Posts Tagged ‘zero budget project’

Zero Budget Project: The Office

August 18th, 2012
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This week’s project was a bit of a challenge. I’m always using this space, so cleaning it up has been an ongoing process. Especially since Felix loves opening up the cabinet drawers and pulling out all of our office supplies.

Getting this room in working order was fairly simple. It came down to painting the room white, adding a few pieces of artwork, and keeping stuff off of surfaces. I’m constantly bringing in papers, projects and miscellany so I need the room to be as bare bones as possible.

With the white walls, I thought this would be the perfect chance to include my bright artwork that doesn’t usually match any anything else in the house. I even busted out some old artwork I forgot I had!

Here’s a quick reminder of what it looked like just days after we moved in. It’s nearly impossible to get inspired in such a haphazard and messy place.

The bright artwork is a homage to the yellow on the walls previously. It brings in a nice pop of color.

I bought the print on the left ages ago for Father’s day for Chris. It was from the Beehive Bazaar, but I can’t remember the seller. I love the neon square background pattern. If you know who sells these, leave a comment. I’d love to give credit!

The middle piece I did my sophomore year, using latex house paints. It will probably deteriorate in about 15 years, unfortunately.

The two smaller pieces on the right were made at Design Camp of Alt Summit last year with Eva from Sycamore Street Press. I’m planning on putting a family photo in that bottom one. I just need to get all of us together (and dressed) at the same time.

For the desk, I wanted to add a bunch of storage, but I still needed to take the photo corner into consideration. I tilted the Expedit on its side and slid it underneath the desk. It makes the desk a bit on the tall side, but I like the functionality of it. We have all of our hard drives and cables neatly tucked into cubbies underneath the desk. This is definitely the cleanest set up we’ve had thus far. We have two tethered screens (which I love), two keyboards (his and hers – Chris’s is the blank black one) and two mouse pads. Chris has switched completely to mousing with his left hand, but I’m too impatient give it a try, hence the two mouse pads. And the blank keyboard? Well, it’s set to PC functions, so I can’t use my keyboard commands, so I use the regular mac keyboard.

I mounted the shelf above the computers to house my Silhouette cutter, camera remotes, headphones and other compy gear. I should put some artwork above there. It looks really lonely up there.

The quote is by AnnilyGreen – I scored it at a gift exchange last Christmas, and the painting below is one of mine that I completed when chris and I were just starting to date. Artwork is very much like having my personal history up on my walls. You know how songs can take you back to a specific memory? Art is totally the same way for me.

Of all the guys I dated in college, Chris was the only one that was actually game to come to my painting studio and study while I painted. Heck, he even busted out a painting while he visited. It was then that I knew he was a keeper.

Behind the door I house the tripod. Right here, it’s set up for studio shots. I like having it set up in the corner of the room, so I can just butt the leg up to the corner and have the camera in the same position every time I bust it out. I’m trying to work on consistency this year.

The above artwork is self made. The big painting was recent this year, and the print was a litho piece I did back in college.

The closet is still a work in progress. I put my paper storage in there along with photography, watercolor and bookbinding supplies. I’d like to have it more organized with shelving, but it works well enough for now.

And here’s the corner where I shoot all of my pictures now. It’s so lovely to have this space all ready to rock and roll at a moment’s notice. Back when we lived in California in an insanely overpriced 1 bedroom apartment, I just dreamed and dreamed of space and light like this. It’s heaven.

Along with making matching his and hers mouse pads, I decided it was high time to recover this desk chair. I have recovered it three times now. This time I covered it in a plush leather that will resist stain and wear well. I was hesitant to work on this thing again. It’s a $15 office chair from ikea from 4+ years ago. There are so many prettier desk chairs out there, but updating this was free. I figure, if we ever end up trashing this and sending it off to the thrift store, I’ll strip the leather off the bottom and use it for something. Heaven forbid this amazing soft leather goes to waste.

Overall the only expenses on this room (counting from the time we moved in until now) were: the paint $45, photo floor $10 and rolling drawers $40. Everything else I had on hand. If I could do more to this space, I would tile this (and the whole top floor) in slate, add a rug, swap out the desktop for reclaimed wood and hairpin legs and get a taller drafting desk chair.

For these ideas and more, check out my office pinboard here. 

Zero Budget Project: The Office

August 14th, 2012
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This week’s challenge is the office; part two of my studio space. We opted to put our work stuff in the two small bedrooms upstairs and the kiddos in a shared room downstairs, creating a kid-friendly lair that Penelope and Felix can call their own.

This room started out a buttercup yellow, but I changed it to white on a weekend while Chris and the kids were out of town. That has helped the space, however, nothing in this room really has a permanent place.

This week, I’m looking to organize all of our office stuff in shelves and the closet, cleaning up the debris that quickly collects in this room. Hopefully we’ll be able to work out a system for keeping the paper clutter down.

