Luckiest Girl on the Block

The hobby room is done and it is more beautiful, bright and functional than I imagined.  I’m one happy girl but I’m not alone. Robbie is pretty thrilled too.

There’s so  much space in the new room than he can happily color, build with blocks or “help” me. The original soap room was highly functional but at 5′ x 10′ it was too small for more than one person and definitely not kid-friendly. In general, he wasn’t even allowed inside so I didn’t make soap if he was awake.

I mentioned in my last post how much work and time (and money) Toby committed to this project. He is the reason the project even happened. I considered myself really lucky to have the old soap room and hadn’t asked for anything more. It was Toby’s idea.

Toby’s uncle Kip, however,  is the reason the project plan went from “quick and dirty” to “just plain gorgeous”. He’s the one in the family with all the construction know-how and he’s helped us out a lot in the past with remodeling and finishing basements. If you need a referral for someone to help you work on your house, let me know. He’s amazing.

This is the scrap booking and sewing side. I’m loving all that counter space and especially all those big drawers!

I put my label maker through some paces getting everything organized. I’m also very lucky to have done a lot of work for clients that make organizers…and let me keep the products after I photograph them.

This is the wet/soap side. I still need to paint the dishwasher panel, but I wouldn’t care if the thing was fluorescent green or covered in shag carpeting. Having a dishwasher in the soap room is a miracle on par with electricity, indoor plumbing and satellite TV.

Did I mention my label maker? Love that thing. I also put all my Mason jars to good use…which almost makes up for not canning anything this year.

Drawers! Before you judge me for the sheer volume of my pencil, marker and pastel collection, know this: much of it was acquired in college for art classes. They were required supplies. I’m afraid I can’t say the same for the stamps.

These are some labels I’m making for soap gifts. That’s not miraculous in itself, but I made them while Robbie was hanging out with me and we were building ramps for matchbox cars out of his blocks. That kind of cooperative play between mother and child? That is a miracle.

The details:

Cabinets: purchased used through online classifieds. Painted with Behr premium plus latex paint.
Foam Floor: recycled from our old workout room – it comes in panels that lock together like a puzzle. It is pliant and a great thing when you’re on your feet all day.
Counters: Premade lengths available at (you guessed it) Home Depot.
Drawer organizers: Dial Industries (buy them at Staples)
Dishwasher: included with the cabinets
Wire shelves: mostly recycled from the old soap room, originally from Home Depot
Yellow wall paint: “borrowed” from Kip’s stash of salvaged materials.