and the fabric winner is...

Waverly Cross Section!

I'll be honest, I prefer the Geo Maze, but I don't think the colour is right (might look more brown next to my grey chair), it was significantly more expensive than the Cross Section, and the Cross Section description says it has a soil and stain resistant finish, very important for a family with kids and a furry cat.

So that's the winner for my sunroom/office bench! I should get it this week and then I'll get to work!

Happy week!

new project: sunroom office

It's time to work on my next project - the sunroom! It's been a bit of a sore spot because it always seems to be the gathering place for everything that doesn't fit anywhere else. I'm always trying to keep stuff to a minimum, but it never seems to work. It's where I work so I'm looking to make it a place that's fun and inviting.

I'm pretty sure I know the culprit - the bench! 

It always looks messy because I've been using it as a shelf for some of my papers and things, but I'm ready to make a change. I'm going to put a cushion on it (a la this bench from I Heart Organizing) with pillows and find somewhere else for all the stuff (it's questionable I even need this stuff!).

I also want to get this room cleaned up because you can see it from the dining room so something a bit more inviting would be nice.

A couple more shots of the really neat space :).

I want to keep the bench fabric pretty neutral and I'll dress it up with some pillows. Here are some options from Tonic Living I'm looking at:

Courtyard, Oyster

Cross Section, Charcoal

Geo Maze, Ash

Graphic Fret, Flax

Small Ikat Dot, Buff

What do you think? What would you choose? Any others from the site? The Geo Maze, Ash and Courtyard, Oyster are speaking to me, but I'd love to know your thoughts!

ps-Thanks to Shannon for giving me some tips on taking pictures of windows! Getting there!

mudroom - the bench

One of the items on my list of things to do before the baby comes was to build a little bench for the mudroom. A while back I fell in love with this bench and thought that one similar would be perfect for the room.


I managed to score some reclaimed wood from my best friend's dad and I ordered the legs from hairpinlegs.com. Then something magical happened: I went to my book club* Friday night and when I returned the bench was finished! Mark had put it together while I was out and I could not be happier with the results. I LOVE IT.


Next on the list is to put some framing around the window and make a blind of some sort. I'd also like to find some baskets to put under the bench and put some hooks up on the other wall. Stay tuned!

*My book club consists of reading a book with 3 of my good friends and then we meet for dinner somewhere, discuss it for five minutes and then chat about other things for 2-3 hours. :)