retropolitan: Hello Vanity...and a kids room desk alternative.

Well, progress on the master bathroom continues. It still feels like there is still a ton to be done, but the rest of it should go by quickly.

The vanity and sink

and floor to ceiling tile backsplash

have been installed...

which means that all that's left is installing the tub, toilet, fixtures and lights. I am kinda in disbelief that I will have my very own bathroom in a matter of days.

I will continue to post pictures of the progress, but might hold off on posting any more full room reveals...you know, so that I can build up all sorts of excitement in anticipation of the big daddy reveal.

In other news, I've been redoing my middle daughter, Avery's, bedroom. Some of you may recall that she recently moved to the basement.

After a few months of "isolation" she decided she wanted to move back upstairs. It's starting to feel like a never ending game of Musical Beds up in here. Anyway, Studs and I finally layed down the law and told her she is not allowed to change rooms until she's packing up for college. Technically, we just bought ourselves eight years of time. Realistically, I give ourselves eight weeks. Whatevs!

One of the projects I just completed for her bedroom was a "floating desk". This is a really great option for a room with limited space. Avery's room is only 10ft x 11ft, so there just simply wasn't room for a bed, a dresser and a desk.

I was inspired by this beautiful floating desk I found online. I love everything about. It just looks so...minimal.

{allmodern.com-$659.00}

I started with this prefab wall shelf from Ikea

{Ekby Alex-$46.99}

Here's where the fun part comes in.

This shelf is just begging for some personalization...so, I decided to utilize some of my left over veneer.

I've mentioned how easy wood veneer is to work with. It is fast becoming one of my favorite DIY tools. Everything just looks better with some wood veneer, no?

Before I assembled the shelf {ya know, cause it is from Ikea, which is basically Lego for adults} I found the two drawer fronts and traced around them on the veneer. Then, I cut the pieces out and glued them onto the drawer fronts using this:

I left them to dry while I finished assembling my big lego. And that was that. So easy!

I was ready to mount the shelve/desk to the wall.

I purchased two of these natural wood brackets at $4.00 each at Ikea for attaching the piece to the wall.

Studly made sure that both of the brackets were screwed securely into studs. This step is critical. The shelf itself is fairly hefty, then combined with the weight of someone leaning on it to do homework and a few pictures and a lamp, well...

I highy recommend that both brackets be mounted onto studs. Otherwise your floating shelf may suddenly become a sinking shelf.

Here's the end result.