Another week down in the $100 Room Challenge, which means only two more weeks left to wrap up this space. There are still lots of details to pull together but a HUGE piece of the room came together over the weekend so I am thrilled to be making progress. I will share the details below and also need your vote on something – so be sure to drop me a comment below helping me decide how to move forward!
If you are just tuning in, two weeks ago I kicked off a month long room makeover where I am turning a current dead space in between the boys rooms into an official Lego Building Nook. Last week I shared a small No Cost Lego Head Storage craft. This week we are going much bigger with a custom Lego Workshop Desk that my Dad created from (mostly) scrap wood.
I had a vision in my head for creating some sort of built-in desk here in this window nook where an underused sofa used to live. So I brainstormed with my Dad and before we knew it a workshop desk plan was hatched. It wasn’t finalized until he found this pair of vintage file cabinets and then it all started to come together.
The pair of file cabinets act as the base of the desk and then my Dad pulled together the surface using some wood from his basement workshop stash. I took tons of pictures of the process so hope to put together a full tutorial. The piece ended up being 95 inches by 24 inches and it looks like is built right into this nook!
Not only do I love this because it is custom and fits perfectly and is super-duper functional, but it was made lovingly from a grandpa for his grandsons and that makes is very special. Also, can we walk about how it only cost $6?! He had this large piece of wood in his stash that he just knew would come in handy one day. The stain and varnish was already on hand. All we bought was a 2×4 to add the trim on the front.
And as you can see, it is already getting tons of use. The boys swarmed it as soon as it was installed and now I am wondering what we did before we had this surface!
You may recognize these chairs from our dining room. I found the pair for $2 a few years ago, gave them a coat of spray paint and hand painted the blue detail on the seat. I recently upgraded the dining chairs and was trying to decide what to do with these. They are the perfect fit and I love that the boys can roll around on them. Oh- and I also love that they found a new home since I didn’t want to part with them quite yet.
OK, so here is where you come in. I can’t decide if I should paint these catalog file cabinets or leave them the original vintage green. These came out of a storage unit and were apparently from Lockheed Martin offices which is down the road from us. They are very cool as is and I love the industrial look – the color is an olive gray and I love the silver catalog detail.
However-I am toying with spray painting them with Oil Rubbed Bronze (a metallic black) and then giving the handles a gold finish. I am SO torn! After looking at these pictures I am leaning towards painting them…but maybe that is just because the lamp and chairs don’t match , which I could change to make work with the vintage olive color. Would love to know your thoughts- let me know down in the comments your vote!
Alright- that’s it for today. Since this challenge is so focused on the $100 budget, it’s probably time I check in to see how I am tracking:
$50 Pair of File Cabinets
$6 Wood for Lego Workshop Table
$15 Gray Area Rug
$0 Pair of Chairs (These were in the dining room and looking for a new home)
$4 Lego Minifigure Display (More to come next week!)
$2 Small Black & Gold Table Lamp
$0 Ikea Bookshelf (pulled in from the playroom)
$0 Blue Desk Organizer
$0 No Cost Lego Head Storage – See how I made this for free here
Welp- I am up to $77 spent leaving me with $23 left to spend. It’s time to get creative!
Here is what I still need to tackle:
- Making Minifigure Display Case
- Lego Art
- Lots of Organization
- Curtains (that is just a piece of fabric pinned up to see how it looks)
FOLLOW ALONG || LEGO BUILDING NOOK
Lego Building Nook Inspiration Board
Lego Storage || No Cost Lego Head Storage Craft
Nooooo! I don’t even like green but those cabinets are meant to be green! And according to bloggers, green is the projected color of next year. You are ahead of the trend!
Totally agree! The olive green is what makes it vintage. I think it’s the chair color throwing it off. Love that your father created this for the boys!
Please leave them the original color! No worries about chipped paint and the boys fun play place looks actually more masculine this way.
Do you really need a curtain? Privacy or too much sunshine? I love open windows
I can imagine them even doing school work there eventually!
Hugs from Texas
Green all the way….remember green goes with everything , its neutral.
Don’t Paint!! Leave them green. I am a big fan of the industrial look and these are perfect! They go really well with the old wood of the desk.
Absolutely keep those vintage cabinets as is! Painting would be a screaming, crying shame! You and your dad have done a GREAT job pulling this area together.
I think they will hold up better left green than painted.
And, I love the way they look as they are.
Keep em green!
Those chairs are fantastic, and they look super comfortable for long builds too! Great job!
Don’t paint them, Heather!!! they are great condition. Maybe one of your boys will want them someday because of the special memories made there.
Please do not paint the file cabinets. Add touches of that color into the nook: a lumbar pillow in each chair even if it is only in the corded trim/boy’s initials, pictures on the side walls of the nook, window treatment, or perhaps a new rug. There are several ways to integrate the file cabinets/color. I can’t wait to see how you make this color a positive!
Leave them GREEN, love vintage green and it does have a boyish feel! I love this space and how creative it is! What a great idea and spot. Love that grandpa helped, so meaningful for the boys to have. Also love all the natural light coming in!!
What a great place to build their creations. Everything from the filing cabinets to the chair looks amazing. You did great and so did your Daddy!
Leave them green!!! I love it and your beautiful chairs.
I’m going to disagree with everyone else, I think you should paint the cabinets. They are great as-is but will be even better in oil rubbed bronze. It will look great no matter what you decide.
I LOVE the vintage green. Make it work!
Sound advice. I think I am going to make it work.. and LOVE it!
My boys would have loved a space like this for their legos when they were little. Awesome job. I love the green filing cabinets, but I always lean toward the black…. tough decision. I can’t wait to see what you decide!
I know- I would love a space like this for myself! ha ha. It really is a tough call! Thanks for stopping in!
My vote is to keep them the vintage green. Maybe you could put a piece of art with that color matting, or
Trim the curtain in that color….maybe paint the base of the lamp, lots of ways to incorporate that vintage color! Good luck..it’s a hard decision!
Those file cabinets are amazing- and I love them as is. But I could see them painted if you wanted- Oil Rubbed Bronze is the perfect black brown color that we all have been using for years. You do what is best for you!
Just loving this space- as a mom who’s son is now 24- he would have loved this space for his legos
I love the green cabinets, the color and look really makes that working space so unique.
The table looks amazing! I love that your dad was able to build it for his grandkids. As for the file cabinets, I, personally, like both ideas. I love vintage, so part of me thinks keeping them “as is” is the best choice, however, I feel like oil rubbed bronze with gold might go better with the chairs. Spray painting would create a very different look than what you have now, but I think whatever you decide will look great. (In other words, I am no help 🙂 ).