Before & After: Becky Kazana World Headquarters

One of the challenges with living small and working from home is finding a way to concentrate on work tasks when personal tasks (that pile of breakfast dishes, the grocery list, the lure of facebook) surround you. Living in such a small space, we desperately needed an office space to shut out chores and concentrate on growing our business. 

My Dad's massive Victorian house had a tool room in dire need of organization. Though of ample size, precious floor space was squandered; strewn with tools, construction remnants, paint cans, electric supplies and various furniture left by previous tenants.  I felt certain that we could relocate the tool room to a walk in closet by editing and organizing, leaving this space free to become Becky Kazana World Headquarters! Here's what it looked like when we started out:



Yikes! The room was so choked with clutter, I could hardly get photos of the space.

After several hours of work, with the mantra "Like Things Together", I started to create some space. I pulled out anything I could sell on craigslist. All told, I made $175 selling items we found down here, all of which went back into the house. Still scary, but looking a great deal better.

Once my dad (on the left) saw the room cleared out, he started to get excited about really making it special. I had planned to move in "as is", perhaps with a coat of paint or two but he called his construction expert Tom (on the right), and got things rolling. The first concern was containing the asbestos paint on the ceiling, which they sealed up by powder coating with paint. The ugly pipes snaking overhead disappeared when the ceiling was painted black, which hid the pipes without sacrificing height. Then an electrician installed several florescent lights and additional outlets on each wall. It was incredible to see the transformation of brilliant light- the room suddenly seemed like a legitimate work space, no longer part of a dingy old basement. But it also shined brightly on the cracked and crumbling concrete walls and floor!

 A bucket of leveler helped even out the dips and crevices in the floor and gave us a smooth surface on which to install a beautiful wood floor. Eric spent quite a lot of time on his knees with a bucket of glue and a jug of foul smelling mineral spirits to get it installed.

My dad had a stack of pine lumber cut from our backyard (my friends may recall the infamous Log Rolling story...) and he decided that would create a nice texture for the walls, also solving the problem of putting drywall in a damp basement where it is likely to warp and crumble. It created a nice warmth for the space and the whole room smells like pine- clean, rich and warm.

All that was left now was to furnish it. We spent a lot of time combing craigslist and made more than one Ikea trip for a row of tables that would create a long L shaped work space.

Here, at last, is the finished product. We are so proud of it. The artwork is all by talented Etsy artists; the Man Riding Lobster poster from Nate Duval, the Ironing Ostrich and Piano Playing Pachyderm are from Wild Life Prints. The matching fawn colored leather chairs were craigslist scores, hardly used from Ikea. The tables were new from Ikea. The custom monogrammed wastebasket is from Two Sisters Designs. Our lightbox is now a permanent feature in our studio, making snapping beautiful photos much easier and we have ample storage for our inventory and all my crafting supplies in the cupboards mounted on the walls. 

Our packing station is actually a cabinet door mounted at waist height so you can stand while you assemble boxes. Eric's greatest innovation has been finding a way to print first class postage at home so that our parcels can go out with the mailman on the same day, without us ever leaving the house. He also mounted a towel rack above to store tissue paper neatly.

I'm so delighted with how this project turned out- it was far better than what I had initially imagined, thanks to my Dad, my husband and the talented Tom. I know great things will happen in this little room.

Our goal is to make this our full-time income stream, with the capacity to support a family someday soon. We'd love to run a business from home, giving us the flexibility to be with our family every day. I'd like to focus on my writing, finding new outlets in free lance writing and adding new facets to the blog and website. Eric is planning to expand our sales outlets to include Amazon and Ebay, in addition to Etsy.

These are big dreams for such a humble little room, but when I look back at the dusty junk yard it was, I have no doubt that it is possible to imagine and create beauty in unlikely places. The first step is making room.

Before and After: Window Treatments

The finished product!

Eric and I moved house for the fourth time in 2012 on December 1st. Another apartment came available in my Dad's building that was a little larger than our tiny attic and we couldn't resist. The horrific kitchen needs to be remodeled, but it has huge bay windows, a bathtub and a beautiful fireplace (read: a coal burning fireplace that needs to be converted to gas or rebuilt for wood. We've filled it with a mirror and some candles for the time being.) As you can imagine, we'd spent a lot of time and money getting the attic tricked out, and now we've had to start the process all over again in our new place. The windows were my biggest challenge. The previous tenant left these chocolate brown damask curtains which were pretty, but too short for these windows and too heavy for the room. It felt dark and claustrophobic. 

Before: These curtains were left by a previous tenant. I sold them on craigslist and used the cash to buy fabric. 

I put them up on craigslist and used the cash towards upholstery fabric. I paid a visit to SR Harris Discount Fabrics in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. It's a massive warehouse crammed to the rafters with discontinued bolts of fabric- everything from Barney Rubble costume fur to delicate silk chiffon and embroidered upholstery fabrics. I wandered the aisles with my measurements, wrestling with the heavy bolts of fabric before throwing caution to the wind and settling on a vivid coral printed with a metallic golf floral. It's called "Carlotta" for Bailey & Griffin. A bit of googling tells me fabric from this vendor usually runs around $90.00 a yard, so my $100 investment for thirteen yards was a steal. 

A good seamstress measures twice and cuts once, right Grandma?

