Perfecting Perfection...

First off - I am happy to be back after a week long bloggin' break.  I needed to take some time off to enjoy our foster pup, Driver, as well as refresh myself.  For those of you who have never had a puppy, let me tell ya', you can't get squat done with one constantly biting at your feet or mysteriously quiet in another room.  Just like a kid - when they are quiet there is definitely something going on!!  Last Wednesday we brought Driver back to be neutered and adopted out and I am happy to report he was adopted the very next day.  As hard as it was to give him up (clearly shown by the tears currently streaming down my face typing this) we are VERY happy he found his forever home so quickly.  Good bye, Driver - you will be missed...

So now that Driver has left us, I got my butt back in gear and got some work done around the house...more specifically my office.  A few weeks back we finished my office layout and I actually began using my desk.  Feel free to read all about the desk, room, and overall layout here, here, and here.  Once I started using the space I knew I would have some tweaks to do so we didn't permanently fix it to the wall nor did we fix the cabinets to the counter top...It all just sit in limbo waiting for my tweaks to happen.  This weekend I tweaked away.

First step - paint the office.  I loved Benjamin Moore's Olive Branch but it wasn't working out for me...not for the bedroom (see here) or for the office.  Much to E's dismay, I decided to paint...again.  I picked a beautiful color, drove to Sherwin Williams without a doubt in my mind and my 30% off coupon in hand, entered the store and went straight to the color cards...bad move.  All my indecision came rushing back and I left with a completely different color than anticipated.  "Reflection" seemed like a nice shade of cloudy blue with a great office name to go with it but when I got it up on my wall it looked like baby blue.  Arghhh...   I needed new paint and quick.  It turned out my 30% off coupon wasn't good till the 20th which started a rift between Sherwin Williams and I so this time I went to Home Depot - again, with paint chip in hand.  I went straight for the paint counter where the guy was already working with 2 people - unfortunately that gave me time to browse.  Again -  I picked a different color.  Why I do this to myself I have no idea.  I know I could buy the sample paints and try them out but instead I get some sick satisfaction from painting the entire room (including edging it out twice for max coverage) then hating the color.  Anywho - I came home with Behr's Gentle Rain.

Reflection

Behr's Gentle Rain

Gentle Rain seemed like a better grayish purple for me.  I got it on the wall and, guess what?!  I still wasn't happy!  Against the baby blue it looked REALLY purple...lavender, really.  $60 in paint and I was no closer to finding my color.  It isn't that either of these colors was bad - they just weren't what I was looking for.  I thought maybe I should  switch it up and go with a muted yellow or perhaps...NO - E put his foot down this time and said to work with it and so I did...but first I decided to mix the 2 colors together THEN I worked with it!!  Today my office is painted in a Reflecting Gentle Rain - custom mixed by yours truly.  It turned out fine and I am sure I will paint again later...it is just an itch I have to scratch!!  Next time I will give in and buy the samples - you heard it here first...now try to hold me to it!!

The next step was to rearrange the desk cabinets...actually - I had to build 2 new base cabinets out of other cabinets as they were a custom size Ikea did not make.  I decided to center my workspace under the top cabinets therefore leaving a 15 inch cabinet to my right and 45 inches to my left with a 30 inch opening between the 2 for my legs.  This made a lot of sense for 2 reasons.  1. Symmetry - I hated being off center from the top cabinets - the bottoms I don't mind as I will need the space to the left of my desk for sewing...it makes it easier for the fabric to be laid out and not drag on the floor.  2. I can access the cabinet doors to my immediate right and left much easier now - the hinge placement didn't work on the other configuration...

The third and final fix of the weekend - a drawer!!  I missed my old desk and the drawer it had right over my legs - all desks, in my opinion, need such a drawer. When I had done the original plan for my office I included a drawer from Ikea but it was not ideal...that method would take $90 and it turned out not to work anyway due to the drawer being too deep my legs wouldn't clear the space under it.  Then my mind got to thinking...picture tapping finger on the side of my head...

I took my old drawer from my old desk and we attached it to my new desk.  I simply removed the drawer and rollers from the old desk and measured where the holes were.  It took some finagling and we had to drill the holes twice due to an error in calculation (mine, not E's) the first time but overall it worked great and my old drawer was new again!  I just have to paint it and it will all mesh wonderfully!  Perfection.  Oh - and don't worry about my old desk...it will be a perfect table somewhere in the house - you can't event tell it is missing anything if you look at it from the other side!

