the mommy den

Once upon a time in a cottage in Fairhope there lived a sad little pass through room. This room was originally a formal dining room, but the family that lived in the house used the eat in space in the kitchen… This sad little room became a catch all for all the castoffs of the house… A huge armoire… A tacky sofa….a borrowed chair. This room was sad. So sad. She deserved better. One day the mommy in the house got tired of the pass through room. She decided that she would make this room HER space. It would be a place for her to sew, read a book, or just enjoy some mommy time. It would become a mommy den and live happily ever after….

In fairytale land the mommy would have snapped her fingers, and the change would magically occur. In the real world of mommyness we know these things take time and effort… I KNEW what I wanted this room to be, but I didn’t have much money to make changes. I decided to dive in and just use what I had……

This is the only before shot I could find… This room wasn’t very picture worthy!

I was so excited when I read about the mom cave contest over at Susan’s blog! Although I am happy overall with my transformation there are still several things that I would like to do for this room to better serve it’s purpose. I can’t think of a better place than HomeGoods to find the things I need to make this room perfect for me. Now, come on in my mommy den!

I knew I wanted a a terra cotta color to warm the space up and chose Miami Spice by Behr. I love the blues, greens, and my new terra cotta all together.

I redid an old console I had to house my new little bitty flat screen…. I love the way the halcyon green and terra cotta compliment each other. I used a shelf I had sitting around to house my favorite blue tray and some ironstone….

My sweet hubby and I had just gotten back from renewing our wedding vows in Jamaica. I chose this nontraditional shot for a portrait… This picture is SO us…. I love looking at it everyday in my special space.

I repainted an old desk for my sewing space…. I bought the memo board above my desk from Hobby Lobby and painted my monogram letters I ordered online. That mirror was found in an old thrift store… I painted and distressed it for my space.

I love having a place to hang my pattern for easy reading while I sew… I wouldn’t mind finding a larger one though….

These little magnetic containers from Homegoods would be PERFECT for pins and needles…

Here’s where the problems with the room start. I don’t have enough storage for all my sewing materials… Things get thrown in that one little basket on the floor. The desk doesn’t really work for my sewing needs. Andrew is going to build me a BIG sewing table for this wall, and I’m going to need some major storage solutions….

I saw this wall cabinet on the Homegoods page. I would love to find something like this to hang around my new sewing table to hide some sewing supplies. Something like this would be fantastic for housing patterns and monogramming materials. Those bottom cubbies would be PERFECT for other smaller notions.

This desk doesn’t provide enough “moving around space”. I move a lot in between my machines when I sew….

I think a little cabinet like this one from Homegoods would work really well with the sewing table Andrew’s going to build for me. It would be a fantastic option for fabric storage. I love that you would be able to see the gorgeous fabrics behind the glass doors.

Storage containers like these would be a huge help for the extra parts for my machines:

This spinner is PERFECT for a sewer like me!

I relocated this hutch from my dining area when I decided to redo this room. I LOVE all my Great grandmother’s china and crystal, but I NEED more sewing storage on these shelves. I NEED some places to CUTELY hide and house my notions, patterns, and fabric I’m working on.

My plan is to keep one shelf for my lovelies and use the bottom 2 shelves for storage.

I love all the storage solutions on these bookshelves that were found at Homegoods. I would LOVE to find some things similar to these for my hutch.

I had this antique couch in storage, and I knew it would be perfect for the look I was going for…. See those sad pillows? That’s one thing that I NEED to replace. My grandmother embroidered those birds hanging above the couch. They are some of my favorite possessions….

Sad pillows….

My favorite bird…

If I won this contest I would definitely use part of the money for new pillows to go all the way across my sofa like this Homegoods shopper did.

This gorgeous table belonged to my grandmother… I love it, but let’s be truthful… I need more pretties to go on top. I’m not thrilled with anything I have placed here.

I would love to replace the tired things on my table with items like these shown here….

This table was the deal of the century! I found it on Craigslist and paid $90 for it AND an antique lamp… I know. I felt like I was robbing them! It has the most gorgeous details EVER!

