A Useful Closet in my Office

I spend a good part of my time in this room of late.  It's our office, off of the kitchen.  I prepare for school in here, making copies, and our computer is here.  But living in an old house means there are few closets.

  Every woman knows how much of a necessity they are!

  So I begged my Farmer to build me a pantry closet in this corner.  I hated this wall, always trying to block it with furniture.  It had been made incorrectly and was impossible to fix without it being a major headache.

 My husband was tearing out part of the tractor shed, so he asked about using some of the tongue and groove from it for a closet.  I loved the idea.  So he began to build.

 It turned out great! But having little kids, we were worried about all this flaking lead paint, so I sealed it and then decided to paint it.

 It's amazing what a little paint will do,

 (oh, and a Farmer who has some left-over barn wood).

I love the shelf he put in for me over the bathroom door.
It hides the weirdness that was going on up there as well.

 We made the dining room into our extended living room,
since half the living room is used for school now,
so the china cupboard that I painted came in here.
We eat on the porch or in the kitchen when we have company.

This is the view from the kitchen.

Can you see my yogurt maker?  Not enough room in the kitchen or pantry closet for all the gadgets.

Whatever did I DO before we had that pantry closet? 

And here is where the computer is with more kitchen accessories stored where they are convenient.  The door to our living room/school room is right behind the chair, so I can see/help Violet while I get things done on the computer, or around the corner in the kitchen.

This picture hangs on the door into the kitchen.  The old frame was painted gold; when that dried, I painted it black and then rubbed spots so the gold would show through.  I cut a silhouette of my oldest daughter when she was a toddler and used archival tape to affix it to some archival heavy decorative paper.  I hope to do one of each of my kids,

someday.

It's turned into a useful pantry/office and one of my favorite rooms.

Linked to:

Decor Chick: Molding-link-party

Savvy Southern Style: Wow-Us Link Party

Shabby Nest: Frugal-Friday