DIY Playroom Workbench/ Storage Unit

The new season brought to our house a series of organizational projects.  While the Mr. is busy finishing up our entryway drop zone storage unit, I should document another much-needed piece that he had completed.  That is, the sanity-saving storage unit for little man's playroom.

As mentioned here, we've dedicated the small bedroom beside little man's room as the playroom, which is a great idea so we can keep his toys contained in just one space.

The playroom is relatively small, and with an existing desk, there is not enough space for storage and small play table.  We needed a 2-in-1 piece here!  The toy storage unit was designed to provide a workbench (for Lego'ing) and storage pull-out bins underneath.  It's a similar idea to IKEA's pull out storage...

IKEA STUVA toy storage bench

... and in combination with Restoration Hardware's rustic/ industrial toy storage activity table:

Restoration Hardware

Restoration Hardware

It's a simple industrial-inspired utilitarian piece that serves its purpose.  Nothing fancy.

The Mr. had previously completed the work bench portion of this unit, as posted here:

The storage bins were finished a while ago, and I'm so glad to finally be able to clean up the playroom (somewhat) to show you!

The pull-out bins are just wooden boxes on castors.  Again, totally utilitarian, and something "easy" for the Mr. to put together.  The bins fit board games in #1, more Lego boxes in #2 and even Nerf guns in bin #3.

The entire unit was stained in Minwax Classic Grey, which is my favourite stain that gives a somewhat Restoration Hardware look.

After the Mr. stained the bins, I stencilled the numbers (downloaded this font) on them using chalk paint.

I didn't want to spend too much on the bin pulls, and these are just right for my budget.  I like the thickness of this pull for little man's small hands, and this antique nickel finish is the perfect pewter for the piece.

Here's little man assembling another Lego set, making full use of the work bench.

It's more practical to use bins on castors than drawers, so he can wheel them all the way out to maximize his workspace and leg room.

Well, I thought the playroom is done with the completion of this unit.  As little man grows up, his toys collection grows with him; specifically, his Lego collection.  It's just a waste to disassemble the kits and mix the pieces with everything else...  you know how pricey Lego kits are!  Just see how crammed all his Legos are on his bench in the photo above...  and those are not even all of them!

Instead of cramming his entire Lego collection on the work bench, we decided to install a display shelf on the opposite wall.  

I love the industrial vibe of this shelf and it goes well with the overall look of the playroom.

CB2 Stretch Modular Wall Shelf

It's a good size for the wall that used to house a canvas art and art display frame:

For now, this wall shelf would be used to display his Lego collections and whatever he wants to showcase.  When he eventually grows out of his toys, the shelf can perhaps be used for books...  or other collections of "cool stuff".

And with this display shelf in place, we can finally call this playroom COMPLETE.  Many thanks again to the Mr. for building the storage unit, which is just the perfect size for this tiny room!

To see more of little man's space, here's the post of his big boy bedroom.  It was also featured on Shutterfly as one of 75 Cheerful Boys' Bedroom Ideas.  

Shop the post here:

Annual Review of Home Projects

After a mostly sunny and hot summer, it's like payback time now in Toronto.  I can count the number of beautiful crisp Fall days maybe with 2 hands.  Fall also marks the beginning of a busy season for our family, with weekends now being taken up by hockey practices!  The Mr. barely has time to continue or start any new projects around the house now.

As we planned out project after project, sometimes it's easy to lose sight of our accomplishments.  Having just celebrated our one year anniversary at the house, it's probably a good time to do an annual review of our progress thus far.    

With downsizing to a smaller house, our top priority has been tackling storage needs around the house.  From addressing what drives us (me) absolutely insane to storage that incorporates beauty, here's a list of the Mr.'s most accomplished DIY projects around our house this past year:

KITCHEN

The kitchen is the heart of the home, and it was naturally the space in the house that got the most attention from the get-go.  With it being used practically on a daily basis, it has the highest potential to drive us insane if it doesn't function well.  This was what our kitchen looked like when we closed the house last year:

Terrifying, isn't it?  Since then, we've replaced the countertop, sink, and faucet.  

This was when we finally installed the integrated range hood (hidden inside the cabinet above the range) and replaced the solid doors with glass doors.

Next up, we made some quick cosmetic upgrades:

• Change out cabinet knobs and pulls
• Install mirror backs + glass shelves for upper cabinets

When I was making too many one-pot pasta to avoid crawling into the pots and pans cabinet, the Mr. built some drawers in lower cabinets.

