You will never believe what I did with this old forgotten sofa table.
It started off as a thrifted piece I painted black years ago, but most recently I wanted to reimagine it.
After all we have had three teenagers in our house the last ten months and we desperately needed organization and simplicity.
Three teenagers, one pre teen, two massive dogs, a husband and two kitty cats.
So, you could say, our home has been mildly chaotic.
I knew, for logistics sakes and for my own sanity as the mom of the house, I needed to create a multipurpose spot in our home that was both parts peaceful and functional.
Because of the addition of an international student in to our home, my kids all swapped bedrooms and I, in turn, lost my office area that I had recently set up in our newly acquired spare bedroom.
In order to maintain a peaceful morning routine, I reasoned that with one shower in our home, and with a main bathroom that had scheduled shower times in the mornings, that I needed a place that was solely my own.
With a little creativity, I took an old sofa table and married it to a remnant of IKEA laminate countertop, and added a coat of paint to the base of it, in order to visually unify both pieces.
I went one step further, and painted a thrifted arched mirror to match the table.
The new table was then situated on a blank wall in our master bedroom and I installed the mirror centered over it.
I found a chair on my thrifting adventures too. I cleaned it, steamed it and placed it with the desk and mirror for a complete vanity area.
Now came the fun part, the styling. ✨
I knew I wanted this area to be one where I could easily complete my morning routine of applying sunscreen and makeup. (I use this one here under my makeup every day and LOVE IT. It doesn’t make my skin greasy and it was suggested by an amazing dermatologist it took me two years to see.) I also wanted this space to be a spot where I could do my nightly routine of guasha and serums (‘cause I’m 40 now and natural skin care has become my whole personality in the last year or so.)
I also knew, because visual noise is a real thing for me, that this hard working spot needed to house all my skin products WITHOUT looking cluttered and messy.
If you’re like me and you relate to the saying “out of sight, out of mind” then you know that it’s easy to forget about your vitamins, self care products and all the things go that are good for you if they’re not in plain sight or easily reachable.
If you know, you know.
So I decided to implement a little disguising design hack.
I aimed to contain all of my most used beauty products on top of my new-to-me-vanity so they’d be in close reach, without necessarily displaying them.
I accomplished this by incorporating a leaning mirror to my table top, which hides my most used products, and I absolutely love the outcome.
I found a beautiful antique mirror for $7 at my local thriftstore and touched it up with some
gold paint. I knew, if I placed it just right, it would be the perfect distraction from my tray of products with their bright labels and distracting clutter.
And it worked!
The products are still accessible behind the leaning mirror and I now have the perfect spot for storing things away without actually tucking them away in a drawer like I use to.
I added a found piece of glazed pottery with my makeup brushes, layered them in another thrifted mirror, that I’m using as a tray and added a candle, and some items I use nightly.
My table top mirror on the stand was also found at a Value Village for $8 and plugs in and lights up. It was originally a brushed silver but I painted it with acrylic gold paint and I’m shocked it’s held up so well seeing as I didn’t use a metal adhering paint (cause sometimes you just have to do the project RIGHT NOW and you use what you got!)
I perused the book section of my local missions store and bought the ones that were neutral under their dust covers.
I am going to attempt to turn them into a storage container shortly, but for now they add some height and interest to my space.
The makeup I use daily loves in the little glass box that rests on top do them. I love that I can keep my daily essentials at arms reach but I can also tuck them away so I can use the table too for light computer work.
This little corner of our bedroom has become SUCH a versatile and well used spot.
I have really loved it on the mornings when I am sipping my morning coffee here — while the kids fight it out in the bathroom for a shower. 😉
In the evenings, I turn down the lights, light a candle and unwind after a bath here with a sleepy time tea in hand. I have made it a point to make the start and end of my day as luxurious as possible.
I reason that life is short, self care is important, especially during busy times and adding an element of calm into my mornings is good for me.
My morning and night time routine has proven to be something I now look forward to.
Life has been hectic in our home with so many people, so many hairy pets and so many things to accomplish in a day, but this little spot I created has given me a small area that makes me happy and serves my mental well being SO WELL.
I honestly, wish I had of created a calming “get ready” space much earlier.
Do you have a space in your home that helps with your routine? Where is it in your home?
