...because home doesn't happen overnight.

Remember the as-is living room?

rearrange12

Yeah, it’s not done.

missing shoe cabinet

But I did remove the shoe cabinet and octagon mirror. And put down a clean beach towel along the bottom of the front door. AND I think my photography skills are improving. Yay for shooting towards a large window! Sometimes, it’s the little things people. Oh, and for those of you on Team Original Door…we’re gonna do it. We’re going to try to salvage it.

About the shoe cabinet and mirror…the shoe cabinet is from IKEA. It has a slim profile and holds a minimum of eight pairs of shoes. It’s great but I think it was a little wide for the space between the front door and picture window. The octagon mirror was a Ballard Designs outlet find a few years back and it used to live in our previous master bedroom. I love the mirror but the octagonal shape next to the rectangular door with square windows was throwing me into a shape-induced tizzy.

So where did the shoe cabinet and mirror end up? Not on Craigslist. Not in the attic with all the other “I like this but I don’t know exactly where to put it right now so let’s just throw it in the attic” stuff.

bedroom shoe cabinet 1

I moved the cabinet and mirror to our bedroom. I feel good about them there. The slim profile of the cabinet makes it easy to slip by on the way to the closet or bed and the mirror helps reflect at least a little light around the north-facing room. I’m glad I hung the curtains before relocating the cabinet and mirror. I think I would have been inclined to center the cabinet on the wall between the closet and door but with the curtains in place, it looks better centered between the curtain edge and the door. That’s a difference of several inches. {The curtain rod and curtains extend ~10″ past the closet opening.} Otherwise, the cabinet would have sat too far left.

I had been waiting for HH to move the cabinet and mirror but today I was motivated to DIM {do it myself}. It wasn’t that difficult but I did run into a problem when I remembered the wall was one of the few remaining original plaster walls. The shoe cabinet was easy. It has a support spanning the width of the cabinet behind the doors and I drilled through it into two studs. The mirror was a different story. I was able to hit a stud for one of the wall hangers on the back of the mirror. For the other one, I had to pre-drill a hole, insert a wall anchor and fasten a screw. Not awful but it did take longer than expected {mostly because I had to scavenge the messy garage for wall anchors}… which means the kids got antsy and I got flustered. But I got ‘er done.

bedroom shoe cabinet 2

I’m hoping to make time for a little bedroom styling within the next week or so. This room is getting so close! I need something on top of the cabinet to connect it to the mirror {think overlap the mirror} and I have an urge to paint the knobs gold.

I haven’t quite figured out what to do with the now empty space next to the front door. Simple picture frames with a large basket on the floor to catch guests’ shoes {someday when the door is fixed}? A small entry cabinet/console on the wall? I like the idea of less versus more. While I was organizing the attic last week, I rediscovered some decor items that I want to incorporate in the house. Maybe I can make something we already own work. There’s nothing like shopping your attic for free decor!

Have you ever transplanted stuff from one room to another? For me, this was like killing two birds with one stone. I freed up visual space near the front door and added shoe storage and a light reflecting mirror to our bedroom in one fell swoop. Wait, is that three birds?

FYI – I’m sharing what HH wants for father’s day here. Maybe it will give you some ideas for your baby daddy.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

36 Comments

11.June.2013

Dana what is your bedroom wall color? I LOVE it!
Love the mirror and cabinet too, and I’m soooo glad you mentioned getting the curtains up first! I made that mistake already :(

11.June.2013

I like the idea of gold knobs… playing off the bedside lamps?? And I’m also really glad you’ve decided to try and salvage the original door, because IT. IS. SO. COOL.

11.June.2013

Wall color is Benjamin Moore half moon crest.

11.June.2013

Hi Dana,
This might sound silly to you, but would you mind sharing how you spray paint metal objects? I’m digging your ikea 5 things lamps and would love to spray them gold. Do I sand/prime first? Specific brand of paint? Thanks for any help you can offer!

11.June.2013

Love the cabinet in it’s new spot. Not so sure about the mirror. I’d vote to try something else in its place. Just one person’s opinion:)

11.June.2013

yay for trying to salvage the front door! i’m all about keeping original touches in old houses and i think you could easily make that door look FAB (and save a lot of dough in the process). i wish my ’50s house still had its original front door! but alas, i’m going to have to shell out big bucks for something that could be close to what it had originally.

11.June.2013

I love moving furniture from room to room because it feels like a totally new piece. As you said, it’s like shopping in your own house!
As far as entryways go, we’re thinking antique, mismatched hooks for coats with some sort of storage bench below for shoes/sitting to take off said shoes!

11.June.2013

I love the mirror, wouldn’t change a thing about that.

11.June.2013

I frequently catch my family eyeing a piece of decor before asking, “Didn’t that used to be over there?” The answer is often, “Yep… and over there, and over there…”

The funny part, though, is that it makes them overly polite about putting things back in the right spot because they think I’m super particular instead of highly indecisive. The solution is obviously to arbitrarily move things before or even during their visits just to mess with them. Once I moved a throw pillow just because I had seen my sister reposition it — now I catch her putting it back to my “corrected” position every time she’s over. It’s hysterical. One day I’ll tell her.

12.June.2013

It looks awesome!

