Cover Up
Open shelves have been in for a while. I personally don't care for it so much because I think it's high maintenance. They are so easy to get dusted. I don't want to dust them all the time. So, my shelves need a covering. I also still want to maintain easy access to everything. Here are the options I came up with:
- Sliding doors - in this case, it needs multiple panels.
- Divider screens
- Curtains
Unfortunately, the covering needs to be installed in the angled ceiling. This could make the installation tricky. The sliding doors was appealing, but it was more than I was willing to anticipate. The divider could get bulky, which I don't want in this already tight space. Naturally, the easiest one, curtains, became the way to go. Picking the fabric was the easiest part. I found this at Fabric.com. I was looking for some texture, but not too much with soft colors. I don't want the covering to be screaming in the room, "Here, over here! Look at me!."
I didn't want to hang just a flat fabric. What style do I want? I love French drape pleat, and that what I made for my bedroom and office draperies. It takes a lot of fabric and each panel gets heavy. Knowing it needs multiple panels, that doesn't seem to be a good idea.
Between the slanted ceiling and securing maximum covering, I gave up to use a rod. I decided to go with a track rail found at Ikea. This one can be installed directly on a ceiling instead of a wall.
As much as I'd love to have something decorative, it's also important to maintain a clean look to me. After looking around for a while, I found a perfect style called reverted pleat. I spent one Saturday to make 4 panels to cover 120".
The pleats were made much smaller scale than ones for a regular window curtain panel. They came out just right. It's clean, but has a little bit of decorative part. I made them slightly shorter than the floor level. So, they woulnd't pick up any dusts on the floor.
They are four individual panels. This makes easy to access any area.
How about the chimney side? This is actually a pretty good question. I don't think curtains work well with this one. Do you have any good idea?
I'm leaning toward screen panels with casters. The panels might need to be connected with hinges. It requires some carpentry skill to make something works well and LOOKING GOOD.
At this point, I don't have any definitive idea to go with. Meanwhile, the area is collecting dusts😭
Add Some Character
It cannot be all business. It's got to have some fun. I had picked up a couple of things at the antique shop in town.
Well, sadly the store has gone a couple years ago. It was a fun place to hang around. We have a great access to a great number of items via online, but it's still fun to find something totally unexpected at a brick-and-motal store. The store was one of them which got pushed away by big chained retailers and online stores. The owner wished to stay in the business, but she couldn't maintain the traffic to the store. I admit to shop online quite often for its convenience, but sad to see my action could be causing to lose lovely local businesses.🙄
The ones on the shelf are nothing to do with laundry, but for knitting. They are a yarn swift and wool carders. I just love the look of them. The rug beater was picked up at a flea market long time ago. They set the tone of the era the house was built.
You can find variety of reproduction of household tools for decorations these days, but I prefer actual used items much better for their unique wear and tear over the time. It gives you a sense of a life back in time.
At the left side of the chimney wall, my iron board got its spot.
Another Seasons to Come
The spring is coming. Once the weather is warm enough to open the window, I get to work on stripping paint from the baseboard, the window, the doors and the trims. Then, they are going to be stained. They are sitting at the corner of the wall, and diligently reminds me my unfinished business.
Hopefully, I get a good idea for the covering on the chimney side and it gets covering, too.
I have to say that I'm quite satisfied with the transformation the room made so far.
Before:
After:
It's not complete, but you've got to start somewhere. I'm in the middle of the way now, and I keep moving forward.
I've been in a bit of the "get organized" mode lately. Next post will be about the reconfiguration of my pantry.
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