Music Room Update

 I completed the painting of our music room.  It is Benjamin Moore's Iron Mountain.  And of course I can't just paint a room and not move things around a bit.

I really like how the color of the piano looks against the new color. (I can't seem to get a good picture though.) 

Here's how the room started.  A quick move in and furniture that has no where else to go.

And then I repainted the china cabinet.

And now painted the walls.



Making It Work

After some debating, we decided to make memories for our family rather than some of the home improvement projects I have on my list this year.  So I booked our tickets to Maui and then got busy making a few problem areas in our house work, using what we already own. 

This is a change table that my father made us, with love, when we were expecting our first child.  It is beautiful and something I will hold on to for a long time - maybe ever.  However,  this room is doing it no justice and it is not functioning well as a violin cabinet.  You can see my violin resting on the top of the piano.  It is supposed to be stored inside the cabinet but then is not convenient for the everyday practicing that I am trying to do with my son, so most often sits atop the piano.  I also do not like that it is the same height as the piano (I like to keep things staggered for visual interest) and there is so much wood going on here!!  Due to its depth, it also consumes a lot of space in this room making it feel more cramped.

Off I went to shop my house and see what else I have that would function better in this room for our needs.

This is the only piece I found that wasn't already serving well for another purpose.  It is a small china cabinet that came from my great Aunt Ethel.  It is not an antique, nor a solidly handcrafted piece, nor made of high quality wood, and has broken glass side panels.  The other pieces that were once a part of this set are long gone.   However, it was the correct dimension for housing a full-size violin and taller than the piano.  A little fixing up and it would make my frustrating violin situation workable!!!

The doors were removed.  The broken glass in the sides was replaced with 1/2 inch mdf cut to size.  All the holes and dings were filled with wood filler and sanded smooth.  Then primed and painted with Benjamin Moore's North Sea.  It actually is a dark navy color, however this room is always washed with natural sunlight so it appears lighter in photos.  All the supplies used were on hand except for the quart of North Sea paint.

It is helping to breakup all the wood going on in this room.  Although the piano is not my choice of color I am working with it as it was my Father's engagement gift to my Mother.  It has had many hours of memories for my family during childhood music lessons and soon my daughter will be learning on this piano.

It fits our violins perfectly and makes them easy to access for our daily practicing!! There is also a little room for storage of our most current music in the doors below and room for my sons most recent achievement framed to keep him motivated.  The current certificate displayed is his distinction (94%) performance at the music festival.  (Maybe it's more for his proud mother than him.)

This is not the end of my vision for this room.  I am picturing a gallery wall around the violin cabinet and the room painted a dark, moody color. 

Here are a few photos so you can have an idea of what I am dreaming of.

I think this color would do wonders for my 'orangeish' piano.

If only I had the paint I would be doing it right now.  But the stores are closed and the kids are in bed so this paint project will wait for another day. 

Linking To: Simply Creation, Frugalicious Friday, Remodelaholic's Anonymous, Flaunt it Friday, Show and Share, Tickled Pink, Free For All Fridays, Furniture Friday

Ikea Desk transformation finally complete!!

I finally finished my Ikea desk transformation that I have been working on for far too long.  I haven't really put a ton of hours into it but the nice weather we have been enjoying has pushed this project to the back burner.  Here it is.

And this is what it used to look like.

You can see my inspiration for my desk in this post.

What I did to achieve this transformation:

I took this stack of walnut off-cuts from my Dad's woodworking.

Then I glued them down on a sheet of mdf cut to the size of my desk.  You can read a little on this process here and here.

Then sanded and sanded and sanded some more.  Added 5 coats of a tung oil, linseed oil, spar urethane, and varnish mixture.  And glued it onto my desk (after I had ruffed the desk up a bit with 120 grit sandpaper).

Then the painting began.  One coat of Benjamin Moore's Fresh Start Primer and three coats of Cabinet Coat in Timid White.  Finished with one coat of the same mixture as above for good measure.

I removed the metal leg and sprayed it with Rustoleum's metallic spray paint for a shiny metal finish rather than the flat finish on the leg originally.  I also sprayed some brass lion pulls in the same metallic paint and attached them to the drawers.  Some of the options I considered for the metal you can read about here. 

 A better view of the slats on the top.

The Lion pulls I picked up from Home Depot and sprayed.

