a little order to the bedroom

we moved into our house in june 2010 + still had some un-packed boxes by the holidays. that's normal, right? our dilemma was that the boxes were full of books, accessories, + photos that we simply had nowhere to put. yes, we gained TONS of space in the new house, but we were missing any shelving/display space for our wares.

i think i've already gabbed about how we were bitten by the motivation bug when we visited our west coast bro + sis in laws over Christmas. so, in the days that followed during my work vacation, i headed to the ballard designs outlet. oh yes, that's a major perk of living in atlanta. we have not one, but two.

low and behold they were having a sale on bookcases. and by sale, i mean S.A.L.E. picture a car lot banner waving in the wind, the hot air balloon flying overhead, light show beckoning you to be tempted.

these tuscan bookcases were basically being given away. the narrow bookcases = $99 [retail: $499 each] and the larger one = $199 [retail: $799 each]. that means i could get this entire set for $400. retail is $1,797. fireworks.we'd been talking about doing floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, but weren't sure how we'd work with the vaulted ceilings. for the price, this might solve our problems.

mind you, these weren't in perfect shape. there were a few dings + scratches, but i planned to paint them anyway. i was sure the "tuscan cream" would be too creamy to match our trim. the biggest problem with these was that there were some major holes in the back panel. this was just the cardboard-esque backing that could easily be replaced with a sheet of beadboard. i was thinking i'd paint the back a contrasting color anyway, so it wasn't a dealbreaker.

i called the hubs to make sure the dimensions would work on our bedroom wall. he gave the thumbs up, so i scoured the aisles to pick out the three best-looking pieces i could find. knowing where we were putting these, i could work with certain imperfections that would be covered. finally, found the pieces and purchased. yay!!!

on new year's day, hubs rented a uhaul to go pick up the bookcases. we got them home + a friend helped get them up the staircase.

UH-OH.

the big one isn't going to fit. no way, no how. it just won't make the tight turn of the stairs. CURSES. all sales final. DOUBLE CURSES.

okay fellas, surely you can take it apart and re-assemble it upstairs. right? nope. ugh.

i remembered seeing another option that was actually two pieces: the tuscan media console and hutch. the prices were a little higher [outlet price: hutch = $60, console = $290; set retail: $1,598], and the width was bigger than the center bookcase, BUT it came in two pieces and would actually fit up our staircase. so, i called the wonderful folks at ballard + they graciously allowed me to exchange it.

so, cricket, lu-dog, and i headed back to the outlet. why take the dog? well, she'd had foot surgery the day prior + we hadn't tested her temperment with the infamous cone yet. so, she got to tag along.

again, not perfect. the top shelf was missing and there was no hardware. easy fixes in my book. knobs from hobby lobby @$3 each.

we finally got the pieces upstairs + i got to decorate. after the 6-hour task of getting the stupid shelves, i had no energy to tackle painting them. save that for another day. surprisingly, the "tuscan cream" matches splendidly + i was able to disguise some of the bigger imperfections with a little styling. we also need to add the center shelf so the TV doesn't look so miniscule, but it works for now. check it out...

the bedroom is cream, taupe, mushroom, + robin's egg blue. the window shades are "eaton blue" and "kelp" from premier prints:

i was thinking painting the shelves the darker taupe/mushroom color, with a robin's egg blue backing. any paint color suggestions???

total cost:
2 x small tuscan bookcases @ $99 each
1 x media console @ $287
1 x media hutch @ $60
1 uhaul rental @ $150 [that extra trip to the store really killed us. stupid mileage]
2 x knobs @ $3 each
TOTAL w/ taxes: $750
RETAIL: $2,596 + tax & delivery

SAVINGS = OVER TWO THOUSAND BUCKAROOS!!