Our Garage Plans

It’s FINALLY HAPPENING AND I CAN BARELY TYPE STRAIGHT!   SEE —>!359lkhsfLSH!LIFH_#(&U%

Okay, so over a year ago we talked about getting our garage finished…organized…awesome.  Little did I know that I was currently growing a mini bower bambino at that time.  Fast forward through last year and Jeremy and I got to talking about the areas of the house that REALLY needed finished and what worked out well for us last year on the blog.

Jeremy noted that we did a lot more videos in our garage space and we both agreed that it was a great income source and we both REALLY enjoyed being the ‘talent’ (I use that word very loosely) for brands and making our own videos (like the Crafting with Katie ones with my sister or the video we did with Ana & Jacob White!).

Those videos are something we are both very proud of and we loved working with production crews and coming up with creative new ways to use products that we love.  It was very kin to being a DIY teacher to the masses.

But our ‘workshop’ was embarrassing and unorganized and pretty much a disaster.  We would constantly apologize to the ‘professionals’ that would be at our house about the background of a shot.   They would be so gracious but really I knew they were all thinking “Dude, if this is your job and you want to do this at your house, then clean up your crap.”

I want to stress that I LOVE my job.  I LOVE being a mom.  I LOVE creating furniture and tweaking Goodwill finds and still not forfeiting my nursing schedule or puzzle time or eating all our meals with the kids around our kitchen table.  I get to do my most important MOM job and still do my other BLOG job all in the comfort of my own home.  I do not take that for granted.  It is exactly what I want and I am so grateful that I get to do it all.  Seriously.  That might not be everyone’s dream but it is mine and dude, I thank God every day that I live it.

And because it is my dream, I definitely want to keep blogging and making videos.  Since Jeremy runs the business side of the blog and he also handles our finances for the business as well as personally, he is always trying to make sure we are smart with decisions and investing in the things to help us be responsible adults.  BORING 🙂

Me – I am the one that is like “I like to create!  I like to paint things with my eyes half shut so that I can feel the emotional value of creating!  I want to cry while experiencing true color!”.  I am sure Jeremy is rolling his eyes right now but it’s true….he is the ying to my yang….and he keeps me in check.  So when we talked about getting back to the garage and cleaning it up a bit, Jeremy said that he thinks we should make it “Studio-worthy”.  He said those words.  That was basically him saying…let’s do this thing BIG.  I was immediately on board.

So yes – we are gonna make over our garage.  And yes, it is going to be so pimp that you will question our sanity.  Go big or go home, right?  And the best part is – we have a goal….we are sharing it all before the end of the month!  SERIOUSLY.  Here’s what we are dreaming about in that space…

For the floor, we wanted to partner with Rust-Oleum and use their Rock Solid Metallic floor kit.  Our current floor is painted and peeling and cracked.  But we saw Jamison’s floor (CHECK IT OUT HERE & tell him I said hello!) and fell in love with the shiny finish and the fact that it is pretty much like a showroom.  So on the floor, we will do the Gunmetal color.  I might need to buy a cute little red convertible because the floor would look so good against it 🙂

On the walls, we have a beadboard that goes up half way so that and the ceiling will be bright white to contrast the floor.  Then the upper portion of the walls will be a bright blue.  Truth – we totally picked this color because we wanted a color that flattered us in photos.  #vanity

As far as storage, we will still be using our tall garage towers on either side of the windows since they were built to fit the space.  They are great for storage tubs and so all the seasonal gear (camping, swimming, boating, etc) stuff will go there and be easily accessible for the few times in the year when we need it.

The biggest addition will be Husky storage cabinets and pegboards from The Home Depot.  Jeremy is in talks with our contact over there to see if we can score a discount (cross your fingers for us) because we really think it would be PERFECT.  Even if we can’t get the discount, we will still go with all the Husky stuff because it all matches, has a bunch of options and is affordable for how well it is made.  Plus, it would look amazing and be a much safer option than open cabinets (these LOCK!).  We love the way that the Shanty girls have their tools hanging up so that is a great solution!  Plus, we do all the DIY – not just one area of focus so we need space for ALL the DIY stuff – electrical, tiling, plumbing, etc.  Lots of stuff = Lots of Storage

As far as furniture, we really need one giant work table on wheels.  We need it to be storage inside for things like our tile saw, saw horses and random tools and then also be big enough for us to work on it.  I am thinking something like Ana White’s workshop table that has removable pieces for storage.  Maybe a different shape and maybe something that locks together somehow?  Also, I haven’t told Jeremy this yet but I think we need sawdust management.  I found this Rockler Dust Right Wall Mount Dust Collector.  But if that doesn’t work into the plans, then I am sure we will figure out another option.

LASTLY….and this is pretty exciting for my main squeeze….we are going to outfit one small area to be an at-home gym.  Jeremy has been talking about doing some CrossFit stuff at home for a while and for Father’s Day, we want him to be able to work out right inside!  That’s the goal!  By June 19th, I want to have his new wall mount rack up and his weights to be accessible (while still safe from little fingers) and the best part is – this thing FOLDS to the wall so it can be a big space saver!   I even think it would be fun to make him a sign.  Any suggestions?  Jer’s Gym?  Bower Box?  Are you a CrossFitter and just drooling over the possibilities?!

In order to fit all the workshop/gym stuff, we also decided to keep all the gardening stuff in our basement storage area.  Now that we have slowly paired down the stuff in storage, we can fit the lawn mower, the potting table and a bunch of lawn tools.  We are also retiring some of the kid’s power wheels (they are broken and we have fixed them so many times that now it’s just becoming ridiculous.  Don’t worry – they still have two!) so those will stay with the lawnmower.  Some toys will still need to be in the garage so that’s gotta be tweaked!

Sounds pretty awesome right?!  Basically Jeremy is DYING to get it done because it means we can get back to work!  And I am so excited because it means that it will be so much easier to make more videos for you guys!  Maybe I’ll get a makeover too to match my amazing workshop….I have always wanted to try blonde 🙂