$100 Room Challenge, Wk 3: My Workspace- Budget Shelf Wallpaper & Buying
/In a 4 week challenge, week 3 is serious business! I really felt the pressure to buy Buy BUY, with the comfort of knowing I could return a few things if needed. I really was keeping track of budget in my head, so I should be under $100 before my gallery wall- YAY.
In case you’re just joining me:
Week 1: Before Photos (my link button is not working…)
Week 2: Rerranging (my link button is not working…)
As a follow-up from last week, my hubby did take our boys to the play boutique and I was finally able to get some preliminary design work done. (Yes, I went into this challenge without a full design plan drawn out- Eeek.) I drew out my floor plan and wall elevation, and notated some key measurements:
That night, I had to hide in the living room while my husband put our baby back to bed. I’d be stressing about the right storage solutions for business and craft needs all day, and finally had a moment of clarity. I decided that a combination of deep and shallow boxes would give me options for storing my items, whatever they may be. I was also planning to put a tabletop file box on my desk, but my hubby suggested that we could reorganize supplies in our current file drawer to allow space for me to having hanging files. I was ready to drive out to IKEA the next morning. Let’s do this!
On Tuesday I went to Michael’s to buy some DIY supplies. I was planning to paint my own wallpaper for the back of the bookcase. I found rose gold paint and a silver metallic marker. I thought I would repeat this color scheme on the wooden desk organizer I also bought at IKEA. Then, just as I was about to leave, I found this cute polka dot, confetti-like wrapping paper in gold. Hmmm- As much as I would love to create my own wallpaper, I know my time is short and sporadic while being at home alone with my boys for the next 3 days. I decided to take the confetti wrapping paper, and swapped my rose gold paint for gold. BUT, I still plan to personalize this organizer as a DIY!
I started the wallpapering of the bookcase while my baby was napping, and my toddler was quite occupied with the magnetic shapes. I removed one column of shelves to get my final measurements. Then I used my t-square to draw a straight line, and prepared to cut as straight as possible:
The first column worked out pretty well. There’s a slight gap towards the bottom, but I begrudgingly have to turn a blind eye to it….Don’t judge me! I used the cut line from the first piece to cut my second. FYI- don’t do that! Always measure fresh. I had at least a .75” gap….No problem, I thought. I’ll just cut another piece because I purchased 16’. Not really thinking about the math, I did not have enough, and resorted to piecing it together. Luckily the pattern is random, so I didn’t have to worry to much about pattern repeats. And the main reason I feel okay about this patch job is because most of the wallpaper will be hidden by all of the white storage boxes. Shh- don’t tell anyone…
Two days and two nap times later, I finished my wrapping paper wallpaper. I am thrilled with it. This $4.00 redesign has just made a strong design impact to my workspace. I’ve been wanting to do this for several years, but just never had the motivation to find the time to do it. I wish I had!
Be sure to check back with me, and the other design participants, for all the reveals next week!