Zero Budget Project: The Studio

August 10th, 2012
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Getting the studio finished this week was a necessary evil. I kept dragging my feet, but once I started working on it, I was on a tear. It was great to have today’s reveal as motivation to get it 100% done.

Working on this project forced me to go through a lot of boxes and throw out quite a bit of miscellaneous crap I’ve not used or needed in some time.

I think I’ll hang this banner somewhere, but for now, it just rests on the door nob. I made this last year, two houses ago.

Remember what this space looked like on Monday? Nothing productive can happen in this space.

A lot more junk can get done in here. I added wall storage for calligraphy supplies, business cards, stamps, envelopes and more. The goal was to get as much off of my desks as possible, so I can use that for work and to keep it from Penelope’s grubby little fingers. I had some of the white Ikea boxes and shelving before, but I had to supplement to get it all up there and done. That was less than $20.

The table is currently covered with my cutting mat and cutter. I’d be inclined to take the mat off, but the paint is really wrecked. At some point I’d like to paint this little table. We scored that table ages ago in California on the side of the road with “FREE” written all over it. I love that table.

I put some miscellaneous artwork up to keep my sewing books and receipts company up top. I don’t get as much utility out of the shelving up top besides inspiration and resources.

Artwork (from left): Birds of Ashmae temple, photo of Penelope, unfinished painting in back, Kantan Designs quote, Love painting by Mer Mag, Esplin by me, tiny illustration scored from a housewares swap, empty frame for Felix (couldn’t get the printer to work).

In order to fit the white boxes on the shallow shelves, I oriented them sideways, making it impossible to read the label for what’s on there. I cut out little squares of chalkboard contact paper and applied it to the sides. It looks nice, and if the contents of the box ever changes, I can just rewrite it in chalk.

I decided it was time that I permanently set up my easel. It’s a constant reminder to paint. This piece is about a third of the way done, so it taunts me every time I walk in the room. It’s a good taunt.

I organized my fabric, again. I’ve recently scored several yards of fantastic prints, which give me no excuses! I must make some awesome clothes with them now. I had this fabric storage set up in the last two places we’ve been, and I love it. It’s cheap, I can use the top for laying out patterns, I can see the contents and everything’s neatly contained.

My ironing board isn’t a standard size, so I need to make a new cover. Can you tell how baggy that cover is? Yikes. Artwork (from left): scored at a housewares swap, mine, mine, cork board with various inspiration.

I took advantage of the storage space in the closet and used that to stage the tailoring and refashions I have queued up. Last night I knocked out about 1/3 of the mending, but I still have my work cut out for me.

Back in my California days when I taught bookbinding, one of my students was a teacher at a local school district. The school was dumping REAMS of strathmore parent sheets, so she snapped them up. She asked if I wanted any. Of COURSE. Over 3 years later, I’ve not even gotten through half the ream! It’s fantastic warm-grey paper, but it’s heavy and takes up a lot of space. I had a brilliant brainwave to hang the paper over the clothes rod in the closet. It feels pretty fantastic to have it all right there, so neatly put away. Below is my assortment of clothing patterns. I have quite a collection! I have a fair amount of white storage boxes, most of which are empty. It’s nice to keep a few empty spaces in this room to allow for growth. Below are bins of packaging supplies and leather.

Opposite of my desk is my sewing desk. We bought the legs over a year ago to DIY a kitchen table that totally failed. I ended up just buying a top from Ikea and moving everything to my studio instead. It all worked out nicely. The green table elevates the trash nicely, so I can throw away threads as I’m working feverishly on projects. I made that table like 9 years ago. It’s a favorite of mine, for sure. I wanted to make sure that I got the thread and scissors off the desks to keep Penelope and Felix from getting into trouble. Felix absolutely LOVES thread.

The yellow box has my current projects inside, neatly organized. I can easily store it under the table if I need the extra table top space. Artwork (from left): SeeSaw, A Vintage Poster, Me, Penelope, Thrifted

And here’s the wall that connects the sewing with the crafting. It’s so fantastic to have my own dedicated room for creative projects and to have it all organized (for now).

Decorating and organizing this room came just under $20 with the extra shelving and storage boxes. Not bad! I’ve debated on changing up the color of the walls to match the rest of the house, but the blue fits for now. Check out my old studio here (two houses ago).

I think I’m in a great place with this room. However, if budget were not an issue, I would put in wood floors to match with the kitchen, paint the walls a light grey, and get a couple of odds and ends for organizing. See what I have in mind on my Pinterest Board. Next week, it’s on to my office!!

Zero Budget Project: The Studio

August 6th, 2012
6 Comments

My sewing/craft studio frustrates me to no end. It’s nowhere near organized and I use it just about every day. It’s one of those gigantic messes that’s so overwhelming, I don’t even know where to start.

I’ve got to do something about it now before it becomes something from an episode of Hoarders.

