Dressing Up

As I alluded to in this post, we've started the process of creating a nursery space for our Mini Waffle.  One of the things I new we'd be needing was a chest of drawers, and wanting to get the most bang for my buck. I ideally wanted one that offered:

• enough space for a change pad on top
• plenty of storage for all the baby stuff (clothes, lotions, potions, etc.)
• multi-functional 
• will grow with the baby (ie. doesn't scream nursery)
• cute to look at!

While I was getting ideas for the nursery I stumbled across this image and the idea of incorporating a retro dresser change table was born.

source

So, I did want any self respecting modern DIY mama would do, and I scoured the list of Mr Craig, to see what I could find.  And, as always, with a little patience and perseverance he didn't disappoint, because a few weeks later I stumbled across this little (okay, it's 71" long, so it's huuge) diamond in the rough.

And, it hit all of my dream dreser criteria

• enough space for a change pad on top- check
• plenty of storage for all the baby stuff (clothes, lotions, potions, etc.)- 9 drawers worth, check!
• multi-functional - it can go in almost any room, check
• will grow with the baby (ie. doesn't scream nursery) - wood and metal, totally all ages appropriate, check
• cute to look at!- hello awesome retro-ness with great legs, double check!!

The best part of the dresser..... it was in the free section of Craigslist!  So a few quick e-mails later, and I'd snagged the "first dibs" on the dresser.

Then, I let H know we needed to take a little drive after work.... lucky for me he's gotten used to my "little treasure trips", and with the help of some minor bribery in the form of a Starbucks, was more than willing to give me a hand wrangling this monster (it's 71" long).  A quick trip across town, and we packed the new to us dresser in our Matrix and headed home.  

After getting the lay of the land (and consulting with our furniture restoration guru- aka my Dad!), we decided that the finish on the top was too far gone for just polishing up, and that we'd have to get a bit more "invasive".

Years of use had taken a tole on the top surface to the point it was stained with oils, grease, pen, water rings, candle wax, you name it! And, a layer of varnish that was worn off in places.

So, I pulled out our newest toy, a Ryobi palm sander, and got to work taking off what was left of the finish.

 A little bit of elbow grease later (yup, with a dust mask just to be safe, since I'm preggers), we were able to finally see the beautiful wood that was hiding under all that grime..... Walnut!  Amazingly 99% of the imperfections were taken away with a little light sanding (starting with a round of 90 grit, and then finishing off with 220 grit for a super smooth surface), only a few of the deeper dings were left behind.

With the top under way, we started to tackle the rest of the dresser, starting with the drawers, which were dull and flat with handle tips which has a brass finish that was wearing off over the many years of use, leaving behind a blotchy brassy chrome look.... mmmm, not so hot!

So, we applied a wood cleaner with some steel wool to draw out all of the dirt and grime, and then added a layer of wax, and those dull beauties began to really shine and show the character of the wood veneer.

It's amazing to think those drawers are from the same piece of furniture! Next up for this project is to:

• De-brassify the metal handle tips
• clean and wax the entire carcass of the dresser

But, I think it's safe to say that this poor sad dresser has come a long way already, I can't wait to see Cinderella all done up for the ball!

District Permitting

As you may recall from this post, H and I have been wanting to convert our carport into a full fledged garage.  With a Mini Waffle on the way, we know storage is going to be at a premium around here (hello baby paraphernalia, I'm talking about you!)

So, a few weekends ago, I sat down to prep for a meeting with our city's permit department.  Considering it was 22 degrees C and sunny (in March!!), sitting outside to work was mandatory for this work.

Having discussed the requirements with our local permit peeps, I knew exactly what I needed to provide, I just had to sit my butt down and do it!  So, over several hours (and a few iced teas later), I managed to draft everything up to the appropriate scale....

                                                                             
I was not the only one slaving away in the sun however, while I was drawing up our reno plans,  H was doing this....

The soap, water, and a leather chamois way... because Windex is apparently not an acceptable way to clean windows in our house ;)

While the two of us were busy outside Nevada was working hard too....

On her doggy tan!  But I guess that's to be expected since she's a California girl!

And, today my hard work paid off because, I finally received this bit of awesomeness! 

Yay, for being able to draft up my own plans and saving thousands on architect fees, and hello carport reno!

Mismatched but Orderly

Part of the clean out of the Office/Sewing room for Operation Get Ready for  Baby was to finally get around to re-hanging the art from our newly painted living room. 

One of the things we did want to install was a gallery wall.  Now since I'm Miss Matchy Symmetrical, and H is Mr. Mis-Matched Wonky, we had to come up with a compromise that wouldn't make one of us get a twitch every time they walked down our hall.

Our Solution was to have two colours of mismatched frames (black and oak/gold) within a structured rectangular shape..... 

Hmmm, not sure that will make sense to anyone else.  So let me break it down for you a bit.

We started by laying out the frames on the floor and shuffling them around until we had a layout that seemed balanced but not too "perfect" for H's liking.

We then measured the outside of the floor arrangement and taped pieces of string to the wall in the matching dimensions.  Once we were happy with the position on the wall, we started filling it in from one side to the other.

Filling it in was a lot of eyeball work, but the string helped us keep the outer edges of the frames in line so that as a whole they all seemed one unit.  We then measured the nail positions of each frame and tapped them in.

Once it was all done we just removed the tape to reveal our mismatched orderly gallery wall of images.  The frames show people, places and things we love, such as:

• our wedding invitation
• photo of my paternal grandparents wedding
• photo of H's maternal grandparents
• vintage stamps

• H's mom as a child
• H and my Dad getting ready on our big day
• Vintage postcards of cities we love

Such fun little addition to our hallway, and a fun conversation point for our friends and family. A good compromise for both of our styles, and most importantly... one big step towards re-claiming our office/spare room/sewing room!

Half way already? .... How the heck did that happen?!

So, H and I were chatting last week, and we realized that we were coming up to week 20 of our pregnancy, aka the half way point!

At first I was fine with that, and then I started to get all angst-y worrying that we weren't going to be ready in time, as between work, a ~3 week vacation to Europe  and my decreasing mobility/agility, I know the time will be flying by.   So, to somewhat ease my worries, this weekend operation Get Ready for Baby went into overdrive.

What did that look like you ask?!:

• Containing the chaos that has been my sewing area- especially as the "office/ sewing room" is now a "spare room/office/sewing room" - with so many functions in one relatively small space, organization  is key to making sure our guests don't get drowned in quilting fabric!
• It's taken ages so far and is still in progress!

• Getting started on the refurb/beautification of the first of our DIY nursery projects, a nine drawer mid century dresser which, when we picked it up, was looking pretty roughed up and drab.

• Followed by recruiting a helper (aka my dad), to assist H in cutting down the new to us bi-fold doors for the nursery and above mentioned spare room/office/sewing room, as neither of these rooms have had closet doors since we moved in and removed the wood louvered ones almost 2 years ago!   This is even more sad pathetic considering that we had bought replacements ..... last year  (hanging head in shame).  
• Now, to paint them.... and then hang them!

• And finally..... ordering parts for our DIY nursery mobile.

Lot's more details (and pics) to come!