Overall not too shabby of a weekend!

Next to do - hang the HUGE mirror I have been obsessing over, work out some magazine holders, and a photo wall.  Things are looking up!  What are you guys up to this week?  Any big rehab plans or small detail oriented ones?  Feel free to share in the comments section with a link back to your blog.  I would love to see some new inspiration!!

Bianca

FYI - I am linking up with some fabulous blogs this week - Please jump on over HERE to check them out!!  A special thanks and big smooch to the following blogs for being my top referring sites in March:

  

A Work of Labor for my Labor

Welcome welcome welcome...

First off a special THANK YOU to Lisa for featuring my blog on Informal Home today.  If you have a moment please stop in and see her beautiful home, creative projects, and witty sense of humor!  

Driver Testing out the Newly Placed Daybed!

It has been a long week and weekend and we are positively pooped! 

Though my office isn't exactly complete, I felt the need to show the progress I have made thus far.  Here is a few before shots to show the sad, sad, and very desperate state my office was in:

My office had become a sort of catch-all for all things construction...Hello Dremel case and power drill!   I put my fabric covered shelf up (more on that here), cleared out some clutter, and my office began to take shape:

Better...but not exactly what I was looking for...off to Google I went.  I started searching the internet for inspiration and came across many fabulous ideas but none more appealing to my eye than this image from Martha Stewart Online.  The photo was taken from a house tour of famed photographer William Abranowicz's home...this is actually his wife Andrea's office:

With a $500 budget and no time to spare (I REALLY needed this thing done!) I set out to accomplish my dream office.  After much debate I realized the corner option wouldn't work for me...see my battle with that dilemma here and here.  I wanted to create a really nice workspace but I also needed to be able to share that space with some kind of sleeping or lounging area.  In comes the daybed.  I could have purchased something new...a settee or a mini couch to fit the space but ya'll know I wasn't going to be spending any more than the allotted amount for this project.  I picked this daybed up a few months ago (Craigslist find!!) and knew I had to incorporate it somehow.  After much deliberation (also shown in those past posts) I decided to forgo the hacking of the daybed (to make it more narrow) and went with the full twin size daybed and the straight office desk...there is no reason why these two can't get along and live happily ever after!

Here is the West Elm Daybed with all the cheap-o Ikea and Walmart pillows I bought (more on that here) ...that green polka dotted one is dying for a slipcover!!

 And here is the office side :

 And here they are together as one...

Overall the space turned out quite nice, if I do say so myself!   I left a long portion of desk with nothing above it so I could put some kind of pegboard, decorations, mirrors, or open shelving later.  Time to get the old sewing machine out!!  I still need some trim and eventually we plan to mount my new computer monitor to the wall which would free up some desk space.

The desk and cabinets have yet to be secured to the wall as we finish up some last minute details but, don't worry, they are pretty stable right now!   The plan is to push the cabinets all the way back so the ledge will stick out far enough for me to use the entire length as a workspace.  Leaving the desk as it is now means I cant get my legs under the top except for the desk portion and you know that won't work for me when I am trying to utilize as much square footage as possible!  Here is the side view to see how it is now compared to what I am thinking for the future:

Plan of action?  Switch out the cabinet feet for a more decorative set (no need for a toe kick now), screw a 2x4 the length of the desk, screw the cabinets into the 2x4, put the counter top over 2x4 and the cabinets and screw cabinets to the counter top.  OK - it may sound like a lot but it should only take about 15 minutes once we get the 2x4 and the new feet.  Once the cabinets are back and secure, the counter top will hang 6.5 inches over the cabinets which is plenty of room for my knees and feet (my feet can go even further under the cabinets). 

Here is a side by side of my office and my inspiration pic:

I could definitely use some more accessories and perhaps a plant or two...those will come in time.  Stay tuned for the mini terrarium I plan to make - I already have THE perfect base for it!  

