The Blue Room

I'm going to show how the Blue Room turned out, but first, a kind word for our new neighbors.

They've bought the house next door with the idea of fixing it up and living it, enjoying the country life in this little rural pocket of suburban Maryland. It's a good house that fell on some hard times, and Ben and I were thrilled that someone "with vision" had bought it.

Among all the other things the new owners noticed needed fixing was a downed communication wire which stretched across our driveway, across the new owners property, and over to another house about a half acre away. Ben and I had called Verizon several times to report this wire, but had no luck getting it fixed. So imagine my surprise when the Verizon truck pulled up this morning. As the workman fixed the problem he told me that the woman who had called it in worked for Verizon, knew the job required a bucket truck, and got that all arranged. Yeah! It's a great start for good neighbor relations. I think I'll pull the vines out of the our azaleas near their driveway as a "thank you" gesture!

So, here's how the upstairs sewing room looked a few months ago. The white doors on the right open to the closet holding the washer and dryer.


And here's the same view now.

The new color is Amazing Teal from Sherwin Williams. The window valance is from Macy's, and the white leather storage bench is from Overstock.com (only $99.00!) The top lifts off and turns over to become a perfect surface for setting down a snack or project, and the storage inside is a good size for holding a couple of quilts and pillows to use when you want to snuggle up in the chair on a cold night. This bench is lightweight and is great for moving out of the way when I want to pop the leaf of the craft table up or scooting across the floor to act as an ottoman with the chair.

Here's a before view showing a different angle.

And here's the after view.

The two sewing machines are tucked under this table instead of sitting on top of it, leaving room for whatever I'm up to at the moment. Usually now that means computer work rather than sewing, so there's now room for my iPad or a laptop. The little rack of hooks under the clock holds computer cables and headphones.


This little chair and the ottoman make a relaxing spot to read, use the iPad, or watch TV. I love the glitzy round mirror from Khol's and an airy little table and bright pillow from Pier One, all of which work well with the orange chair from my Mom's house.


The beautiful rug came from GarnetHill.com (not only $99!) and is very thick and plush. I love it.

I managed to find a place to hang the wooden plates which my Great-Aunt Anna hand-painted. I didn't think I'd ever find a place in my house where they would look right, but I did. (Thank you, Lorraine, for encouraging me to take them when we were going through my mother's things!)


My goal was to make a serene retreat while still using the space as a laundry room and general household work room. I'm pretty satisfied with the result.