Shelved

With the new baby, not much renovating has been going on around Rambling Renovators. And the projects we do get to are taking soooo much longer to finish. I'm sure you parents out there can relate! So I'm really happy reveal something we managed to complete - the shelf in Chloe's room.

When I designed the whole built-in wardrobe / window seat area, I knew I wanted a shelf above the window. You can always use more storage in a kid's room and plus we didn't have anywhere to put the toys and books that Chloe would accumulate. HandyMan started by cutting a piece of plywood to fit the length of the window. By resting and screwing it into the top of the window frame, we'd have enough support along the length of the shelf for the baskets. The shelf was made 13" deep, deep enough for the baskets but not so deep that it would create a dark hole above the window and block off some of the sunlight. The variety in depth against the adjoining wardrobes also created a much more interesting design.


HandyMan added a 3" strip of plywood across the front to mimic the shaker details in the window seat. A small one inch strip was added underneath the left and right ends of the shelf to provide additional support. We found a nice chrome curtain rod at West Elm and mounted that directly to the face of the window frame. The curtains our seamstress made looked great hanging off the shiny rings. Now its the perfect inviting space. I can picture Chloe sitting there when she's older, reading her favourite book.


One little faux pas though... the curtains were made before we knew where the curtain rod would be hung and our measurements were wrong. Not a big deal, we'll just have to get them shortened. Just one more thing to add to the project list!

Store It

I'm on the hunt for toy storage bins to sit on the shelf above the window in Baby's room. Who knew there were so many pretty options out there!


From L to R: Serena & Lily Everything Bins; Pottery Barn Canvas storage; IKEA Barnslig boxes; West Elm Canvas boxes; Umbra Crunch Can; Land of Nod Rattan baskets

The Organized Garage

Having spent a lot of time in the garage this past weekend, I finally took a good look around the place. This is the one room that HandyMan was left on his own to 'decorate', and I have to admit, he's done a really good job. Aesthetically, the place is fine, all wood and... sawdust. Functionally though, the place is just awesome.

HandyMan has a few organizing tricks up his sleeve. Like those shelf brackets above. See how he's stored the extra 2x4s on them? They're both secure and accessible. He's put other wood odds and ends up in the open rafters too. You'll notice everything is off the floor... ladders, shovels, hedge trimmers, apple green bamboo ladder (what?!), rake... everything has a home. Even our bikes are tucked away - up overhead hanging from the rafters.

I like how he's made use of the entire space too. The whole back wall is lined with pegboard. (If you ever want to see your husband giddy as a schoolgirl, just give him some pegboard, a few hooks, and some hand tools to play with!). There's cubby holes above for small tools and shelves below with enough space for the big toys - I mean tools ;). And see that metal rod hanging on one of the walls between the studs? HandyMan put that up specifically so he could hang hammers and clamps off of it. That boy is genius, I tell you.

This little section above is one of my favourites. A few strips of wood were attached across some studs to create a little niche for smaller wood pieces.

Now that we have the spray paint gun, HandyMan also came up with the brilliant idea of how we can turn our garage into a paint shop. He stapled some plastic dropsheets to the wall header along one wall. After the painting is done, we just roll up the sheets and secure them up at the ceiling with some tape. Roll them down for the next paint job - easy peasy.

And see this hanging basket? It may just look like a neat storage place for rags and gloves. To me, its a sign that HandyMan does love me. See, I'm only 5'0 and have trouble reaching my garden gloves if they're tucked away in the upper shelves. This little basket was put in just for me, just for my gloves. I guess, even though its definitely "The Boys Room", I'm welcome here too.