first off i kind of can't believe i'm doing this.
i won't go into how hard this will be or how scared or nervous i am because let's face it...
i signed up for it.
it's not like i would have if i didn't think i could actually turn something out that was passable as good.
why i can't believe i am doing this is more about the fact that i have a SUPER tight budget, i rent and the space is my husband's office/man cave/guest room above the garage.
in other words spending money is his worst nightmare and he is perfectly happy with it as is.
but that's like saying a family of cockroaches who live on a floating turd are happy with their house too.
wait...did i just compare mike to a cockroach?
ok, no...i think i am comparing the room to a turd.
anyway...
this room is pretty gross.
and not because it's messy, which it is.
but because it's above the garage and i think all the spiders in georgia heard about it and travelled there like millennials to a music fest.
plus it's sort of like, well, a dorm room.
but this is my husband, a 40 something who deserves better.
(he is rolling his eyes so hard right now).
it drastically needs to be de-junked,
de-spidered,
reorganized and reconfigured.
(we won't say redecorated because that would make this unnecessary)
it also needs more streamlined but comfortable furnishings.
the room is small.
and filled with so. much. stuff.
mike calls this room "the lab".
lots of football gets watched here and i am GRATEFUL for this space because i hate football.
i watch ghost shows and drink wine when the footballs is on.
(please tell me what happened to zak bagans's face)
i am getting off track here.
to summarize:
i am turning this ISIS secret meeting location into a worthy office/guest room/"lab" for my husband.
here is an EXCLUSIVE look at "the lab":
this sofa is giving me strong a-serial-killer-lives-here vibes.
that would be an ottoman.
that face is saying SO much.
you can't see it but there are TWO TVs under that desk and one of these.
ugh.
do you need a shower?
so..
now let's talk master plan.
the plan is loose.
let's just put it that way.
i kept coming back to these images for inspiration for their masculinity, simplicity, earthiness and general coolness.
and here is my interpretation of that inspiration...
this plan is subject to change based on what's available (craigslist).
but i have a few tricks up my sleeve and i pretty much own craigslist.
my mother in law is going to sew, yes SEW a cover for the existing mattress and box spring to create that bed/lounge seating situation.
the iron headboard and footboard are up for grabs if anyone is interested.
there are a few dresser options on craigslist but that black one suits my mood.
2 of the roman shades are already hanging and 3 more will be purchased for the existing windows over the bed.
a lot will change once we remove that built-in desk.
i am thinking the whole room needs to be configured in a totally different way because as it is now when you open the door to the lab you crash right into the coffee table and sofa.
it's a really tight squeeze.
so i have this idea that when the desk is ripped out the bed will go in that nook there and the tv watching area will move over to where the bed is now.
a new manly tanker style desk will be found and bought (get your incense and candles ready for your manifestation prayers) and placed in the old tv area.
of course this all hinges on what i find and how it all plays out.
for instance the bed might be all wrong in that nook, like kim kardashian's feet when she was pregnant.
i will say this...
yesterday we drove out to the country to a warehouse where all of the ugliest cast off flor carpet tiles go to die to pick out 300 sq feet of something that didn't make me want to barf. (.75 a sq foot tho)
i had hoped for something in the sisal family or a sisal look-a-like as i want to keep it neutral and warm.
but no such luck.
everything was pretty much the worst.
a lot of it was gray and just looked too much like a doctor's office or an airport terminal.
so i went with a sort of navy/black with some subtle plaid action.
it wasn't what i had envisioned but it was the most interesting without making me go into cardiac arrest.
it will hide all the sins, let's just say that.
but it also made me re-think my plans a little.
for instance,
i was going to keep the walls white (and i still might) but now i am thinking i do a taupe-gray on the walls. nothing too dark, just cozy enough.
my fear is that the floors will feel like an abyss with the white walls.
i have a cowhide i intend to use in here so that will help unless it looks terrible on top of the carpet (my pits are sweating just thinking about this)...
we'll just have to see.
my plan at this point is to get the carpet tiles down and then hold court on the matter.
basically what i am trying to say is jesus take the wheel.
ok, that about wraps it up for this week.
that's a lot to take in so please, take your time with this post.
come back to it.
really breathe it in.
and then come over and help me clean.
taking guesses now on how many spiders we release (kill).
i say 40,000.
please visit this post to see all the other LINKING PARTICIPANTS.
