When I moved into this room in a brand new house a little over a year ago, the only furniture there was in that room was a bed. I didn’t even buy it. It was given by someone who recently upgraded to a new bed. It was king sized, and though the only mattress I was able to get was a queen-sized one, I couldn’t complain. I was newly wed and was trying to save as much as I could with the little savings I had. I simply had to make do with what’s available in the mean time.
For me, it made no sense buying a handsome dresser for the bedroom. I was not willing to spend several hundreds of dollars for something that was not a desperate necessity. So I made do with a little shelf I made out of spare floor boards and an inexpensive mirror I bought from an Asian store. I did not even notice the weeks and months pass by.
Around the middle of the 2011, I thought I’d like to have my own iron and ironing board as well. I found an offer on gumtree.com.au, but was too late, as somebody had beaten me to it. Then came an offer on Freecycle… an ironing board being given away. Thinking (and hoping) that I’ll soon encounter another free iron offer, I contacted the Freecycler and was able to bring that free second-hand ironing board home with me. I was quite pleased with myself, and let the folded ironing board lean on the wall, just beside the bedroom closet, for a number of weeks, until I realized it was collecting dust. Red flag!
My gratitude goes to that someone online, which unluckily, I have forgotten, who shared about an ironing board turned into a hallway table or something. That woke me up and I realized, “Why, yeah, an ironing board isn’t just for ironing. It can be used as a table too!”
But I wanted a better dresser, so I thought I’d try to transform this ironing board, into a dresser.
Repurposing it was what kept me busy over the holidays, so I can say “Tah-dah!”, and show you photos of the results.
(Please forgive the wrinkled fabrics, though… I still don’t have an iron. LOL!!!)
The first thing I did was make a cover for the board. I used this lovely floral fabric, which I got from Salvo’s for around $5, I think. I placed the fabric upside-down on the board, pinned the fabric, and traced the board on the fabric with an ordinary pen. Then I added the band and the pleated mini-skirt, and was excited with the partial results.
Quite luckily, I’ve got this cream colored fabric with little brown dots in my stash. It’s another Salvo’s find. Since I’ve got a generous amount of that fabric, I used it to cover the legs of the ironing board. I also used it to dress up the floor-board shelf, which now house a few gadgets I often use, little fashion accessories (jewelry and hair accessories), a few cosmetics, and whatever else I feel like hiding in it when I’m being lazy.
However, I think the curtain on the lower part of the shelf looks a bit crazy. Yes, it does not cover the whole width. I intentionally made way for the power strip I’ve got forever on that corner. That’s where I connect my sewing machine and chargers for my phones and batteries. Do you think that missing half curtain looks okay? Or do I need to do something about it?
On the right side, as you can see, I made pockets, where I can stuff my toothbrush, toothpaste, combs, and some hair accessories I use most often. It’s very convenient, even on days when I’m on a rush. However, I originally planned to use those pockets for holding my eyeshadow set (which turned out to be a bit too heavy for the pocket).
Aaaahh!! Looks like something an iron would love to chase! I’ve a secret hidden behind that curtain. I’ll share it with you next time, when it’s quite ready for public viewing. :-)
Because I thought my cheap mirror looked rather out of place with its yucky blue plastic frame, I decided to dress it up a bit. I used the cardboard tubes from the Christmas wrapping papers I used last holidays. It’s quite good as a steady stand (leaning against the wall, however) and leaves a good space below the mirror for the box of lotions and body sprays I often use, which was just perfect.
Yes, I dressed it up with various laces and trimmings… but later, I felt it didn’t go perfectly well with the rest of my ‘dresser’. Oh well, I suppose it will have to do for now. I’ll see how I can improve it later.
As before, my alarm clock rests on half of that wooden board, my proof and souvenir of the first karate-chop I have ever done in my life.
Before you get alarmed with that suspicious insect lurking on my wall, don’t worry. It’s a toy spider, with all its glittering glory. I’m just being cheeky.
So, what do you think of my latest project?
