I’ve been talking about our new guest quarters for awhile now, but these are the first glimpses of what I have been doing there.
It’s a hodge podge of things from our old city house that didn’t make the cut into the new house. The new quarters will be a place for guests to stay, but will also serve as my craft/sewing room.
So I could use the space as my craft/sewing room, I needed storage for my craft supplies. Unlike some of you, I don’t do a lot of crafting so I don’t have a ton of supplies, but I did have enough that I thought I would convert an old Ikea bookcase into craft storage. And by convert, I mean I painted it, then filled it full of my craft supplies and added a simple curtain. No need to do too much work!
The first thing I did was to paint the bookcase with homemade chalk(y) paint using
My HOMEMADE CHALK(Y) PAINT RECIPE
The next step would be to wax it, but I didn’t have time to do that yet, although I wax it later.
Next I wanted to give it a vintage/crafty/cozy look, so I added the striped curtain using fabric I had on hand. I was a simple sewing project that required sewing a rod pocket at the top, then hemming the bottom. I didn’t hem the sides, since I liked the selvage edges. I found a tension rod at Walmart that fit my bookcase, and I was almost done.
I bought lots of matching boxes at Target that I used in the bookcase along with wonderful, vintage gym locker baskets.
The darling, large green bottle on top of my bookcase also came from Target. It looks a lot like my antique bottles, but was much cheaper.
The top shelf holds my collection of vintage blue Mason jars filled with vintage sewing notions.
What kind of craft supplies do I have stored here? Stamps and papers, fabrics, ribbon, string, vintage lace, burlap bags, odd pieces of silverware and other things that I can’t even recall right now.
More of the guest quarters photos are coming.
The blinds were provided courtesy of BLINDS.COM, who are FABULOUS to work with, BTW. I will have more information on them in an upcoming post, but for those that can’t wait they are
BALI Natural Woven Wood Shades in the color CABO PLACID.
Shared at Miss Mustard Seed
Lovely, Anita! Love the Ikea cabinet painted out in white. Great storage solution! ~Christy
I have a spare bedroom (sans bed but has an open bookcase) that has become a ‘junk room,’ a catch all for decorative items that I used to use in my house and have since replaced but do not want to throw out. Also, I keep my dresser in this room on which I keep my overflowing sewing boxes filled with ribbons, safety pins, buttons, etc., etc. This room and its state has been a real sore spot with me, but now with your idea, I know exactly how to be rid of the excess flowing out of my sewing boxes by use of the mason jars and bookcase. This simple and functional solution is why I wake up to your website daily, so thank you for the lovely inspiration to get me moving and make this spare room presentable!
I love the ticking curtain so cute Anita!
Absolutely beautiful makeover! It looks gorgeous!
What a difference those simple changes made! I love the addition of the curtain and how it softens the whole look!
wow I love how you changed that bookcase! It is very beautiful now and the curtain fits to a tee!
Love this idea Anita. I am going to use an armoire for similar ideas in my new office/craft room. PINNED!
Cynthia
Anita this is so cute! Sharing on my FB page today, I can’t believe that is an Ikea piece!
I love this look! I have some bookcases in my craft room/office that I’d love to do this too! Am totally pinning this now so I don’t lose it!
Jeanine
I think we need to have a linens match-off! I made the mistake one year of documenting how much I spent at auctions & antique stores buying doilies and linens and I’m now no longer allowed to go to those…
Some great basket AND linen ideas here. My friend collects table clothes, doilies and napkins. I call her “Linens Linda”. I think she should start her own blog, but meantime, I’ll send her over here. Nice post.
This is gorgeous!! I love your mason jars. I love how amazing a transformation a little white paint made!
What a smart storage idea Anita! The fan is fabulous as well. Where did you get it?
I bought it at a store that has closed. I will try to find the brand name for you.
I love what you did with the paint and fabric to give it a comfy cottage feel. I was looking on IKEA’s site and couldn’t find this bookcase. Since they name their items do remember the name of this bookcase? Thanks for sharing this!
Just found your blog today through Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday, and have enjoyed exploring your site. I love how you transformed this bookcase into craft storage and I adore the cottage style you gave it!
I love how you used the curtain on the bookcase and the boxes you got at Target.