Months ago I made some changes to the top of our stairs. All because I wanted a full-length mirror somewhere. Our upper hallway is this awkward maze of doors and angles so there really wasn’t a good spot for it, except where the bookcase sat.
You know how this story goes, right? To move the bookcase meant I had to move the cabinet that was where I going to put the bookcase. I shuffled some of the cabinet contents into either another space or the trash. A million colouring books and dried up markers, my scrapbooks and a few other random craft supplies. The space where that cabinet sat had strict requirements because of the folding attic steps that come down right there, so anything in that area couldn’t be deep. I had looked at various armoires with mirrored doors but they would be too deep or too wide to fit. But the bookcase was definitely narrow enough. The cabinet moved onto its next home, it owed us nothing, it did us well over the course of nearly a dozen or so years, I will miss the chalkboard doors though.
Old Bookcase location – note the angle on the top right of the picture – watch your head!!
New bookcase location!
So, move the cabinet out, swing the bookcase in and then rehang alllll my wooden shoes above the bookcase again. I have a few. I have a huge soft spot for old wooden shoes, especially those that have lost their mate. A stray wooden shoe is almost guaranteed to come home with me if I spot it out in the wild.
That left us was a wide open space at the top of the stairs. It felt huge. I tried the handsome Mr. Byrne’s telephone bench there but it felt too big for going down the right hallway to the bathroom and the little back bedroom where Lena has taken up residence. Back down to the kitchen it went….I would’ve rathered it went to the studio for a makeover but…..it still hasn’t changed…haven’t quite convinced him it would look fabulous brought into this century.
I drug out my wicker basket from the closet and tucked it there, just so my closet had more space and that corner didn’t look so empty. Then I started keeping an eye out for a full length mirror. I found a few in regular stores but never was 100% sold. Then I saw one in Value Village but couldn’t buy it because I had a carload of kids. And of course, when I went back it was gone!! So, the search continued.
Finally!! Finally!! Michael spotted one in the back corner of Value Village. It was wooden, in great shape and had a perfect retro vibe to it. And, the best part? $18.00!! The other one I wanted was way more, like $65 or something crazytown. Plus, I had a 20% off coupon!! Score!! I probably would’ve left a kid there to ensure I got this mirror, thankfully there was room in the car for everyone AND the mirror.
I was excited to take it home and get it hung up. No, it might not be a proper full-length mirror but I can pretty much see all of me in it so that works! I added an old kilim rug I had tucked out underneath and a cool stool with hairpin legs that was a curbside find. I still think it needs a plant, but I think every area in our house needs at least one, if not 5. But it’s a pretty lowlight area so I’m not sure what would survive there.
It is fun to shuffle things around, move out a big cabinet that clearly was no longer needed and create a space so we could have a big mirror somewhere in this house. This is all part of my urge to purge, to simplify what we have on hand and make sure everything is functioning up to par. In fact, the wicker basket I mentioned? Well, it has since gone back to being a toy box and all the stuff I was storing in it got sorted through, some passed on to Value Village and the rest tucked away in a manner that makes more sense. And by Hannah getting the wicker basket as a toy box, meant her larger, old wooden one also got gifted to someone who has put it to good use already. It frees up floor space in Hannah’s room, plus it doesn’t hold as many toys so we sorted through those and dropped off a bag to…you guessed it, Value Village!
I’ll get all my projects tackled sometime! I can’t imagine not having something to work on in my spare time…
Colourfully yours,
Lori