Our kitchen has come a long way from its ugly duckling beginnings.  It may be small, but it has functioned really well for us.  Even when both the Mr. and I are in the kitchen, we never seem to be in each other's way.  Cooking isn't my forte, and I'm not an organized cook at all.  When you think making one-pot pasta sounds as easy as can be, I can still manage to spread out everything onto the 4 countertop spaces around the stove, ie. both sides of stove, plus both sides of the sink.  The Mr. can laugh all he wants about it, but we both appreciate all the counter space our integrated appliances (fridge/ freezer drawers and microwave drawer) have freed up.  We still think it's the best design decision we've made for this kitchen.

DRESSING ROOM

Another space in our house with a humbling beginning was our DIY custom closet/ dressing room.  As mentioned in my previous post, we made a video of the building process and there have been 15,000+ views as of writing.  

I'm so proud of the Mr.'s ultimate build of my dream closet; it's both beautiful and functional.  The pull-out folding table gets the award for beauty in function.  It has made all the folding more bearable, as I've taken the Marie Kondo* route to organizing my closet.  The Mr. was also worried that I wouldn't have enough room for my clothes in this shared closet, but I'm happy to report that I still have extra space even after some shopping 😁

You can see more photos of the dressing room in this post.

If you missed last week's post on the YouTube video, here again is the video:

PLAYROOM WORKBENCH/ STORAGE

I can stand my own mess (oh ya, anytime), but this is one room where mess can actually be hazardous (imagine the pain of stepping on a stray piece of Lego!).  Little man doesn't actually have much toys, but for some reason, the floor was covered with so much stuff at one point where I had to part the Red Sea to get to his desk.  

Thank goodness the Mr. came to the rescue!  He quickly whipped up this table top part of a storage bench that I designed.  It's been a great spot to store and display some of little man's Lego collections.  He has also used it as a building table; this ottoman is just the right height for him to work there.  

As for the storage part, the pieces of wood for the drawers that go underneath the bench have been cut...  just waiting for the Mr. to stain them and put them together!  That's the main (and most important) missing part of this playroom!!  (Can you tell I can't wait for it to be done by my exclamation marks? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I've sourced out decorative items that are suitable for a playroom, namely a low pile rug, vinyl-front frames for the gallery wall, caged light fixture instead of one with exposed bulb, just to name a few.  You can see my playroom design board in this post, and the reveal here.

UPCOMING PROJECTS

Basement Family Room

The Mr. and I started working on the basement family room design, which I wrote about in this post.  The walls have been painted to a more neutral colour, which is more pleasing to the eyes than the original too-yellowish cream colour.  

We had a poll for our basement DIY storage furniture - to build from scratch or do another IKEA hack?  You can submit your choice here!

Laundry Room

Oh, our laundry room can definitely use some storage help.  Back at our previous house, I used to store off-season decor items in our cabinets, which were of abundance.  I would love to clean up the laundry room once and for all, with the cleaning supplies hidden behind closed doors!

Here's the post of my laundry room design, which I hope will come into fruition one day!

Master Ensuite Vanity

Well, if you've been following along, then you would know how much I love (LOVE!!!) drawers.  Currently, this is our master ensuite's vanity situation:

Yup, not drawers, and that means lots of wasted storage space inside the cabinets.  I know I need to purge some products, as they're now carefully sitting on each other like I'm building a pyramid.  That's what happens when I'm not working with drawers 😓

Ideally, these cabinets will house two drawers under each sink.  One would be for products and the other our linen drawer.  Between the Mr. and I, there should be plenty of room in each drawer.

This is one of my inspirations for our vanity.  You can read more about my bathroom design plan here and colour choice here.

MINDY GAYER DESIGN CO.

Between work, family commitments, and other minor home projects, I think the Mr. has done an excellent job around the house.  He's meticulous with his planning (measure twice and cut once!), never rushes through his work, and gives his projects an amazing finish. I would give him an exceed expectations for his grading 😂  There're still loads of work to be done in our house, and they're enough to keep the Mr. busy for a long while!  

It's been fun to look over at the before's and after's of the projects.  You can see all these and some other projects on the Mr.'s honey-do list.  Yup, he'll be a very busy man!!