Look at the top… I swooned when I saw it.

Isn’t it DIVINE??

I love the hardwood floors in my house, but this room is screaming for a rug to warm things up…. That’s one thing I would LOVE to search HomeGoods for….

Another view of the room…. That doorway leads to my sons bedrooms and bath.

This hallway leads to the master bed and bath and the girlies’ room and bathroom… See. It really IS a pass through! I hope that now it encourages you to stop for a while instead of passing on through. I have enjoyed having my own space so much. I’ve always wanted a sewing/craft room. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I think it can really work once I get all my storage and organization figured out.

Winning one of the Homegoods gift cards would be amazing and would allow me to finish this room and have it the way I WANT it to be. Even though it’s not completely finished I am enjoying my space… I know that it’ll take time to finish, but all that’s part of the fun!

Thanks for looking! I’m headed to my mommy den to hang out and watch a little TV before bed :)

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well, they always thought they were french.

I was walking around my local (tiny) Goodwill one day, and I saw these chairs. I didn’t even slow down and kept right on walking. As I was on the OPPOSITE side of the store I heard these chairs calling me. “Come on back… Look at us again…. Give us a chance. We’re so embarrassed in these ugly clothes we’re wearing… We KNOW we can be better. Help us!” You know what I did next: I bought them. Now, let me tell you, these babies were hideous. I don’t even KNOW what this fabric is that they were covered in. What I can tell you is that they were FILTHY and in need of some serious loving…

As tacky as these girls were in their present condition I KNEW they had some great features. The cane was in PERFECT condition, and look at the adorable spindles on the backs….

Those metal finals gave more character… tacky character at this point, but character nonetheless. :)

Both these sisters got a couple of coats of Rustoleum’s Heirloom white followed by a good distressing and glaze of dark walnut stain.

They were finished off with brand new recovered seats in a gorgeous black and off white damask….

As I finished them up I heard them whispering to me one more time….

This time it was, “I told you so. We may have been tacky, but we always knew we were French.”

The end.

Linked to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Funky Junk Interiors

I could climb to heaven on my pile of magazines, so talk me down from the ledge.

Seriously. I could. I love magazines, especially housy ones! I saw these amazing deals on Amazon.com today and thought I’d share. These also make wonderful Christmas gifts for those other house loving gals in your life.

VERANDA is on sale for $6.99! $6.99 people!

COASTAL LIVING is on sale for $8.00 for a yearly subscription. I can’t wait to get this one, considering I DO live on the coast in a cottage!

I’m so tempted to get this one,

but it’s kinda steep for me at $19.95 for 4 issues. Has anyone else been reading it? Is it worth it?

This is where talking me down from the ledge comes in. When I was at Home Depot yesterday, the nice gal told me that Rustoleum is NOT making this loverly in spray paint anymore! Is this horror true? Does anyone KNOW???

Say it isn’t so!!! I don’t know WHY Miss Bix Orange Box Store would say such a thing… This certainly CAN’T be true!! Come on peeps, tell me that was all just a bad dream. Until I hear from you I’m going to climb up my mountain of magazines. :)

Love and hugs.

mirror mirror on the wall no more

I love this mirror I picked up a while back…. I knew it would be perfect for a huge chalkboard. It looked like it wanted to go with the blue desk I just painted, so I had to oblige. :)

This mirror was painted in a very soft Palladium Blue by Behr. It’s way more blue than these pictures show…. I was a bright Alabama day!

I distressed the edges and glazed it with Ralph Lauren smoke…. I love the way it turned out.

I gave it a couple of coats of chalkboard paint, and she’s ready to go. I can’t wait to go see this chalkboard hanging up over the desk I finished.  I know they look precious together….

I do have ONE regret: I wish I would’ve kept this one for myself. I loved the quatrefoil design on the top. I’m kicking myself right now, because I should’ve just let myself keep it…. I know that something else fabulous will turn up for me :) Just gives me another reason to keep on shopping!

Thanks for looking!

Love and hugs,

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Primitive and Proper