a very thrifty mudroom

I can not believe that I am writing this--my mudroom is finished!  {at least for now}  

Earlier this month I set some goals for our home for 2012.  One of my goals was to turn our mudroom-turned-dumping zone into a warm, welcoming space for our family.  Beyond that, I had very little vision for this space.  But, thanks to some excellent {lucky!} Craigslist finds, our mudroom is now better than I ever could have imagined.

This project came together really quickly.  Remember how I said that I wanted a low and long mid-century dresser?  Well, what I did not mention in that post was my hope {dream? wish?} that said dresser would cost less than $30.  The day after I published that post, I found exactly the dresser I had been dreaming of on Craigslist.  And, she was only $20.  Actually, I found a dime wedged in one of her drawers, so she was really $19.90, right?

{my dream dresser was in really bad shape, later this week in my next post, I'll show you some before shots and shared some lessons that I learned as a newbie furniture painter/ restorer.  reviving this lady was so much fun and so rewarding}

As I made progress on my dresser, I began to dream of one of those old pull-down maps {like the one in my high school American history classroom}.  Once more, I had a ridiculously low price in mind, my magic number was again $30.  And, again I lucked out on Craigslist and found a map for exactly $30.  Aren't the colors wonderful?  And, Buttercup and I have already spent a lot of time finding everyone's hometowns {she loves seeing where all her loved ones live}.

I've been dreaming of a chalkboard wall ever since I heard about chalkboard paint {ok, I've been dreaming of a chalkboard wall ever since I played school as a little girl}.  Since we moved in, I have been hemming and hawing about which wall would be the best candidate.  I finally chose the back wall of the mudroom.  It was the perfect choice.  I look right at this wall while I am standing at the kitchen sink.  And Buttercup loves, loves, loves to imagine that this wall is a stage.  She has given numerous performances here since I added the chalkboard paint.

I sewed a gingham cushion and some bunting to define the bench area.

the owl pillow was made by a dear friend

The boob existing light didn't provide enough light for our space {at least, that was my justification for changing it out}.  Brian hung an Ikea Ottava chandelier that I painted red {by the way, the chandelier was $30, of course, and I painted it with the same paint that I used on the dresser}.

{the junction box is smaller than the bracket that Ikea provided, so sadly we well be calling an electrician to finish this install}

Brian and I have collected postcards for years, and we put a few on display above the hooks.

I also found a mirror at a local consignment shop and painted it red.  If you guessed that the mirror cost $30, you guessed right.

missed a spot when i cleaned it

The giant map + the big mirror made the space between the map and the hallway look really empty.  I wanted a big, but cheap, piece of art to fill that space.  I bought a large canvas and painted it using leftover blue paint from the dresser cut with some white that I had on hand.  I added a little red fox in the corner.

This little room really surprised me.  I came together so fast--I've been working on it for less than three weeks--and it is so cheerful and much more open than it was before.  A few small changes, some $30 Craigslist finds and a little work made a world of difference.

It might just be my new favorite room.   { wink }

Come back later this week and I'll tell you all about some all of the projects.

And, in the mean time, I hope to see you at this party: