaimed and salvaged pieces in the room, in addition to the  new builds. Tall order, I know, but, as I said, ultimately successful.

The new build, consisting of base cabinetry and countertop, were purchased through the hardware store (on sale!). I described the look I was going for and Hugh customized the plain white cabinets with ball feet, wainscoting, and an engineered top that resembles a sheet of slate. We finished the cabinets with the antique glass knobs that I found at Pickin' at the Pea last month, and voila! A stand-alone piece of furniture that can be moved if I ever want to re-arrange the room.

My paper storage/organizer is an inexpensive piece that I have had for years. Hugh tackled the problem of it being utterly hideous by finishing it with wainscoting left over from the house remodel (which we have been storing since 2006. Because, sometimes it pays to be a hoarder), and making a lid for it, with a handle created from two additional antique knobs that I found at one of my favorite thrift stores. The piece now blends seamlessly with the rest of the room, and, a pretty ugly piece has been transformed into a functional and lovely storage solution.

The large picture frame now hanging on the main wall was re-purposed from the old window sash that I also found at Pickin' at the Pea.

After scraping the existing paint from the piece, I repainted with chalk paint, added a few distressed areas, sealed with poly, and had Hugh replace two missing panes of glass and add a back. Although the panes aren't standard photo size, I easily adapted some black and white prints to fit. I'm really, really happy with how it turned out, and, I can't wait to use chalk paint on something else.

A bookcase from The Teenager's old room and an antique cabinet from another local shop complete the space (for now; I am still hoping to fine an old farm table for additional work space and I have a vintage office chair that I am refurbishing for the room even as we speak).

I love, love, LOVE it!

All of my supplies have been relocated from the mudroom to the scrapping room and I am ready to dive back into the kids' scrapbooks; currently, The Teenager's is five years behind, while the Man-Cub's lags by six. This room could not have come along at a better time, obviously.

If posts become scarce, you'll know where to find me...