Overhauling A Professional Puppeteers' Room: Part 2

I'm back with another puppet room update! If you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1 for the fun puppet storage wall we built last time.

With the actual puppet storage taken care of and the closet space maxed out, we turned our attention to the two workspaces on the left wall. Here's a reminder of the "Before":

You can see how the two different desks - and their lack of storage - is a big part of the visual clutter in this room. Even if you have a high clutter tolerance like I do, a lack of clear workspace is a huge motivation killer; creativity needs room for activities.

 
It took me a few weeks to wrap my spatially-challenged brain around a proper design here, because this build had a lot of requirements: The work spaces had to be cohesive but clearly divided, so Kelsey's sewing projects couldn't spill over. They had to have as much storage as possible, but also extra desktop area. Then they had to break down into smaller pieces to go up a set of stairs.

Finally, it all had to be as inexpensive as possible, both because we had zero budget and because that's how we roll. ::eye brow waggle::  (Our labor is always free, but in this case we're gifting the material costs as well.)


I started watching FB Marketplace for pieces we could incorporate into the desks, and soon scored this hefty pair of nightstands for $30:


They were dingy and dated, but the giant drawers were perfect for storage.

Next I talked through my ideas with John, and he worked his magic drawing up a scale sketch:

Can you visualize the finished build from these? I'll give you a hint: The center divider is a bookcase turned sideways.

So now that I've confused you further (snerk), let me show you what it looks like in real life.

First the Before again, because I like a dramatic reveal:



And now, preeeee-senting our newly installed, double-sided, 10-foot long custom work station:

::mini trumpet fanfare::

AND THE CROWD GOES WILD

This baby's got it all, let me walk you through the details.

First, construction-wise, I cleaned up the nightstands and painted them a lovely gray:

I lined them with Dollar Tree contact paper, which matches perfectly and is super satisfying.

Here's the paint I used:

Rustoleum Ultra Cover in Granite

It took me 3 cans to do 2 coats on both nightstands. I wouldn't usually spray paint furniture since it's not very cost-effective, but I wanted those drawer fronts perfect. Then for extra durability John sprayed on a top coat of Minwax semigloss lacquer.

Finally I replaced the chipped wooden handles with these sweet metal ones from Amazon:


Not gonna lie, by the end I was low-key in love with these nightstands.

Next I lucked out & found the perfect size bookcase on FB Marketplace for $10:

 This was before I cleaned it; after a quick scrub it was about like new.

 

With those structural pieces found, John went to work making the laminate tops and riser shelf.
 

We've avoided building with laminate in the past because of the raw edges, but this iron-on edging lets John make the pieces look factory finished. SO COOL. And so much more durable than painted wood! Now that I know this is an option, look out, world.

John attached pegboard (which we had left over from another job) to the back of the bookcase, which both covered the ugly back *and* provides more storage, which you'll notice is something of a theme here. :p

The final step was adding legs and putting it all together.

The nightstands weren't tall enough to support the desk, so John added 5 inch risers cut from a 2inch dowel. Happily that makes the top of the nightstands an extra storage space, kind of a bonus cubby.

We planned to use the gray Adil legs from Ikea, but they only had white in stock, so we rolled with it. (They'd look better in gray, though. Hurmph.)

All told this was one of our harder projects to design, but one of the easiest to actually build, thanks to our using second-hand furniture.

Our total cost was about $120, here's a rough breakdown:

$40 nightstands & bookcase

27 laminate

10 laminate edging

10 handles

23 legs

10 spray paint

As much as I'm adverse to spending money, I gotta say, $120 is a BARGAIN, especially for something I hope will last Kelsey and Calvin many years. Not to mention the fun factor: John and I had such a blast with this, I can't wait to build more Franken-furniture!

Now back to the oh-so-satisfying before-and-afters.

Before, Kelsey's sewing space had zero storage, so all her materials and projects ended up on the table in a big jumble:

Now Kelsey has three storage areas: the desk drawers underneath, the pegboard to the right, and the shelves and basket on the wall in front for her works-in-progress:

The pegboard still needs maximizing, but we hung a few things for now:

Before there were 2 metal drawer units between the desks, buried and overflowing with fabric:

(Another challenge was all the puppet on-lookers wandering through. Octavian, move, you're in the shot!)

With the help of the fabric organizer from my last post and a little purging, Kelsey was able to consolidate down to just one drawer unit, which fits perfectly beneath the center T section:

LIKE A GLOVE


Back over to the left you can see the fabric organizer in the closet is within easy reach:



We left some space between the desk and wall to make the closet access easier, and it's just enough room for both their paper shredder and trash can. I expect we'll add corner shelves above those, because I'm determined to take advantage of every INCH of available space.

Now let's look at Calvin's side!

Before, Calvin was somehow producing an entire web series from the tiniest corner desk I've ever seen:

This thing was maybe 15 inches deep? Yeesh. Calvin was storing his paperwork, books, and binders on various display shelves around the room, which of course didn't look great, plus their brand new printer was still in a box on the floor, because they had no place to put it.

Now Calvin has a proper depth worktop, custom riser shelf for his Mac, and space for the printer. Woohoo!

Here's a little fish-eye lens (WOMP WOMP) to give you a better idea of this corner:

The bookcase hides the seam, so this only LOOKS like a 10-foot long desk. The whole setup breaks down into 4 pieces: two 5-ft desks, the center T jut-out, and the bookcase. Even the legs unscrew, so when it comes time to move this should be a cinch.

Calvin was away doing Cool Puppeteer Stuff while we were installing, so his side is less filled, but you can see he has plenty of room in the book case for books and paperwork and whatnot:

I love how turning the bookshelf this way hides the paperwork clutter from the rest of the room, so there's less pressure to keep it pretty.

I'm also really proud that we managed to keep almost ALL of the wall art and displays, with only minimal re-arranging:

We only lost a single piece of art from this wall, which we'll hang on the other side of the room.

If you're wondering how close the puppets are to all this, here's a wide angle with a teeny sliver of feathers on the right to give you an idea:

And the view looking back toward the closet:

I'm so stinkin' happy with how far we've come, but this room isn't finished yet! I'd say we're about 80% there. We still have more boxes and clutter to organize, better lighting to install, and I'm hoping we can arrange these display cases a bit better:

(Taken before we installed the puppet wall.)

I'll leave you with one last nugget: remember how I said last time I wanted to fill that second shoe organizer with dollar store pencil boxes? Well we did, and it is AWESOME.

I'll try to get better photos next time.

I hope this inspires you to see your space with fresh eyes, or to tackle that pile of things that needs organizing, or to consider secondhand nightstands the next time you're building a desk.

Unlike re-decorating, organizing your space doesn't have to cost a lot of money - or sometimes any at all! So if you have extra time but no extra funds, trust me, just start. You can add the fancy bins or new furniture later - and you may be surprised how far you can get using only what you have.


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Another option: If you're local to the Orlando area and need help with an interior home repair or project you otherwise can't afford, then please, e-mail us! John and I are insured professionals with two decade's experience in all areas of construction, and we always work for free. Whether it's replacing a toilet or overhauling a puppet room, Project: Epbot is our way of working together and showing some love to our community. So hit us up!

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Now before you go, let's announce some art winners from my last post:

The winner of the Pixar print set is MadWild

The winner of the Star Wars set is Degera

And the winner of the Borderlands set is the appropriately named Pandora

Congrats, you three, and please e-mail me your mailing addresses!