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.

It takes up hardly any space and looks flippin' sweet!

Not too shabby for $50.

Anatomy of a vingette.

So, I had this weird little space in my front room that I didn't know what to do with.
Then one day as I was purusing the isles of my favorite thrift store I saw this little beauty. It was like being reunited with a long lost love. I swear I even heard fireworks. (Okay, maybe it was really gunshots. My thift store is kinda in da hood). When I saw her I knew...writing nook

She needed a little TLC, but not much. All I did was wipe her down and give her a coat of dark walnut stain.
I love the variation of her wood and how the dents and scratches give her the "worn over time" look I was going for.

Did I mention she only cost me $8? Bargain.
I put her in her new home and paired her up with these three little guys.


I found them at the thrift store as well. They got a fresh coat of paint in apple green and then I glazed them to make them look old and worn. These three cost me $3.
Then I remembered a thrift store purchase I had made a few months back and decided to introduce him to the gang. He fit right in.

Then came Mr. Twigg's. (An old, glass milk bottle I found at the thrift store. I dressed him with a few willow sticks from the backyard and he was good to go).

And Booksy. (This cool idea comes from my sister who saw it somewhere. All you need are a few old, hardback books that you don't might desecrating. You simply tear off the hard covers and...voila, a cool bundle of ancient looking books. I tied them up with an old piece of twine I had lying around).

Then finally Ole Blue. (This item was my only splurge as I purchased him at a retail store rather than a thrift store. Isn't he the cutest?)

Here's the completed space.

The best part is that I was able to do all of it for under $24. I am thinking about putting some decoupaged numbers or letters inside the empty frames so stay tune for the tutorial. This just goes to show that creating a space can still be chic and cheap at the same time.