As you can see, I have a giant pile of clothes in the corner. That’s my refashion/tailor/alter pile. It grows every day. The sooner I get on it, the sooner I’ll have new clothes to wear. It’s a bit daunting, but I think I’ll have everything ready to rock and roll in this space in no time.

The goal: create an inviting space for crafting. I need to open up as much table top space as possible by wall mounting everything that can be mounted on the wall. Put supplies and tools in bins and boxes that are easy to access and put away. This room serves many purposes: sewing, bookbinding, calligraphy, leather crafting, painting and more. I need to keep it as organized as possible so I can make those transitions as effortlessly as possible.

Follow along on instagram @melissapher #zerobudgetproject for sneak peeks on progress, and check back here on Friday for the big reveal.

Zero Budget Project: Music Room

August 3rd, 2012
3 Comments

Attacking this room was a lot less work, but not nearly as climactic as Penelope and Felix’s space. I don’t really have a whole lot of furniture for this space, so we’ll likely end up bulking this room up over time. I’m pleased with it for now, though. I can walk around it and Chris can practice his guitars in it.

Remember, this below is a reminder of what it looked like before:

Most of my work was putting guitars and artwork on the wall. Even after I put up my pretty art.com piece I felt so much better about the space.

Here’s what Felix was up to during the shoot. He was excited to be in all the fun. This space is easy to work with. The McBride’s left great window treatments, so I didn’t feel the need to hang curtains (although I may later). They also left most of the upstairs painted a bright, warm grey. It doesn’t translate as well into photos, but it matches pretty much everything and it’s not a bandaid tan. I feel like it keeps the space light, airy and open.

This interior wall is where I would like to place a piano, so the bench is a good place marker for that. Eventually I would like to reupholster the bench in a tangerine leather with natural wood legs, but that may be down the road. Chris doesn’t mind practicing his acoustic here. The art fills the space nicely, but I do think I will be adding more artwork along each side as we get more settled. I’ve been brainstorming a potential series recently, so I may use this space to hang a couple of those pieces. The bench I found at a thrift store ages ago, the Poang chair in the corner was from As-Is last year, the lamp is from ikea and the art from Art.com.

This expedit cube was originally in the living room shanking one of the sides of the entertainment center, but this space needed something to keep it from feeling barren. This is mostly knick knacks, magazines, a few favorite books and a cheap bongo drum that Felix can’t leave alone (it’s so cute to see him jam with Chris!). The suitcase is another place marker. Chris has been thinking about getting another guitar sometime down the line, so I hesitate to fill the space with a big gallery.

The elephant was from Urban Outfitters a few years ago. The painting is by Brittany Scott (from a Creative Collab gift exchange last year), the jar was a wedding gift and the bongo drum from Guitar Center.

The trumpet is Chris’s. He played for several years, but hasn’t picked it up in ages. It’s far too beautiful to keep in a box, so I thought I would put it on display. It’s likely that Chris will actually pick it up and play if it’s out. Heck, I picked it up and played it the other day. I actually got a decent sound out of it, and it was HARD to do! The succulents are an assortment from Ikea and home depot. The aloe in there previously died, so I repotted this and a few other succulent pots a couple weeks ago.

The panton S chairs (scored at an antique shop last year) were at each end of our dining table, but they scratch up the flooring in our new kitchen, so they’ve been relegated to the music room. They add a nice modern feel to the room, but I would love to have a modern bench that spanned the room here. It would be great for small gatherings and jam sessions.

The chairs work well for now. The pillows I made (pleated + leather).

I did the far left painting back in college, the center intaglio print is by friend Emily Dennis and the right photo is one of Chris and my engagement photos. My mother-in-law took the photo, I cross-processed them and framed it in my great-great-grandmother’s frame. I love this frame – it’s a circle inside the square (which I have engraved on my wedding ring).

The globe is a hand-me-down from my parents. It’s super old – when the U.S.S.R. was a thing and colonies still existed. The side table is on loan to us until Shelley (my sister-in-law) settles down. She made it at her grandpa’s house last summer. He’s an architect and makes the most amazing stuff. I would love to find something similar that I could permanently use in the room.

We didn’t do a single thing to the entryway besides decorate it. I found the basket at DI a few years ago, and the bench I rehabbed from a home decor swap.

From left: Colt Bowden, Print from BigCartel, me, me, me, Lindsay Denning, Urban Outfitters.

There you have it. If budget were to allow it, I would buy a piano, reupholster the bench in orange leather and use it as the piano bench, add a gigantic rug in the space, more pillows and a gigantic modern bench along the windows, and maybe do some fun shoe storage by the entryway. Check out my pinboard for my finished vision of the room.

I feel like the area is thinly decorated right now, but it’s organized and clean which is all that matters at this point. I’m crossing this room off my checklist. Next week I might attack my studio.

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