Now I am on the hunt for the perfect office chair to compliment my desk, some great drapes for this room and a little more wood for the shelving I plan to build for my office/music room.

Linking this project to:

Type A Decorating                  Thrifty Decor Chick         The DIY Showoff        WOW Us Wednesdays
Swing Into Spring                Wicked Awesome Wednesday       Creative Share Wednesdays
Workshop Wednesday        Simply Creations           Frugalicious Friday       Remodelaholics Anonymous
Flaunt it Friday

Piano Bench Complete!

One project off the list. 

I completed my new piano bench last night and I am completely thrilled with how it turned out.  I made it from scratch!!!!  If you missed my original post stating the reasons why I wanted to change the bench and some inspirational photos you can see that here.

Here is the original bench that I found out my dad did not make (just fixed multiple times), but my mom did do the needlepoint on top.

If you want to find out how

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Click on Read More for all the details.

Updating the Piano Bench.

If you have been following my office update you will know that one of the projects on my list was updating the piano bench.

Here it is.  I believe my dad made this bench in his early wood working days over 30 years ago to match the piano. 

I have no idea why the little hole but I am sure there was a reason.

My mother did the needlepoint work on the top.

Obviously the 30+ years of use have been a little hard on it.

It even has a hinged top for handy storage.

This week I picked up 1.5 m of this faux alligator for a bargain.

Although I am sure that the bench can be repaired and recovered I am contemplating creating my own.  I don't really need the storage (since another project I am planning is a shelf, and I have a large storage closet), and I am not overly concerned about it being matchy matchy to the piano.

Here are a few benches I am contemplating.

Simple, clean.

Or perhaps one of these leg options.  The x-leg which would mimic the Crate and Barrel desk I am using as inspiration found here, or the metal legs which would match the Ikea Micke desk  I am transforming also found here. 

I think I will ponder this as I chisel and sand my desktop.

2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back

So I am making a little progress on the office desk I am working on that you can read about here.

Here is the stack of walnut slat cut offs from my Dad's shop that I am using to create a new top.

With the kids tucked into bed and the husband off to a hockey, I started gluing down all the slats.

This part was really easy and seemed to go very well so the next day I took it back out to my dad's shop to trim the edges down and sand.

I was just about finished with the sanding when these little problem areas showed up.  I had used too much glue in these 3 areas which caused them to heave leaving very thin 'veneer'.  Now I have to chisel out the slats in these 3 spots so I can glue down new ones in their place and start sanding again.

Very frustrating but I saw a glimpse of how great it will look before these areas showed up so I am determined to keep on.  I already have the slats replaced in one of the 3 areas. 

Office projects

Today I am heading out to my dad's shop to cut a piece of mdf to start on the first of my projects for our office/music room.  This is the place where we practice our music, and where I have the kids computer set up (that old jalopy you see in the photo) so that I can keep tabs on what they are into.  The office is located on the main floor just off the front entry but close to the living room and kitchen.  I am also found here often with my laptop as I have all my paperwork, printer and files tucked away in the closet.

Some of my plans for this space include adding drapes (when I find the perfect fabric at the right price), recovering the piano bench, hanging the mirror, update the pillow, moving out the change table and creating some rustic modern shelving to hold our music, and instruments.

The cherry change table (pictured in the photo above) was lovingly made by my father over 7 years ago to match our crib as we prepared for the birth of our first child.  I will not be parting with this piece as it means a lot to me but it will find another place in our home as it is a bit too bulky for the look I am hoping to achieve here.

Here is the $99 desk we purchased at Ikea strictly as a temporary desk until we found the one we love.  Well, I haven't found exactly what I have in mind yet, and anything close comes with a large price tag.

I am looking for a cross between this Crate and Barrel desk ($1599)

And this Crate and Barrel desk ($599).

I like the sleek clean lines of the white but the natural look of the wood.  My goal is to achieve the mixture with $0.  Unless I decide to add 2 pieces of hardware for the drawer fronts. 

Items I will be using that I already have:

The Ikea MICKE desk ($99)

4x8 sheet of mdf (I'm not sure the $ - left over from shelving)

walnut off cuts (free from my dad's shop)

wood glue

palm sander

trim paint (left over from painters)

I will update as I make progress on this project.  And all the DIY details will come once it is complete.