I've got a few minutes...

That is pretty much the mentality of my daughter.  It makes me laugh and living here up in the Northwest it is a strong mindset.

So with that in mind I knew her room had to be part recycle, thrift, and colorful.  Also artsy, can not forget artsy.

 

On one of our expeditions to thrift stores in town we cam across some very dated, vintage, bamboo chairs.  I took pictures, I know I did, but can not find them for the life of me.

I even spent hours searching on google and bing for a similar chair but Nooooooooo.  It is so rare that it only exists in this little town. in an old thrift store. 

Ok, so picture this in brown instead of turquoise.  Kinda shabby where the varnish wore off.

 We then tried them out and loved that they not only rocked but spun as well.

How fun is that?

But it was part of a three piece set, two chairs and a coffee table that was at least 4 feet wide.  The chairs were not that wide or large.

There just no way all of it would fit in her room.  Plus they wanted 36 dollars for the whole set.

I know that isn't a lot but it was for me, at the moment with payday another week off.

So I asked if they would be willing to split up the set and let me buy the chair.

They said "yeah" and offered ten dollars for one chair.

I said YES and grabbed the chair before they changed their mind.  I did feel a little bad because I knew there would be no way they could sell the remaining as a set.  But I was on a mission to finish this room.  A week later I strolled back in with a few minutes to kill and low and behold the other chair was still there.  Not to my surprise and I inquired to how much they wanted for just the chair.  The person was saddened to say that someone else had broke up the set and sold the chair for way less and so she had no choice but to sell the remaining chair for 9.99.  I told her I would buy her chair!

 

  I felt like Snidely Whiplash and if I had a mustache I would of been twirling it.

At the register the cashier admitted they were relieved it was being purchased because they thought it was the ugliest chair they had ever seen.  I smiled because I knew it wasn't.  It was only in disguise. 

Because I think it's pretty beautiful now. 

Even though the fabric I bought to recover the cushions is not going to be used (my daughter preferred the original) maybe I will turn them into curtains. 

She is delighted with these chairs and they are good sturdy chairs that have survived decades.  I think they can handle living in her room.

The other day I was driving by THE thrift store and in the window all by it's self. was the matching coffee table.  My daughter was with me and we joked that we should go in and inquire about the price of table and then state that if it was a set we might of bought it.  We laughed all the way home because that would of been a funny skit come to life.

We did stop to find out the price but refrained from voicing the troll comment.

I also realized that if I did not live in this little town I would of never found these awesome chairs for such a cheap price.

Looks Geek-Chic to me

This is what it was.  A long forgotten memory of Paris.

When I had originally decorated this room it had many things going for it.

New activities and growing older made it......well.....cluttered.

The bed broke and the mattress was on the floor. 

I did not take pictures of the floor because you could no longer see it. 

Just imagine all the stuff in her dresser on the floor. 

Her bookshelf was exploding and fell apart at least every other week. 

 

I tried for a couple of months to convince her to let me re-do her room.

She was not having it.   She does not like change and was in fear I would throw away some of her beloved possessions.

One day I was talking about her having a loft bed and filing cabinets for all of her papers.

She was intrigued and accidentally gave me permission to do her room.

(Stuff and Ideas I was using for inspiration)

 

Within an hour I had a storyboard done up with ideas and colors she liked.

She got scared and cold feet and wanted to back out but being a mom I pushed her.

This is the  first wall I tackled, a purple brick faux wall.  She loved it!!

I did too and it was so much better than the broken down Paris. 

I continued the grey and purple by recovering the necklace holder with duck tape.

The curtain was on sale at Walmart and I loved the pattern but after staring at in on the brick wall I changed it.

Since she was still living in this room I could only work on one wall at a time.  The bricks were covered in purple glitter as well and I did the grout lines in a paint that simulated concrete so it feels like grout.  I was excited about that. 

 

Ok, so here is the room now.  I still have to build her bed and find a rug for the chairs.  The chairs have a great story I will blog about at a later date. :)  I hope you come back.

So without further ado ....so Hipster it's really Beatnik GeekChic Teen

TAAAADAAAAAAA!!

It is not completely done yet.

But it is definitely at BETTER.

 

book hooks

Yeah, no real witty title there.  I can't help it, it's just plain.

Kinda like this wall.  For some that would be awesome but my daughter is anything but plain.

I painted this wall a yellowish beigey tan color, because I needed something to tone down the purple and also it was 5 dollar oops paint.

I'm going with Geekchic with a side of hipster and also reflect things she loves now as well as the past with things she's not so good at.  Like organization and finding things.

 

So a quick trip to thrift store to find very cheap hardback books with colorful graphics and a few hooks screwed into books. 

See where I'm going with this yet?

 

To the WALL! 

Now we have a unique way to hang all of the bags.

One of a kind and reflective of who she is.

I screwed the hooks to the books and then the book (back cover) to the wall and used tape to keep it shut.  Pretty simple.

 

Her door is still covered in fabric, why you asked?  Because when we moved into this house the doors were old, full of holes, horrible and we couldn't afford to replace them.  So thick fabric to the rescue. 

I also reused an old towel bar for her dressing area as a belt holder 

Just a few ideas and suggestions for those of us who struggle with organization and finding things

Nothing genius just handy :) tada

Craaaaaash happens

Remember my awesome glow in the dark totally hip light?