Restoration Hardware Chicago - The Gallery at Three Arts Club

I can't believe it's already been a week since we've returned from our Chicago visit.  Our friends there always make our stay with them lots of fun.  Knowing that we're food lovers, it's almost a sure thing that they would introduce us to yet another delicious venue.  This time around, on the first afternoon of our visit, they brought our family to enjoy a scrumptious snack...  and a feast for the eyes!

I'm talking about the Restoration Hardware's Chicago flagship store - The Gallery at Three Arts Club.  It's a historical building that has been renovated, and of course, outfitted by RH's furniture.

I couldn't contain myself when I saw the Café!  I don't think I was able to close my mouth from the oohs and ahs that were coming out.  I heard it's usually a never-ending lineup into the cafe, so we were very lucky to arrive at tea time and got seated at a table right away! 

This latte was nothing short of perfection! We also ordered a truffle grilled cheese sandwich, which was equally out of this world.

It was late afternoon and this gigantic chandelier lit up.  It brought a fairytale ambiance to the whole courtyard café.

Our visit didn't end there...  be prepared for an overload of images!

The Gallery has five floors, each floor houses a department as such:

Our friends suggested we start our tour of the gallery from the top floor of Outdoor and Garden, and continue down the floors.  It was such a good idea...  if we had gone from bottom to top, it would've been dark (and rainy) outside when we got to the Outdoor part!

Let me take you on a mini tour of the Gallery.  It has too many beautiful rooms and I can't possibly fit them all in one post, so I've picked my favourites to showcase.

Outdoor & Garden

RH read my mind...  rattan furniture, dining area under a curtained gazebo, gray patio stone slabs...  my backyard goals are screaming at me.

Then we went down this beautiful staircase from the outdoor area, lit by these gorgeous large chandeliers, with their light reflected by the gilded mirrors:

Modern Furniture Line

The 4th floor houses RH's relatively new modern line.  I'm not much of a modern gal, but when it's glammed up with tufting and gold accents...  I think I can live with that!

This Porthole bar curio with pipework base looks stunning.  It's a statement piece that can fit any style of space.

How glam is this modern powder room?  That gold chair with fur cushions takes an ordinary-looking vanity up a notch!

Child & Teen

I guess it's no surprise that I was inspired by all things RH when I was brainstorming the playroom for little man.  I love the industrial style and rugged feel of the boys' rooms:

This is such a cool work (and gathering) space for the boys!  Wonder if they'll get any work done just chit chatting away in those furry chairs :-)

And here are the rooms fit for princesses!  It's so much lighter in textures and brighter, a stark contrast to the boys' rooms.

I can see a slumber party going on here!

How dreamy is this bed?  Love the chandelier emerging through the canopy.

This is my favourite room of the girls space.  A daybed, a beautiful beaded chandelier, and even a space to host an Alice in Wonderland tea party!

Plus a mirror vanity table, and...

... a mirror dresser!  All the glamorous touches!!  Lucky girl!

Bed & Bath

I'm not sure how I whizzed through this floor without taking much photos!  But I love this bathroom vanity, with a luxury hotel feel. 

Notice how they showcase the different faucet styles at each sink:

Living & Dining

And here we are back on the first floor.  Every space featured is stunningly gorgeous!!  You get the sense of grandeur that's the essence of Restoration Hardware in each setting.

I love this dining room's intricate fireplace.  Makes me want to have a fireplace in ours too!

Such an intimate setting for a dining room.  My photo doesn't do justice to this beautiful stone top dining table.

Hallways

RH didn't leave any space unturned; even the hallways are beautifully decorated.  Need some inspirations for your long hallways?  Adorn them with mirrors/ artwork, chandeliers, and exquisite sconces.  Here are a couple of my favourites:

Pantry

The Café's pantry is off to the side but it's not just a regular butler pantry.  Those gray cabinets feature a marble countertop, supporting a brass and glass shelving unit.  This is exactly what I dream of for our basement family room's bar area.

It shouldn't be too hard for the Mr. to DIY, ya think? 😁

How many times have you dreamed of being in a room of an RH catalogue?  For a Restoration Hardware fan like the Mr. and I, this visit to the Gallery was a magical experience.  Each floor and each space within is like a live catalogue right in front of you.  And we're ever so grateful for our friends to know us so well, both food- and style-wise, that they brought us there!

Speaking of food...  I'm undergoing vacation detox from our stuff-athon (as in stuffing ourselves with the yummy good food in Chicago!).  Can't wait to go back again!!