My "Mystery Spot!"

Do you have a spot in your house that is a "mystery spot?" You know...a place that you don't really know what to do with. An alcove.A "cubby". Anywhere? Well, I do did.

In our family room we have this area that is kind of like an alcove. It is next to the fireplace on the main wall of the room. In the model of our house the builder had this fabulous built in cabinet...don't they always...and for some reason, it wasn't even an upgrade option. When we moved in I had every intention on contacting the cabinet company to see how much it would be for them to put one in our home. Fast forward to 6 months later, after 3 attempts to have the cabinet company fix damaged cabinets that were put in our brand new home...yes...2 times I had a guy come out with doors that were MORE damaged than the ones that were already in my home...needless to say...I was NOT going to give them any more of my business.

I had looked all over for a piece of furniture to put in the spot...kind of like a buffet or table...but the area is so long that anything that was large enough would have cost us our first born child. Then enter...our first born child and the 6,786,453 toys that came along with him. Needless to say the room went from family room to "Toys R Us threw up every musical, light up, dancing, singing, larger than life toy that ever was made" room. Now don't get me wrong. I am not one of those people who wants my house to look like there is no sign of a child anywhere around. I would just like to be able to have people over without having to look at the musical table, Disney electrical parade car, rocking frog, etc. ***As a disclaimer...I am in no way complaining about these toys. Landry loves them and so do we...so hopefully I am not offending anyone. :o)***

So the task of finding something to take up this "mystery spot" became even more complex. Now I needed something that would fill up the space, go with the flow and decor of the room, store/hide 5 billion toys...while allowing them to be easily accessible to Handsome...and something that would stand up to the beating my child and future children might give it.

Enter this desk!

My blog stalking ended up giving me the perfect solution for my problem. Traci at Beneath My Heart...her link is on my side bar...made this desk for her office. I loved it!

So, one night when my hubby was at a 49er game with his friends, I called my friend Sheri...who is a super talented furniture maker/refinisher...we loaded Landry in the car and headed off to Lowes. I don't have any pictures of us building the table because I thought Sheri would make fun of me for taking them so that I could blog about it. :o) We had Lowes cut the wood for us and then we came home and within 2 hours the table was built and in my family room!!!! AH-MAZ-ING!!!!

Here it is...

We used

3 - 2x6 inch boards for the top,

2 - 1x2 inch boards for the side edges, and

2 - 2x4 inch boards for the legs.

Here is a picture of the top:

I already had a painter's drop cloth on hand. I didn't really want the ruffled look of Traci's skirt so I made mine with a simple inverted pleat instead. I should also mention that I did not stable the skirt to a separate board like she did...nope...I just hot glued it to the bottom of the table! Yup...that's how I roll people. :o)

Since Landry's toys are underneath it, I attached a ribbon behind the skirt. This way, when he is playing, I can pull the skirt up and he has access to all of his toys.

**Sorry for the blurry picture...not too sure what happened there! :o)**

So there you have it! My table/storage area that is the perfect solution for my "mystery spot." Oh...and did I tell you how much it cost? This is the best part. Are you ready?

$40

Yes, you are reading that correctly...$40! For the same cost as a mani/pedi...my friend and I built a piece of furniture that hides most of Handsome's 10 billion toys, fills in my "mystery spot"...and another bonus...it provides me with the perfect spot to decorate for the holidays!

Here are a few more shots of my table:

I had to add this last one so that I could show off the adorable gift my sister got me for Christmas! Love it!

 For the tutorial on how Traci at Beneath My Heart made her desk, click here. Yes, it takes you to the Shanty 2 Chic blog...which is another great place to find tutorials on DIY projects.

***Did you notice that Landry's toys multiplied while I was typing this post? If you have a child...you know it is true!