It all looks perfectly innocuous from the outside. But don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Because when you open the doors, this is what greets you!
The Big Reveal
Yes, it's *ahem*, slightly less ordered than its companion, I think it's fair to say. In my defence I must add that this room used to be a bedroom - hence the clothes rails up the top and under the shelf.
But I don't need that lovely hanging room - I need shelves!
Hence the precarious pile of miscellanea on the right. It's quite Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa like so I don't open the doors often ☺.
On the left you can see my stash of assorted wrapping paper, hand-marbled paper I made years ago, brown kraft paper and coloured cardboard. The woven basket contains some wonderful old bottles I have some decorating plans for. The blue peeking out at the back is one of a pile of metal buckets nestled there.
The blue (isn't it *so me*?!) sewing machine is my Mum's 40 year old Singer. I've named her 'Beryl' - my grandmother's middle name. She was a talented seamstress so I like the connection to her. I'll give Beryl a post of her own soon.
Then I have several picture frames bought on special at Target, just waiting to be hung, like about 2 dozen others around the house (we still haven't finished The Great Unpack, nearly a years later).
The big plastic box contains thousands of old stamps and postcards my Dad collected over the years. They're waiting to be soaked off and used in the pixies' little stamp collections and for my craft.
On top of the box is a hotchpotch of items from all stages of my life. You might be able to spot an old cricket ball, Mum's old camera, a Canasta set of cards, a scrapbook containing all the cards my parents received when I was born - all those kinds of things. And atop them all is the gorgeous teal felt hat of my grandmother's. I cherish it.
And down the side and underneath, you can see dozens of my paintings. On the side I also have watercolour pads and my cutting mat and ruler for my fabric.
The top shelf is a tad easier on the eye! It's chock-a-block, as you can see. On top are a selection of cushions I've been collecting via Etsy and my clever friend Ness of Marley & Lockyer fame. They're waiting patiently for my bench-seat to be built.
All the blue cloth folders and magazine holders were also bought on special at Officeworks. They are also biding their time, waiting for me to start running my Etsy shop so they can house all the paperwork.
You can see the little Spotlight drawers I posted about here.
Behind all that are the pixies' baby books, our present box and all sorts of other bits and pieces.
So what I am going to do with the cupboard?
Thankfully, this is only a temporary status. My Virgo ways can't cope with the disorder much longer! We're just waiting on our carpenter friend to get back with a quotation for installing two shelves. I can't wait for them to be installed. I'll post an after shot ☺.
What else am I doing in the room?
We're also getting some carpentry work done on the other side of the room. Let's turn around to look at this spot.
This, sweet Planetarians, is just begging to be converted into a comfy bench-seat, don't you think? I plan to lounge around there in the sun with my plump cushions, reading away whilst the pixies play in the garden outside. We've planted lots of jasmine at the base of the lattice in the background so I'm looking forward to that delicious perfume wafting in during summer.
I'm so smitten by lovely Emma's bench-seat she posted about here. This is what it looks like. We're modelling ours along these lines - thanks, Em!
Source: twolittlepirates.blogspot.com.au via Jane on Pinterest
I've shown it to our carpenter who was very impressed. The vertical joins will pair very well with the older part of the house. We'll also have hinged lids under the cushions to allow for storage underneath, just like Emma's done.
Source: twolittlepirates.blogspot.com.au via Jane on Pinterest
But that's all for further down the track. For now, I need more desk space for my craft. I'd like to be able to leave my supplies out instead of having to put them away all the time.
So this is the plan. Leaving room for the eventual bench-seat, higher up we plan to add wooden ledges around the sides and back. We'll paint them the same gloss white as the sills and skirting.
Here I am pulling the curtain aside to show you better.
So with that ledge on all 3 sides, we'll then be able to slide in a lightweight door on top to make a desk! We'll paint it with a gloss paint so it's easy to clean. We'll also have a front with wooden legs attached by hinges. We'll put the front out to make sure the door has enough support and doesn't bow. After all, Beryl weighs 13kg!And when I want to, we can just fold it up and store it behind my door. That will only leave the ledge behind. We may use some decorative trim on it so it looks like a feature when not in use.
I am *so* excited at the thought of getting so organised and having the beautiful light streaming in. I'm getting quite giddy at the thought of crafting away there, happily!
So, tell me if I made you laugh! Are you shocked at the mess after seeing the other cupboard? And what do you think of the bench-seat and desk ideas? Over to you - dive in and share your thoughts!