My sweet grandma helped me cut the massive bolt of fabric into four equal pieces. We stretched all twelve yards the entire length of her basement and she gamely crawled around on her knees with her measuring tape, pins sticking from her mouth, brow furrowed in concentration. Her perfectionism helped set me up to finish the job properly, and I'm so grateful. (I can get a bit sloppy as a seamstress if left to my own devices!)

Next I hung up the unfinished swaths of fabric from drapery rings to make sure I got the hems just exactly right- not too long, but not too short either. (This window treatment guide from Real Simple was a very helpful in choosing a length that felt intentional and casual but not sloppy.)  I wanted my finished curtains to just skim the floor and be simple to open and close every day. Then I got out my pins and iron and got to work.

Actually sewing the hems took almost six hours. 

All told, this project took my about six hours to complete. Although this was a lot longer than I anticipated, I'm so in love with the final product. I feel like I succeeded in creating the look of expensive custom window treatments for a relatively small investment of time and money. These let in much more light, are easier to open and close, make the whole room feel lighter, more cheerful and totally work with the colors I've used in the rest of the room. If I'd ordered them from a designer, it would have been around $800 for the fabric alone. 

Here they are closed up for the night.

I couldn't be more delighted with how these window treatments came out. 

I love how the light picks up the gold in the fabric and adds an element of shimmer and shine, even in the darkest nights of winter.

What have you been working on lately? I have another massive bolt of fabric ready to tackle for curtains in my bedroom right this second. I'll be sure to share the results with you! Thanks for your kind patience as I get back in the swing of incorporating blogging into my new life in Minneapolis.

Welcome to the Attic!

I've had a few requests for a peak at our new space and it's finally coming together, just in time for the party we held last night. Let's throw in a before and after while we're at it!

BEFORE: The living area and kitchen.

BEFORE: The living area and kitchen.

AFTER: The Kazana living room, complete with library and bar! The kilim rugs were wonderful finds. Mom gave up one of hers and I layered it with another found via craigslist.

These sumptuous ikat and embroidered pillow covers are from India and Afghanistan via Etsy shops Old Silk Route and Silk Way.

I'm especially proud of our bar and library. We scored this table 20% off at World Market with a coupon from their store club, and I think it does double duty beautifully. It was such a treat to get my beautiful collection of Taschen books out of storage! The mirrored lamp and burlap shade are from Target. I collected the little wooden birds on the shelf during our travels in Uganda. 

I guess I've been in the mood for brown liquor of late- should probably add a bit more variety, eh? The beautiful silver cocktail tray was another Etsy find from Vintage We Treasure, it's engraved with recipes for cocktails popular in the 40's.  The crystal decanter was a wedding gift to my parents. 

BEFORE: Kitchen area.

AFTER: Kitchen area. We found another beautiful kilim rug on craigslist for the kitchen. I'm so delighted with the color and pattern of this rug. The king palm is from Ikea. His name is Filburt. He's very happy to meet you. 

My brother Jake did all the food prep for the party we had last night, which was celebrating many things, including his return from the Peace Corps, our new city, our new home, my Dad's beautiful remodeling job, my 30th Birthday and two Kazanas in serious need of some fun. It's rather a hazardous kitchen for tall people (did you see that slanty wall?) but he made it hum and turned out a beautiful variety of hummus, home made pita bread, and crudites. I cheated and ordered some sweets from Wuollette's, and made a bite sized caprice salad with a Greek twist: cherry tomatoes, mint, feta, red onion and cucumber on a skewer squirted with lemon. Bite sized salad is fun to eat and adds a dash of color to the table. We also had broiled bacon wrapped dates, our absolute favorite party food ever. Try it at your next party- guaranteed hit!

BEFORE: Bedroom nook

AFTER: Bedroom nook. I found this rather Psychadelic bed cover at a thrift shop and impulsively bought it this summer. How perfect is it in there? 

This dresser was another craigslist find that I know we can enjoy for years. Eric and my Dad had this television installed on a bracket so it can swing out to be watched from the sofa or the bed. Everything in this tiny 250 square foot space needs to multi-function to save room and effort. 

Eric demonstrating the scale of our little hobbit door! It leads to a balcony three stories up- above the tree line. A spiral staircase (that takes some bravery to navigate!) lead down to the backyard parking area. We can barely stand up straight inside the peaked ceiling here. 

Thanks for visiting our newest tiny house! I hope you enjoyed the sneak peak.

Tables are Metaphors. What Does Yours Say about You?

I have fallen in love with this turned wood table from West Elm. Especially paired with such graphic chairs, I think it looks soft and elegant, yet sturdy and compact. Nothing is wasted, but it still feels decorated. I bet it would make a perfect breakfast nook in a tiny apartment.

Can you tell my impending move has me fantasizing about a Tumbleweed home again? Something about packing up my house every year or so always makes me want to chuck it all except for a few perfectly made pieces and live in blissful stuff-lessness. But then my magpie collector self discovers things and brings them home. I can't be the only one with this eternal struggle. How do you balance too much, too little and just right?
P.S) Did you see the 30 Rock where Liz tests her relationship by taking her boyfriend to buy a table at Ikea? That scene inspired this post's title, which I hope means that I am soft, elegant, yet sturdy and compact. Ha! What does your table say about you?