...until now.
This is one part of my home that I have been pretty silent about on my blog. It is a very tricky space that everyone who comes into my home has to walk through, so it impossible to close the door and hide. When a modern addition was put on my 1940's home (before we bought it), the former kitchen was left as a glorified hallway between the dining room and current kitchen. Not only does it have four doorways and an ironing board cabinet, but it has an identity crisis. It would be an ideal mud room, but it's not near an outside door. Furniture can't be in the middle of the room, because it would impede traffic, so it can't be a sitting room or play room or eating area. We decided to make it a home office and "landing zone."
The view above is from my dining room, looking through to the kitchen. The picture below is taken from the kitchen into the office. The weird paint treatment does have a reason for being there. Just picture with me...a bench, bead board, trim, hooks, and a ledge topped off with chalkboard paint and family photos. Are you seeing it? This wall will not be a dumping ground, but a place to tuck shoes and hang back packs in an orderly fashion. Right? (Is my family reading this?) Well, that's the idea, anyway.
I recently removed our baby gate and repaired the walls around the door frame. This picture was taken while the plaster was drying, but it's all finished now. I'd like to frame out this door in wood trim that matches the rest of the room. Notice my son's nail gun on the chair? We're getting him on the DIY path early. He loves "helping daddy."
The cubby unit on the right was given to us for free by a family at our church. It's a great solution until it's replaced by custom built-ins that will house a printer, my business phone, the router, etc.
My husband is going to make a farm style table for a desk out of some old barn beams from my great-grandparent's farm. It will be a work space as well as a home for the family laptop. The secretary is going to be painted and sold and replaced with another built in unit that will provide file storage and shelving.
The hubs started building the bench last week, so I am hoping to have a lot to report on in the weeks to come. My in-laws are coming tomorrow and my MIL said she would hang with the boys, so I could get some work done. I have four curtain panels, a sofa slipcover and some pillows to make, so I think I'm going to be hunched over the sewing machine for a few days! I'm not sure what I'll get done, but I'll give it a good, solid effort.