Here is a budget breakdown:

• AKURUM cabinets, shelves, suspension rail, feet, APPLAD doors, PRAGEL counter top, and door dampers from IKEA - $327.39
• West Elm Daybed, sheets, and coverlet- FREE!   I doubled over a queen size coverlet we weren't using...
• Ikea Pillows for Daybed (ALL in As-Is section for $5 a pop!) - $27.38
• Walmart body pillow for the daybed (sooo needs a cover!) - $10.95
• Wood screws for Ikea suspension rail - $6.55 (I got a big box so we have PLENTY left!

Grand Total - $ 372.27!!

Well, that total certainly settles the score!  I have PLENTY of $$ to paint this room AND get a few (more cohesive) accessories! 

So what do you guys think?  Did I do the inspiration pic justice so far?  Feel free to leave a comment and also let me know what you have been working on...

Bianca

PS - I am linking up to many fabulous linky parties - please take a minute to check them out here...so much inspiration every single week!!!

PSS - Thanks, again, Lisa!!

Countertop Cut Down

When deciding on a counter top for my office I decided to go white.  It seems, from my inspiration photo (more on that here and here), it was the only logical way to go.  Clean, crisp, and thanks to Ikea, CHEAP!!  I bought a 96inch wide by 24 inch deep PRAGEL counter top for $69 smackaroos.  This baby weighs about a 100 lbs and is a hefty 1 1/2 inches think.  Solid.  Very Solid.

E and I decided, instead of having someone zip it up on a table saw, that we would use our little circular Ryobi circular saw and zip it up ourselves.  After some careful marking and taping we were ready to go.  Note - if you are going to cut anything that requires a nice edge you ALWAYS want to tape first!  It helps to keep the ends from splintering and chipping...  Here I am marking the correct depth all the way down the counter and then using a level to draw the line.  We then taped right over the line.  Since we used painters tape we could see the line right through hence no need to go over with another line...a bit too redundant for my lazy arse. 

Once the tape is secure, you have donned your most fashionable eye protectors, and you have said a few :"I hope I can keep this saw straight" type prayers, take one last deep breath.  REALLY - take a last deep breath because if you aren't wearing a face mask, like us, you wont want to be breathing the dust and crap once you begin to saw.  Funny enough, neither one of us thought to use a mask until AFTER we were done cutting...at least we had goggles on which is a big plus as THIS CAN NOT BE DONE WITHOUT GOGGLES OR SOME KIND OF EYE PROTECTORS.  OK OK - you know I never scold about safety type things but, really, this is a must.  Alright - ladies and gents - start your engines saw.

Slippers?  Really, E?

Here is a little tip for you - when making a long cut like this it is very helpful to be able to see what the heck you are doing.  Since there was 2 of us, E was in charge of the circular saw (you know I don't have the patience to go slow as is needed for this type of cut) and I was in charge of vacuuming as we went.  I kept the vacuum nozzle at the base of the saw and followed along with him so the sawdust would be picked up as he went which kept his line clear of debris.  The other thing you could do is blow as you go but it make a big ole' mess and we had guests coming in a few hours!! 

The cutting time took about 10 minutes - E was going slow, R E A L L Y slow.  This was such a beast for our Ryobi that we even had to switch out the  battery 3/4 of the way through - I can assure you it started as a fully charged battery.  Once we were done, and ripped off the tape, the table turned out really nice and square...also 1/2 inch deeper than I had planned due to my idiotic measurement but that won't matter much. 

Remember when I said taping helps avoid splintering...the key work is HELPS but it does not avoid splintering and chipping all together as see here...

That was the worst of the chipping which is only about an inch wide and a 1/4 inch deep.  Since the office walls are a bit curved I plan to do some sort of edging so no one will be the wiser...except you guys, I guess!!  Don't tell anyone else..promise?  The whole thing was way more simple that what I was imagining while standing in the Ikea kitchen showroom weighing my options.  I figured I could always get something cut for us or use an old door for the top...but then I would have had to sand and paint and try to make it perfect.  Instead, this worked out great and is exactly the look I was going for.  Super simple, inexpensive, and took only minutes to do!!  My kind of project!

 Anyone else working on a Office upgrade right now?  Feel like sharing??  Leave a comment below with a link so we can all check it out!   I love to see other peoples ideas and inspirations.

I'm off to get some bedding for the day bed!!

Bianca AKURUM Ikea cabinets, white office, abranowicz office, martha stewart online, PRAGEL countertops, google, walnut avenue blog, best diy blogs, nate berkus, young house love, centsational girl, bianca divalerio,Ryobi circular saw, saw dust, cutting a countertop, cheap countertops, ikea

Dremel, How I ♥ Thee, Let Me Count the Ways...

