{Mostly} Thrifted Gallery Wall In The Guest Room

 This was such an easy gallery wall and I can keep adding or swap out art as we live with it.

We started with the arrangement below with some self portraits done by our daughters, our framed wedding invitation, some art prints and two thrifted pieces.

It was fine but I wanted to add some more interest to the wall.  I had some black frames that I was no longer using and a few thrifted frames that I had collected.   I needed "art" and realized that I had some photos and a few post cards that could work. 

 I asked ChatGPT for an arrangement based on what we had and what we wanted to add.  It wasn't perfect but it was a good start. There was no way that the round frame could fit where they positioned it but I was able to find a different spot for it.

The thrifted owl frame has a photo of sweet, dearly missed Nessa and the thrifted shell frame holds a photo of Jinx Monsoon from the Broadway show Oh Mary.  She is in there as a place holder until I find something more personal, but for now she works!

I'm so happy with how it turned out! 

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Linen Closet Refresh

We tackled another closet!   After the success of our Guest Room Closet and our Primary Closet, we were inspired to work on another one.

We only have one linen closet and it does a lot of jobs for us.  It holds our luggage, travel supplies, cleaning supplies, paper products, laundry basket and linens..among other things. We had been wanting to paint it but never got around to it until today!  It had a musty-potpourri type smell that we could never get rid of but we knew paint would do the trick.

Here's the "BEFORE".  One exciting thing that came out of this update was finding out that we had an extra shelf on the bottom (where the paper towel is). It had been flipped up against the back wall (where the previous wooden rod had hung--see guest room closet).  I never realized there was a shelf and when Mr. Click flipped it down to show me, I was shocked (and thrilled)!

The guest room held all of the linen closet contents during the makeover.

We removed all of the shelves and cleaned out the closet.

Starting with the paint...

The shelves had to be cleaned and then painted.

Starting to look better with a fresh coat of paint.

The shelves are back in!

The next day I added peel and stick wall paper from Dollar Tree.

I reorganized the closet and added some labels to keep us organized.

Ta da.... The finished closet!  It feels so clean, fresh and organized. All it took was some paint and wall paper.   I've been tweaking it to make it even more efficient for us.  I love that it's not packed and there is breathing room on the shelves.

 For a mini makeover, it's had a big impact.  

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Closet Makeover #2- Primary Bedroom

 We were inspired to do our own closet after finishing the one in the guest room.

I had already started to empty it out when I thought to take a "before" photo. Just picture full rods of  hanging clothing.

Our closet is basically identical to the one in the guest room. Taking down the interior fittings was a pain.

We were left with so many holes and not quite sure why.

Looking much better after spackling, sanding and painting by Mr. Click.

I started opening the many boxes from Ikea and carrying up the pieces.

We were more experienced this time so we knew what we were doing with the initial side piece and suspension rail.

First one in!

Second side in !

Here's where we changed our plans. We were originally going to add two custom cut hanging bars to the right of the second unit but we decided to add another shelving unit instead. We found a Billy bookcase that would fit the narrow space so we headed back to Ikea to buy it --and a few more pieces for the closet units.  

I also placed an online order for organizers to be used in both closets.

Our design changed slightly from what we originally planned.  Mr Click's hanging clothes are on the left. Mine are in the middle.   I was able to fold a lot of my clothes so I only needed one bar (my long things are in the guest room closet).  The extra shelving unit gave us a lot more space.  

We each have a drawer which is so nice for getting ready.    We've cleared out three drawers from our dresser with this new closet system.  It's much more efficient.  I love being able to see everything at once.

We've been using it for about a month now and we both really love it. We took the doors off of this one too and don't miss them.  

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EASY Dollar Tree Easter Decor

 I can't believe it's almost Easter. Can you?

I've got this very quick and easy project that can be used for any season or holiday theme.

I found all of the supplies at Dollar Tree.   I used plain white ceramic plates, paper napkins and Mod Podge.

First I figured out where I wanted my design on the plate.

I separated the backing from the front of the napkin.

Then I covered the front of the plate with Mod Podge using a foam brush.

I placed the napkin down where I wanted it on the plate and then covered the whole plate again with Mod Podge.

I removed the excess napkin around the edges of the plate by gently pulling it off. It can also be gently sanded off after it dries.  

I added a little more napkin to the plate to extend the image.   I also made a small plate with another napkin.

I let them dry overnight.  I used the matte Mod Podge.  *This is not food safe but you can make them with food safe Mod Podge. I'm using mine for decor only.*

I had fun using them in my Easter decor.

Have you tried this method before? I'll be looking at fancy paper napkins to try it again!

Happy Easter, if you celebrate!

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Closet Makeover In The Guest Room

Re-doing our closets had been on our to-do list for awhile but once the drawer in our guest room closet broke, we moved it to the top of the list.

Here's what we started with when we moved in.  We had a center unit with hanging poles on either side.  We use this closet for overflow storage and for any guests that may stay in this room.  It also held a lot of my photography equipment, craft supplies, wrapping paper and the ironing board.

I used the design tools on the IKEA website to design our new closet.

We went with the Aurdal system.  It's a very affordable option compared to the Pax wardrobe system and worked best for our space.

We thought we wanted to get it in white, but once we were in the store, we preferred the oak option. I'm glad we looked at them first. This happened when we installed our Besta system in the family room as well.   

This was our Blizzard 2026 project.  What else is there to do when you're stuck inside all weekend?

It got worse before it got better. We cleared out the closet and took out all of the fixtures.  The walls were in pretty bad shape.  We have one section of wood floors that wasn't able to be refinished since the old closet was in the way but it wouldn't be that much of an issue.  At least it's better than the faux treatment we had removed before we moved in.

Mr. Click got to spackling the closet.

We never want to paint a closet but this is the one time to do it...so we did!

The installation of the Aurdal system is pretty straightforward. It doesn't have a backing piece (like the Pax system) and is affixed to the wall with a suspension rail. Please excuse my fingers!  Mr. Click is installing the first side piece of the unit to the suspension rail.

Moving along, we had both units installed. So pretty!

To the right of the units we wanted to install the adjustable clothing rod for long hanging clothes but we didn't have enough space for it so we had to improvise.  We had a wooden pole in our linen closet that we weren't using but I saved for some reason.  The hardware for the pole was also still installed in the linen closet so we were able to use it.  Mr. Click just had to cut the pole down to size.  It actually matched really well so we were stoked!

Then came the fun part of adding in the interior pieces.  We added two shelves and a hanging rod on the left hand side. The right hand side was to hold drawers and more shelves.  The drawer fronts were out of stock so this was as far as we got.  We also added a wire basket.

We were able to move things into the closet and see where everything would fit at this point.

The drawer fronts came in and they completed the look. We added some pulls in gold because we installed the drawers close together for maximum space.  I got a hanging ironing board and we added some more shelves.  I already had the step stool because I use it for photo shoots. It is very handy for getting to the higher shelves.

We've added a few more shelves and some organizers but most of them are still empty which is a good thing!

The drawers hold a variety of crafting and decorating supplies right now.

There's also a drawer for City Girl #1 (who usually uses this room when she visits) and a vanity area for her as well.

I've got some painting supplies, Sharpies and scissors as well as my favorite tape dispenser on one of the shelves.

The wire basket holds shipping supplies and extra tape.

I moved our wrapping paper supplies into this great Skubb organizer (also from IKEA) that fits under the bed. I'm obsessed. It holds so much!

We love the new closet so much and are keeping the doors off for easier access (and we just love how it looks!).  It inspired us to move onto our own closet. 

Coming soon!!

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