Behind Closed Doors
I finally finished embellishing one of Amelia's two bookcases today and moved it to her new room, alongside the desk and hutch. To minimize the weight when transporting it from one room to the other, I removed the lower cabinet doors. Once it was put in place, I thought it might be nice to leave the doors off and use white baskets on those bottom two shelves. So I'm now in search of the appropriate size, color, and price of baskets.
One thing I learned when working on these bookcases was the danger of hidden storage--at least for a preteen. A ton of "stuff" was unearthed from behind those cabinet doors when Amelia emptied them. I asked her to sort through the pile, to throw away what could be tossed and to figure out what could be moved up to the attic. What was left would be stored in the shelf when it was moved.
After a few minutes, I looked down from my perch on the stepstool and saw her on the floor, surrounded by her "stuff," and immersed in reading one of the notebooks she had "found" inside the cabinet. I gently urged her to get back to sorting, but before long, she was buried in another book. Suffice it to say that I had to do the sorting for her later :-)
The bookshelf looks pretty good, and I was pleased with the outcome of the scalloped trim on top. I drilled a large hole in the back to feed her stereo cord through, and we put most of her "stuff" back on the shelf. The second bookshelf is not quite done. I glued and clamped the trim in place but will let it sit overnight before setting the nails and moving it. Hopefully, we can move it to her room tomorrow. Then she'll have NO EXCUSE for "stuff" on the floor!
Of course, as her old room slowly is emptied--except for the drums--I am realizing that if I ever want to paint it (which I do), it had better be before I put anything else in there. We made the mistake of not painting the master bedroom when we moved into the house 11 years ago. It's the only room we have yet to paint, despite the desperate need for it. The idea of moving a huge armoire filled with TV and stereo equipment, a king-sized bed, two nightstands, a heavy desk, and a very heavy gentleman's chest is just too much for my feeble mind to grasp. And there's no way to paint around those things. They'd have to come out.
So I will not make that mistake twice. Once I move out Amelia's second shelf, there will be nothing left in her old room but the drums and my sewing machine. Those are easily moved temporarily during painting. And does it ever need painting! It's hot pink (with the expected dirt and scribbles, nail holes, and scuff marks from a preteen), topped with a tulip wallpaper border. Not exactly the decor for a music room.
My "plan" is to paint the room a rich yellow, add black bookshelves and a corner TV stand, and make a long countertop/table under which my sewing machine cabinet would roll. (We need a TV/VCR/DVD in there so Amelia can use her drum instruction DVD while she practices. We're hoping our old one in the attic still works.) That should go okay with the silver drums--I hope.
Unfortunately, while I may get the room painted one weekend soon, I doubt I'll have time to work on the furniture for a while. I promised Kate I'd try to finish her hutch before her birthday--which is the end of March! And I still have that half bath downstairs to strip and paint. Maybe I can teach the girls to strip wallpaper and apply masking tape. That way I could knock out the painting for both rooms in one weekend. I guess that means I need to sucker them into helping me before soccer starts.
I wonder if the dog could hold a paintbrush in her mouth?
One thing I learned when working on these bookcases was the danger of hidden storage--at least for a preteen. A ton of "stuff" was unearthed from behind those cabinet doors when Amelia emptied them. I asked her to sort through the pile, to throw away what could be tossed and to figure out what could be moved up to the attic. What was left would be stored in the shelf when it was moved.
After a few minutes, I looked down from my perch on the stepstool and saw her on the floor, surrounded by her "stuff," and immersed in reading one of the notebooks she had "found" inside the cabinet. I gently urged her to get back to sorting, but before long, she was buried in another book. Suffice it to say that I had to do the sorting for her later :-)
The bookshelf looks pretty good, and I was pleased with the outcome of the scalloped trim on top. I drilled a large hole in the back to feed her stereo cord through, and we put most of her "stuff" back on the shelf. The second bookshelf is not quite done. I glued and clamped the trim in place but will let it sit overnight before setting the nails and moving it. Hopefully, we can move it to her room tomorrow. Then she'll have NO EXCUSE for "stuff" on the floor!
Of course, as her old room slowly is emptied--except for the drums--I am realizing that if I ever want to paint it (which I do), it had better be before I put anything else in there. We made the mistake of not painting the master bedroom when we moved into the house 11 years ago. It's the only room we have yet to paint, despite the desperate need for it. The idea of moving a huge armoire filled with TV and stereo equipment, a king-sized bed, two nightstands, a heavy desk, and a very heavy gentleman's chest is just too much for my feeble mind to grasp. And there's no way to paint around those things. They'd have to come out.
So I will not make that mistake twice. Once I move out Amelia's second shelf, there will be nothing left in her old room but the drums and my sewing machine. Those are easily moved temporarily during painting. And does it ever need painting! It's hot pink (with the expected dirt and scribbles, nail holes, and scuff marks from a preteen), topped with a tulip wallpaper border. Not exactly the decor for a music room.
My "plan" is to paint the room a rich yellow, add black bookshelves and a corner TV stand, and make a long countertop/table under which my sewing machine cabinet would roll. (We need a TV/VCR/DVD in there so Amelia can use her drum instruction DVD while she practices. We're hoping our old one in the attic still works.) That should go okay with the silver drums--I hope.
Unfortunately, while I may get the room painted one weekend soon, I doubt I'll have time to work on the furniture for a while. I promised Kate I'd try to finish her hutch before her birthday--which is the end of March! And I still have that half bath downstairs to strip and paint. Maybe I can teach the girls to strip wallpaper and apply masking tape. That way I could knock out the painting for both rooms in one weekend. I guess that means I need to sucker them into helping me before soccer starts.
I wonder if the dog could hold a paintbrush in her mouth?
posted by Tif at 8:48 PM
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