This weekend was a busy one as we prepared for the Oscars Showdown party while still trying to get this office in shape.  Though the office is not quite finished yet it would be much further behind had it not been for my trusty new friend, Dremel Multi-Max.  I have to give props to Dremel as he came to the rescue several times this weekend which has since earned him the MVP MVT (Most Valuable Tool, get it?) award this week.  Here is his profile pic as well as the big plays of the weekend  in slow mo'...

 

1.  Trimming the suspension rail.  For those who followed my last post on hanging the Ikea AKURUM wall cabinets (check it out here!) you may have noticed the suspension rail was too long.  My goal was to hit as many studs as possible, especially on the end of the line of cabinets, but since this turned out to be a furring strip instead of a stud I pushed the cabinets back towards the corner leaving me with this 3 inch wide strip of rail that had to be cut.  Being so close to the ceiling this angle made it near impossible to use a hack saw...believe me, I tried.  I then thought of the Dremel I bought for our vent project (more on that here) - the perfect solution to might tight spaced problem.  I first marked where the cabinet ended, had E help me take off said cabinet, then went to town cutting away...

It took a while to cut through the heavy duty metal (and a little bit of the drywall, oops!) but I got er' done.

Dremel-1 / Suspension Rail - 0

2.  Cutting the feet off AKURUM cabinet legs.  Since I decided to use 12 inch deep wall cabinets instead of 24 inch deep base cabinets the holes that would normally be on the base cabinet were absent from the frame of the wall cabinet...in short - the legs would not fit properly.

Dremel the rescue once again...sorry for the missing action shot.  I could have sworn I took one but with all the feet chopping going on it  suppose it IS possible that I forgot!  Once the plastic feet were level I was able to screw them into the wall cabinet...now official base cabinet. 

Dremel - 1 / AKURUM legs - 0

3.  The last project involves cutting the extra long bolts sticking out of the toilet base (totally unrelated project but necessary none the less) to a shorter more acceptable version that can be easily covered with a cap...picture on that coming soon as my camera (and the picture disk) went missing while I was cleaning for the party! 

Regardless - Dremel-1 / Toilet Bolts-0

Add it up, folks!  Dremel -3 / Household Nuisances - 0.  A good weekend indeed.  Tomorrow I am excited to show off my exciting Craigslist FREEBIES as well as a few cheapo Ikea and Marshall finds for accessorizing my new office!  Stay tuned for the big reveal later this week!!  What were you guys up to??  Feel free to leave a comment or link to your latest and greatest!!

BiancaIkea Akurum, use wall cabinets as base cabinets, AKURUM cabinets for office, Dremel MultiMax
how to shorten toilet bolts, best diy blog, walnut avenue, 1950's brick ranch

Office Decisions Have Been MADE!!!

E told me yesterday that I should not write posts when I am being indecisive as it tells my readers I have no idea what I am doing...That is the point, isn't it??  For those of you who have been following me (or have read the disclaimer at the bottom of this blog) I think you already know that I am not always perfect.  It is rare to see my imperfections, I know, but they are there...E can assure you!  For those new to my blog or for the rest who may have just "forgotten" - here is a few not so perfect ideas and plans that went south...

How NOT to pick a bedroom wall color
What fabric NOT to pick when making Super Simple window treatments
Waiting to clean your vents until a year after you'ved moved in...big NOT!!
Which items you SHOULD NOT get from Craigslist even if they are FREE!
How NOT to make a floating shelf and, better yet, how NOT to hang it

So, you see, I am always willing to share my DIY imperfections...I am only human after all.  I do not feel my last 2 posts on my office psychodrama between me, the new desk/shelving, and a daybed are not really negative and showing my indecisiveness but rather they are positive in that I will not do the whole thing and then regret certain decisions later. 

Due to my planning and over-planning THINGS ARE LOOKING UP...41 inches up to be exact!  Yesterday we left off with my office looking a little something like this:

This morning I decided to nix that and go back to the other side...though I would have been able to keep the daybed in one piece the space felt really small when you walked in from the kitchen PLUS I wasn't gaining much space to work on.  Here is today's events as they unfolded:

Removed shelf I just hung earlier this week...arrgghhh

Taped out the wall cabinets...