Check last post for more description.

Seems it was too cool for the ceiling.  I heard a scream and found my daughter tweaked out by said falling light.  Seems I had not tighten it to the appropriate point of tightness. 

Yeah, no repairing that bad boy.  I searched for a while to find another glass globe thingy to redo the thing.  Yet it was a no go.  I gave up.   Yes I did, I knew I would not find another like it, it truly was one of a kind.

 

While wandering in Restore after Restore I gave up and just grabbed this cheap plentiful light diffuser so my daughter would not be blind in her room. 

Then I went to Walmart and there in the middle of accessories I had a brilliant idea.

 

How about I just liquid starch this cute bandanna on there and call it a fine day. 

So I did.  Yeah, just that easy and tadaaaa no longer an ordinary light. 

I also made sure it was fully tighten and secured.  (there were no injuries in the making of this post)

But don't you worry, I also came up with an idea to use the pieces of the other broken light.

 

It involves an embroidery hoop and some chopsticks 

So measure chopsticks and cut then glue to hoop with wood glue. 

Cool huh?  I used tape to support until glue dried and I also only did one hoop at a time.

This is not a quick project.

After it dried I gave it a few coats of spray paint and then pulled out my Goop. 

After removing the shades I re glued them to my new structure.

 

Seeing I did not have as many glasses I wished I had, I added some velum to the inside of my new drum shade. 

How does it hang there other than by sheer awesomeness?

I screwed some small eye bolts and used wire to cross thread through the little hoop on the chandelier.  Yes I rigged it.

 

So when crap happens pick up the broken pieces and double your production :)

Room's so bright it's gotta wear shades

In my daughter's room was the typical boob light.  Plus one of the sockets didn't work so needless to say it had to go.  I went looking for many options but she really didn't want anything normal or popular in her room. < Insert hipster here>   So off to the Restore for a vintage light fixture.

 I found this beauty for a whopping 2.50.  It was perfect for what I had in mind.

 

All I need now is a little goop.

It is pretty amazing.  So what am I going to be gluing together?

Well shades of course! 

Aren't they cool?

I can guarantee no one has a light fixture like this.

 

I broke off one of the ear bar thingies of each pair. 

A little tape to hold it until it dries.  Then I also glued the broken ear band thingies in between the other....you'll see. 

Hung, complete, and looking amazing! 

Do you know what the best part about this light is?

 

It's a light even when it's not :) 

Boom, glow in the dark light fixture TAAAAAA-DAAAAA!

Getting graphic with the media area

After stepping on a few games and tripping over the chords.  An idea came to me...maybe she needs something to keep it all together.

I went to my favorite thrift store and ask the owner if they had a small dresser, nothing fabulous, or great shape.  It could even be missing knobs and a whole draw.  They brought me in the back and let me choose between 3 that fit the bill.  For 20 bucks I got this one, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was really sturdy and solid wood.

Now to bring in da funk!!!

Painted the outside black and made a simple shelf out of chip board.

Don't worry I covered it in white pleather. 

Then we found some fun fabric.  I got about 1/3 yard for each drawer. 

Dug out my liquid starch and dunked my fabric and smoothed it out on the drawers.

I tucked it around the inside of each drawer. 

Let dry over night and ta-da awesome drawers.

I poke holes in the fabric and put in new silver knobs. 

Now all of her games, controllers and other media items are all in the same place.

Boooyah! organized!

The wall behind it?  Oh that is comic book pages.  You've seen it done before with book pages, we brought the color in.  I won a packed of comic books on Ebay for a few dollars and with my trusty masking tape I shingled the wall with them.. 

She is convinced she has the coolest room in the world :) and I can live with that.

Helloooooooo out there

Yikes!!!  I've been missing in action!!1

Sorry my bad.

I caught a cold and then salmonella and then shingles to top it off.  It was a try two get one free thing.

But before that happened I found these two lamps at Goodwilll for 1.29 each. 

I actually bought them for my niece but she didn't want any more lamps.  Soooooo I claimed them.

A little white paint and they are happening already. 

As the paint was drying I wandered around my lawn and found a water lily had bloomed.

So I took this amazing picture of it. 

So now that the lamps are dry and I know where I want to put them.  I need shades to just bring that bad boy home.

I searched online for days, this was my laying flat and subconscious days.

I finally found them and then had to wait some more. 

I found things to amuse me.

Meanwhile my half dead tomato plant that I threw in my file cabinet planter decided to take over the world while I slept. 

When I did wander out side I was taken aback and a little terrified.  I've seen "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"  and I think it started this way. 

Then as I went back to the safety of my home my shades finally arrived.

They were perfect!! 

I really love them <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

I did a full picture of both of them but the window above the bed has the window fan in it with cardboard and duck tape and I just really didn't want to blow the illusion of harmony.

Even though I just told you about it, hmmmm, ok ignore what I said and look at the picture.

Oh I also broke down and bought some pillows for my couch. 

I still have intentions of making some pillows but sometimes my intentions end up as pavement to a hot place.

 

PS  we did some beach time too :) 

So there is my account and hopefully I will not disappear again for awhile.