Mission Control: How to Create a Family Command Center~

It's not like we didn't have papers... and photos... and invitations... and such... floating around before we had children.  But, once we had kids those sorts of things seemed to multiply.  And once our children started school, they seemed to multiply exponentially.  Anyone else experience that phenomenon?  And since I am one of those people that likes my refrigerator to stay clear of all of that kind of stuff...I had to find a place for it.  That's where my Family Command Center comes in.  I've had one in every house that we've lived in.  And here's my version for this house.

I knew that I wanted to  have a bulletin board.  And I wanted one that was fairly substantial in size.  Then, when we were visiting my parents last weekend, I lucked upon this old corkboard sitting unused and dusty in my parent's basement, so I grabbed it and ran asked nicely if I could take it.

Of course, the old corkboard was looking a little worse for the wear after sitting in the basement for so long.  And so I covered it with some fabric that I repurposed from my boys' old headboards.  I just wrapped the whole thing and stapled it on the back with my trusty staple gun.

Then to make it a little fancier (because fancier is always a good thing, right?) I added some nailhead trim.  And voila!  A much prettier bulletin board was born.

I put it up, along with a magnet board from IKEA that I already had, and our family calendar.  But the overall effect was a bit dull, so I had to "pretti-fy" it by adding in the DIY vinyl silhouettes I made of the kiddos, as well as a pretty stamped metal banner from Lisa Leonard, and my beloved Anthro "H" monogram.

The overall effect was happy, and fun, and definitely prettier than just having those boards and our calendar hanging there.  And now all of those papers, invitations, photos and what-nots will have a place all their own (and my refrigerator door will remain clean). 

Hooray for organization!! Can I hear a "woot woot"?!?

Random Rug Ramblings~

We have a very pretty area rug in our living room. We bought it about 5 years ago and it was not cheap. I like it. But my love affair with it is waning. It is tan with reds, golds and browns. I have been fighting the desire for quite a while to add blues to my decor because they just won't go with the rug and I can't justify buying a new rug when we have a perfectly good - and not inexpensive one - already. (You can see one end of the rug in the photo below.)

Here's where the story gets interesting. Or gross. The Princess woke up in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago with a tummy ache. She couldn't sleep so I got her settled on the couch in the living room with a movie on the TV (we don't normally have a TV in the living room, but there is one there right now left over from the Hubby's convalescence.) Not long after I was settled back in bed, I got the frantic shout from the living room that she threw up - I realize this is probably more than you wanted to know but it is pivotal to my story. And it wasn't until I got in there that I discovered that my area rug was a casualty.

Now, I have scrubbed, and scrubbed. Lysoled. Febreezed. You name it, I've tried it. And the smell remains. (I realize the smell will fade over time, but humor me please.)

Every year we receive some Christmas money from our parents. (And by we, I mean each member of the family receives an alloted amount.) This year I had been toying with the idea of buying a new rug for the living room, but I couldn't justify it to myself, because being the decorating-obsessed girl that I am, it seemed like a guilty pleasure to me -especially since we have already established that the rug we have was perfectly good. But now that my rug smells completely atrocious, I feel justified in using my money to buy a new one. (Okay, it's a bit of a weak justification, but it works for me...and it is gift money after all.)

So after that uber-long explanation, here is the meat of my post. I really want to purchase a sisal-type rug. I am considering one from IKEA like the one pictured above because their prices are doable for my budget. But I was wondering, my dear readers, if you have any suggestions? I need a rug that is roughly 8x10. And I can't spend a lot, but I don't want it to look (or feel) cheap. I sure could use some input. Anyone out there have experience with the IKEA rugs? Anyone have any other suggestions? Sure hoping you can help a gal out.

And on a completely different note, just a reminder that Frugal Friday goes up tonight at 8:00 pm MST. Hope to see you all there!

Have a great day~

Frugal Friday~

Howdy y'all!! Welcome to this week's edition of Frugal Friday.



Or perhaps I should say "HALLÅ" (yeah, that's "hello" in Swedish...I'm smart like that...) seeing as how today I'm going to show you all an IKEA knock-off project.

Some of you may remember a few weeks back when I showed you the Dignitet display system from IKEA. I really wanted this for Mr. One's Tween Room...but even though IKEA prices are quite reasonable, I just didn't want to spend the money. So I decided to create one of my own.

Ikea Dignitet Display System

I thought I'd personalize my version just a bit, so I decided to add some interest by using house numbers. I happened to have a few laying around that I used in the boys' room in our previous house to number their towel hooks...

I just had to purchase the number 4. So I ran to my local big box hardware store (you know the one that rhymes with "foam repo" and bought one.) I also picked up a package of picture hanging wire. But that was it for my purchases.





I wasn't sure what to use for the clips until I remembered that I had some old drapery rings in storage.





I removed the clips from each ring, and I had just what I needed.





The actual assembly was easy-peasy. I just measured and marked where I wanted the numbers to go on the wall (I made sure to use a level so that the wires wouldn't look all wonky once I put them on.) Then I screwed the numbers to the wall leaving the bottom screw a little loose on each one so that I could wrap the picture wire around them. After I wrapped the wire tight, I clipped it with some wire clippers and finished tightening the screws. Then I added the clips and VOILA! My $6 version of IKEA's Dignitet display system!



It adds a fun little sumthin' sumthin' above Mr. One's IKEA Expedit workstation.

I'm sure he'll have it filled up with his artwork in no time!!


Now it's your turn!

You know "da rules"...

1. Please link directly to your post and not just to you blog.
2. Please link back to the Shabby Nest so that others can enjoy the frugal goodness.
3. Comment, comment, comment! Show our participants the love!

The Tween Room - For the Love of IKEA~

It occurred to me that I haven't talked about Mr. One's Tween room in a while. So I thought I'd give you all a little update today.




As you may remember, I had some grand plans before my budget for his room was suddenly gone. So I made do with what I had already purchased.


One of the things we were lucky enough to have purchased before our budget ran out was the IKEA Expedit workstation. I love this desk/bookshelf combo.



This is the version we purchased for Mr. One's room...it has a black/brown finish. I love the clean modern lines. And the storage...Oh, the storage! It was easy to put together with the help of the hubby.

Just a hint: If you happen to put together this bookcase with your spouse, please make sure you are both in good communication mode that day. So that when you ask him to "hold it up for a minute", he doesn't hear "put it down" (because those two things sound so similar) and accidentally drop said bookcase on your little toe causing a huge purple bruise that lasts a week and half. Don't worry, I've long since forgiven the Hubby for his lapse in listening skills. Really, I have.Now on to other things...

This Dignitet display system is still on my list of to-buys for Mr. One's room (and my office for that matter.) Isn't it a fab way to display art? And Mr. One is quite the artist. Yes he is. I plan on hanging it above the Expedit workstation.

In the meantime, I have something up my sleeve for Mr. One's room...that I plan to hang above the workstation in the interim.

Here's a hint...What do Anthropologie, a 2-liter soda bottle, and a Styrofoam sphere have in common? Well, you'll have to wait until Frugal Friday to find out...but it will be worth the wait! (I hope anyway.)

Have a great day~