Taping the layout would have been helpful in the beginning before arranging and rearranging a thousand times all while scratching up our newly sanded and stained floors (seen here)...hind sight, peeps!  Once I got the tape up I knew I finally got it right.  Time to hang the cabinets...

For those of you who have no Ikea kitchen cab hanging experience and would like to give it a whirl but may be a little too shy to break out the ye ole' screwdriver...fear not!  This is how it's done, folks!

1.  If you are working alone I suggest you eat first in case you are frail like me.  More on that below.

2.  Ikea AKURUM cabinets are hung from a suspension rail.  A long metal rail that looks a little something like the photo to the left.  You will need to find your studs and mark them...don't get cheeky on me...I mean wall studs!!  Mine are actually marked in the photo above - it just so happened each vertical green tape marked a stud.  No need for you to tape up your whole wall - just put an x or a small piece of tape over the stud area.

3.  Level your suspension rail.  If you are hanging the rail by yourself you may need some help keeping it in place while you wrestle with the screwdriver and screws.  Here is a little trickypoo... Put the rail in place and hammer a small nail in one of the holes to hold it up - no need to nail it flush or hit a stud.  The picture is actually a giant nail but I was too lazy to find another...don't be lazy.  Now level from the other side (one side is being held up by your nail!) and put another small nail in. Voila' - you are ready to screw into the studs.

6.  Screw into every stud that your cabinet length has.  Prior to this I actually put a few anchors and screws in the hollow wall parts just to be on the safe side - my last cabinet had about 10 inches without a stud on the end so I want to be extra safe.  For the studs I used #10 2 inch wood screws.  I am sure there are many other options out there but these seemed to work fine...2 hours and still hanging!

SIDE NOTE - it turns out I am weak...very weak.  I still contend, as I did on the bracket hanging fiasco, that I had not eaten and perhaps was in a hypoglycemic hysteria but eventually one has to come to grips with there own Bull****.  For the life of me I could not get the screw into the stud.  I kept pushing and pushing and it would not budge.  I was pushing so hard on my electric screwdriver that the ladder started to tip from the wall.  This is when I figured out I am just not strong enough to do such simple things as screw something into a stud while on a ladder.  I then called, text, and emailed every man in my life to see who would come to my rescue first.  Enter Jim, my step-dad.  Thank goodness for Jim!!  Back to business...

7.  Now insert the bolts into the square metal thing and slide 2 into the suspension rail to hang your first cabinet.  This is the time to grab a friend if you need help lifting.  If you are crafty you can stack some things up to the correct height and put the cabinet on top to truly DIY but that is some risky behavior meant only for such people as MacGyver and Indiana Jones.  Don't ask me how I know this - I just do.  Today I was thankful to have Mom and Jim there to help me.

8.  Before lifting the cabinet up, measure the space between the holes on the back of the cabinet and pre space your bolts (already in the suspension rail) at about the same distance -this will make it easier once someone is holding the cabinet below and you are trying to fumble with the nut and washer thingy.  Now lift it up and get the bolts through the holes, put the washer thingy on and then screw on the nut.  Don't worry about getting it tight and level just yet. 

Now - stand back and admire your handy work!!  If you are putting more than one cabinet on keep workin' it till you are done.  Then start at the end nearest the wall and get the cabinet level then tighten the nuts.  There are simple directions on leveling that come with the cabs.  Go to the next and do the same all the way down the line.  Make sure to secure the cabinets to one another with the connectors that come with it. 

So simple!!  We had these up and hung in about 10 minutes...4 hours if you count the time I tried to do the studs myself to the time Jim got there and we actually got it done.  Not bad for a day's work!  

Here is a sneak peek at What's Happening Now (unfortunately I just got that theme song stuck in my head!!  Don't remember it?  Check it out here...)

Simply put - we have progress.  I am looking forward to loading up those shelves and to start enjoying the space soon!  My inspiration photo will soon be a thing of the past as the whole office is starting to take shape.  I can not wait to see what I get accomplished by the end of the weekend.  Monday is fast approaching!

Anyone else working on a big project this weekend?  If you feel like sharing please leave a comment with what you are up to or a link to your project!!

As always -thanks for reading!!

Bianca