Making a Space Work for You

Ron wanted a quick project to do before Christmas (have I told you that my man loves a project?), and so he decided that our tiny entrance to the master suite would be the thing to tackle. It was a pretty straightforward project, consisting of painting the walls and trim and hanging a new light.

This refresh was actually the final phase of making this space into what it needed to be. This is a tiny little entry, only 5 feet by 4 feet! But, although vestibule is small, I think it is genius design. There is a door from the kitchen into the alcove. Inside, there is a door straight ahead into the bathroom, and a door to the left into the bedroom. So many doors may limit the space, but they allow so many options for privacy and quiet. Great planning!

I am going to tell you exactly how we went about making this space work for us.

First, we needed to identify the purpose of the space and what we needed from it. 

As I told you, is a tiny 5' x 4' entry and there are three doors! Not a lot of usable space. But we needed it to work hard for us as there is not a lot of storage in the adjoining bathroom which is also tiny (5' by 7'). We also wanted the space to look cozy and fit our decorating style. We wanted it to feel like a part of the suite, not just a pass-through.

view from the kitchen

After deciding what we wanted from the space, we needed to (inexpensively) find ways to achieve that purpose and make it work! 

First the storage . . . 

To gain the needed storage in the space, we went with a slim, vertical piece. The jelly cupboard that used to be in our bathroom at The Farmhouse serves the purpose quite well. And it "hides ugly stuff"! (Love that!) Inside are toiletries, make up, hair dryer, flat iron, etc.

(That part had been done since right after we moved in. Now it was time for the next step.)

view from the bedroom

. . . and then make it cozy and personal and reflective of our style . . . 

Time for some fresh paint! We painted the walls the same antique white we have used in all of the other rooms in Pineapple House. The trim color is Quaker Green by Olde Century Colors (which we also used in the library).

Aside: Quaker Green is one of my favorite decor colors! It's such a rich colonial color and it goes with almost anything. I am so tempted use it in every room in my house, but we all agree that a dark color on the kitchen cabinets in our galley kitchen would close it in, and Quaker Green on the fireplace wall in the living room would make the room feel dark. So I must use restraint and use it where I can. :) 

view from the kitchen; peek into the bedroom at left, bathroom door straight ahead

We cozied up the floor with a small Oriental rug that had been in our bedroom at The Farmhouse. This simple touch goes a long way towards making this little space feel like a room.

Ron hung the "new" light that was given to us by friends before we knew we were moving. We brought it along to Pineapple House, knowing that it would go somewhere. It did! (Thanks for thinking of us, Chris and Kim!)

We also personalized the space with a few accessories.

The checkerboard is one that Ron made in industrial arts class in high school. The whimsical sheep is a gift from a friend.

And then there's the oak strip mounted on the wall to the right of the doorway into the kitchen. Let me tell you the story behind that.

view from the bathroom, looking into kitchen

You may remember that in The Farmhouse we had charted all four of our children's growth on the inside of a closet door. We hated to think about leaving that door, that beloved piece of family history. One of us (I won't mention any names) wondered if we couldn't take that door with us and replace it with another! But oddly sized paneled doors are not easily found and we did not have lots of time to search.

Shortly before moving day, Kati, Bekah, and I went to Home Depot and purchased a piece of oak molding. We brought it home, took it up to Kati's room, and painstakingly measured and copied every single mark that had been made from the time that Kristin was 6 and Ryan was 4!

Now it lives here in our little alcove. It's not the same as the closet door, but history has been preserved in a sense, and it delights me when the grands measure themselves and compare their heights with that of their parents' (or their aunt's or uncle's) at their age.

So that was our process of making a limited space work for us with function and personality!

Do you have a space in your house that needs some out-of-the-box thinking to make it work for you?