12.June.2013

gah! plaster walls…they are a pain. It’s amazing the new life things take on with just a short move down the hall to another room. Can’t wait to see your fancy-ed up bedroom!

12.June.2013

Haha, that’s so funny about your sister! I don’t think my family would even notice things had moved.

12.June.2013

We have the same cabinet by our front door and love it for shoes. I’ve often thought about getting another one for our (very small) bedroom.
Yours looks great there and I love the mirror above it!

12.June.2013

I covet that BD mirror. GIMME!! It & the shoe cabinet look even better in their new bedroom location.

I’m crazy about the Hemnes shoe cab–so versatile. We used one to cover the water meter in our guest bedroom…..guests get a kick out of opening the drop-down drawers & seeing an ugly water meter. That’s what they get for snooping–joke’s on them, mofos ;)

12.June.2013

Haha! Love the idea of covering a water meter with the cabinet. I covered up an ugly electrical outlet but we still have access to it.

12.June.2013

I’m looking foward to a post about re-doing your front door. My husband and I also bought a 60’s ranch with the original nifty wood door, and it needs some as yet undecided love. Does yours have any hairline cracks at the base? Any ideas on paint color or would you go stain?

Also, have you seen the ultra slim shoe holder from Ikea? It would work perfectly in that now empty narrow gap: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00141849/#

You can mount it floating, without the ugly legs, add some upgraded hardware and add a stained wood top to match your lovely floors (not my ideas, some other blogger did this and it looked fantastic).

12.June.2013

That’s hilarious! Every time our family visits they take a look around and say “That wasn’t here last time was it?” Usually, it was here last time- just in a different spot. I’m constantly staring down pieces of furniture/home decor and wondering what it would look like somewhere else. It’s a disease.

12.June.2013

I swear by Rust-Oleum‘s universal primer + paint in one can. No sanding or extra steps needed and it adheres to almost everything. I thoroughly wipe down and dry the item to be painted then apply 2-3 light coats of spray paint. I used this process and paint to freshen up an outdoor garden stool two months ago. It still looks great two months later after a ton of rain and sun and even a little frost. The pure gold finish is one of my favorites. Not too brassy but enough metallic shimmer in it to give a sophisticated look.

I’m so happy you are going to try to salvage the front door! Good luck!

The cabinet looks great in your bedroom!

Transplanting is how I live. I love that mirror. It would look cool in my dining room.

12.June.2013

Oh, I like the mirror and cabinet in their new home. I think the scale is perfect for that space. I suppose I qualify as “Team Original Door”. It’s really cool and retro, so I hope it’s not a nightmare from a restoration standpoint! Good luck! How about a mirror (maybe a rectangle) with a row of hooks underneath and a really pretty textured basket at the floor for shoes? You could also mimic the front door and fill the space with three large square frames down the wall with a basket at the bottom!

12.June.2013

How about a bench with some baskets underneath, or a bench with a light back (like a Windsor chair that you can see through)? I like your house. :)

12.June.2013

Awesome – thanks for the tips and your time!

12.June.2013

Yay!! So happy to hear the door is staying! Can’t wait to see what you do. And the cabinet is perfect in your room. I just love getting to check in on your awesome house :)

12.June.2013

Thank you! I put the color into the search on Pinterest and lo and behold… Guess what popped up? Haha so now I have re-pinned your picture to my Colors Board. Thanks again :)

13.June.2013

Back to the old rug in the living room? I like that table next to the gray chair.

13.June.2013

No, the new shag rug is layered on top of the larger sisal.

13.June.2013

It looks great. We also have an old towel being used as a draft stopper. I just ordered one of these
http://www.etsy.com/listing/118347331/g-r-a-y-damask-draft-guard-door-draft?ref=usr_faveitems

13.June.2013

I am normally a “lets salavage it” kind of person.. but for some reason with your front door I am on the “ditch the door team” I am so hoping you blow my mind and change my feelings towards it hahaha.. but if it doesnt work out, i would love to see your top picks for a new door ;)

The inside of the door to me isnt as bad as the curb appeal, ive always felt like something else could give it more umph from the outside haha

prove me wrong dana! prove me wrong!

13.June.2013

Sadly, ours isn’t so much of a draft as a gaping HOLE! The threshold was torn out when the old walk was demo’d and hasn’t been replaced :(

13.June.2013

I like the furniture move a lot. Looks great. And I’m also in the “save the front door” camp, so I’m excited to see what you guys do.

On a completely different note, have you thought about a pocket door for the bedroom closet? Obviously, I don’t know dimensions so I’m not sure if you have enough space on the wall between the closet and the bedroom door for it to slide inside, but your issue with opening doors taking up space made me think of it. We have a bunch of spaces in our house that could use some pocket doors too.

13.June.2013

I’m so glad you’re keeping the front door! I know you can spruce it up. I think it will look great with your style.

This looks fantastic! Isn’t shopping your own home the best? You can give a piece new energy and a new life just by moving it around.

Can’t wait to see even more of that master bedroom. Looks fab already!

13.June.2013

Unfortunately there isn’t enough wall space to accommodate closet pocket doors.

17.June.2013

It looks wonderful! I’m so glad you are keeping the door. I can’t wait to see what how you salvage it!

30.July.2014

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