Fresh Painted Orange

Project number one during my Christmas hiatus: painting my room. Boring white walls just weren't inspiring me while I worked. Though I second guessed myself on the orange, I LOVE it now! It's fresh and clean and gives me energy to get up and moving!

Which is good becasue this room needed (and still needs) a lot of work. It's been my biggest challenge because it's used for a variety of things. It's a sleeping area, a work room, and a dressing room. When living in Boston, you learn quickly how to squeeze a lot of stuff into the small cramped apartments that overwhelm the city.



The key for me has been functionality and mobility. All of the furniture in the area is either on wheels or is easily moveable so that I can quickly change the room when neccessary. If I'm working on a big project, the bookcases roll out to make room in the work area and when I'm done, I simply roll them back to their original spot.

Floor space is also important. Instead of buying storage units to hold my tools, purses and jewelry, I got pegboard. You can buy pegboard in the lumber section of your hardware store. I chose to go with the smaller handypanels but if you can also buy the large sheets of pegboard and do a whole wall of storage or have it cut down to your desired size. They make all kinds of pegs, shelves, and bins to hang on the board so you can use it to store a variety of things. Wall shelves are also great and give you a chance to mix decorative storage with pictures and mementos.



One big thing you never want to overlook is the As Is section of Ikea. Not only did I find three mirrored cabinet doors ($5 ea) which are currently being transformed into the mirrored walls of my fireplace, but I also found the rotating mirror cabinet we had looked at awhile ago. The front is mirrored and then you rotate it around to find storage shelves on the back. I can't find it on the Ikea website but it retailed for around $50...we got it for $5. This was my favorite find and will come in handy for my makeup area - I'll have a great mirror and a place to hide my toiletries so they're not sitting out in the open. When going to Ikea, always remember to check As Is for stuff. They have everything from floor displays to random pieces of wood that you can turn into your own treasure. Many of the items aren't in bad shape, but can't be sold without their packaging or are missing screws.



Next week is going to be a busy time for this room. I'm going to cover the backs of the bookcases so that they're decorative when you look in. After that I'll mount the TV on the wall and put up a collapsable table that will serve as a place for my laptop and fold down flat on the wall when I don't need it. I also have custom bedding coming in from The Carpenter's Daughter and extra lighting to illuminate the work area. The following week, I hope to have the Youz*d logo up on the back wall to really top the room off.

Tomorrow's adventure: the livingroom!